I did a year of acoustical consulting (architectural / noise control) before going back the more creative sound design route. The first book my old boss had me read was M. David Egan's Architectural Acoustics. Very easy to read, with good practical principles and illustrations, also some cultural case studies. Obviously geared toward architectural use, but even the construction details in there are fascinating if you haven't considered how to build a sound isolating wall before...
Other than how to deal with clients, the acoustical consulting bit really helps me think about spaces and physical relationships, particularly when using convolution reverbs or designing for unique acoustical situations. Most importantly it reinforced to me how subjective sound is, that there are really no hard and fast rules, which is something I always like to keep in the back of my mind while working. Does an impulse labeled "City Street" really sound like a city street? Does it work in this particular context? Does simply adding the sound of a car horn into the mix convey that aural message better than any fancy plug-in I could ever find?
I have done some experimentation using custom IRs and EQs based off of actual acoustic transmission and insertion loss data (Architectural Acoustics has some nice general data), and of course found that again everything is subjective. Some do provide a good starting point, I find my collection of "hollow door" and "inverse phon" EQ curve presets do help give a nice sense of distance to a sound, though best when mixed with other effects. It always boils down to artistic license in the end.