Sometimes you don't need to know Photoshop to have a good grasp in design. Take www.subtraction.com for example, Khoi Vinh only used CSS black, orange, greys and very little images.

That should prove that sometimes, you don't need an all pretty interface for something to work well.

What I think you need most is organization on the website? Because everything looks glued or pieced fitting like a puzzle, the website looks cluttered. There isn't any focus anywhere other than the books.

My suggestion if you don't wanna do so much Photoshop, go simple and play with the CSS.

Cheers.