I can and love to crochet but can't read a pattern

I'm not sure I can be much help, but I'll try. Part of this depends on what type of pattern you are looking at. There are two different kinds. The diagram and the step-by-step instructions. I don't know how to read a diagram pattern, though I could probably teach myself if I needed to. What you will see more often is the step-by-step pattern. This will tell you what to do, in the order you have to do it. The biggest thing is to understand what the stitch names are in the pattern. Unfortunately, this can vary by who and when the pattern was written. My best advice is to start with a book such as "I Taught Myself To Crochet". [looking] I see you're in the USA, so... You can find one in any craft store, such as JoAnn Fabrics, Ben Franklin Crafts, or Hobby Lobby. It will be by the yarn. Wal-Mart also has a craft section. I believe they will have the book as well. This is how I started. It will have pictures to show you how to do each stitch, and tell you how to read patterns. This is how I got started. Sometimes the book even comes with some crochet hooks to help you get started. Just practice the handling and each stitch until you get the feel for it before moving on to the next.

There are some sites online that have videos. The one I like the most is www.hassdesign.com. You can also contact me anytime for help too.

I started off by getting the Happy Hooker book. This is good if you are in the USA or if you will be using US patterns. You have to convert in your head if you are going to use UK patterns as the terms are different. Just look at the beginning of the pattern and it will give you the abbreviations you need. Also if you look on Youtube you can find a lot of video demos of different stitches.

I have a book that shows you how to do the stich and also tell you what it would be called in a pattern, i find this the easiest way to learn each pattern.