I've long wanted a good book that covers design principles in a way similar to how one would introduce a student to calculus, but for graphical design, layout and their interplay with typography.

Most books I've found so far are merely coffee table books: Pages of very nice illustrations, but weak on explaining the theory and principles of applying it to, e.g., a book, poster or website.

Does anybody know of such books? What do serious students of graphic design read? Is the book "Universal principles of design" a good fit?