A few main things to keep in mind.

Burn hardwoods, not softwoods. Hardwoods are maple, birch. Softwoods are pine, other conifers.

You want "seasoned" wood, which is wood that has been cut and has dried for an extended period of time, some places suggest a year or longer. The water evaporates off, making a cleaner, longer, and hotter burn.

Hardwood can be expensive. If you're really wanting to use your fireplace a lot, consider buying in relatively large quantities and storing.

Some jurisdictions have restrictions on how far you can cart wood, due to invasive species like the Emerald Ash borer. Know your local laws.

This is the perfect time of year to have a fire! I hope you enjoy it.
Source(s):
http://www.ehow.com/how_2215500_find-different-types-wood-burn.html

http://www.faculty.sfasu.edu/mcbroommatth/Lectures/Wood_Science/Lecture_5_H...

http://www.ehow.com/how_2002578_buy-firewood-fireplace.html

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Hard woods are the best. They burn the hottest and the longest.
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WE BURN OAK, MADRONE OR PEPPERWOOD. THEY BURN LONGER AND HOTTER THAN OTHER WOODS AND THE PEPPERWOOD HAS A WONDERFUL SMELL AS IT BURNS.
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Normally hardwoods like maple, ash, apple, cherry, chestnut, birch, hickory, walnut, oak and the like.

Avoid softwoods as they are hard to burn, burn cool and creosote the chimney which could lead to a chimney fire.

Hard woods are best seasoned for a whole year after they are cut. So you should have two seasons of split wood outside every fall (bark side up). The new cut and split wood to dry and the older cut to burn. This is will result in easy to light, nice burning, heat giving fires.

Unseasoned firewood is damp and heat is lost evaporating that water, indeed it is more difficult to light and keep going.

When you pickup deadfall around your yard (all year round) from twigs to small branches remember to cut them up for kindling. These dry out quite quickly and can usually be used in the same season.
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