You haven't left it too late to apply for next Sept.. ('12) Most Uni's start their open days as from oct/nov for next year. As it is classed as a part time learning you normally have to apply for funding for Aug onwards.. The Universities do not normally want payment until the Dec/Jan after the start date in Sept so you have plenty of time to organise the funding... Hence if it was a full time course you would need to apply for finance before Aug :-) As for a book list I would wait until you have started as the uni will supply you a list of books or may even offer you a reading pack at a small cost. (google books are great and free) OR even better make full use of the library..
Good luck with it