Thanks Paul
1. I would recommend both books. Crowe is easier to read/absorb - he puts the information in ways that are easy to understand, but Griffiths goes into so much more detail. Since Griffiths was one of the committee members for the agile certification, I think his information is important.
2. The agile training at my work was a 2 day training with Bob the BA. I didn't count it towards my contact hours (not sure if he is aligned with PMI) but since he is a Business Analyst it was a great deep dive into user stories.
3. I did use an exam simulator at PM Training
4. After the 37 hours of videos, I probably spent another 40-50 hours reading the books and taking the test/quizzes in them. I probably spent another 20 hours working on the exam simulator that I purchased. From an calendar perspective, I started watching the videos in October 2016 and took the test in early April 2017. I took 2 weeks off in December and I probably worked a few hours a day/several days a week on the materials. I did not study on the weekends - I have 2 young kids and knew that I would not get focused time outside of work. My job allowed me to study during working hours as part of professional development as long as my projects didn't suffer.
I also read this blog: edward-designer.com/web/pmi-acp/
He has a lot of tips about studying, exam simulators, applying for the cert, etc. - I found Edward's information VERY helpful and comprehensive