Dive into HTML5

Here's a great collection of resources (compiled by Zed Shaw) for learning about programming, software and web development: - http://programming-motherfucker.com/become.html You'll find resources on Zed's site that will help you learn the web development toolchain as well. You'll want a good editor, an understanding of git and version control, as well as the command line (apologies if you're acquainted with these already but looking to get into web development). Another thing to remember is that once you grasp the basics, you can learn a lot from reading other people's code (especially libraries) and the associated documentation. Some other resources that helped me out immensely when I was getting started (or that I wish I'd read): A great overview of JavaScript. - http://eloquentjavascript.net/ Once you get the basics of JS down, this book will help you learn how to organize your code better. - http://addyosmani.com/resources/essentialjsdesignpatterns/bo... (http://addyosmani.com/resources/essentialjsdesignpatterns/book/) An overview of HTML5. - http://fortuito.us/diveintohtml5/…

You can't go wrong with any of those books. Given your interest in mobile/web apps, my recommendation is to start with Eloquent Javascript then Dive into HTML5 and then DOM Scripting. With those three, you'll have a solid base for what the next 5 years of what technology trends will throw at you. Eventually you'll need to start working more with stuff on the server side. Once that time comes, you'll know enough to choose the server side language that makes the most sense for you (my bet is that you'll probably end up choosing between Javascript, Python, Ruby or Clojure in that order).

In addition to what others have said, I would add The Little Schemer to the list. It may not seem like the most practical book, but it will make you a better programmer. Beyond that, I would reiterate the following suggestions put forth by others: -- How to Design Programs (get version 2. Racket, the IDE for this book, is practically plug-and-play, so you won't waste time prepping your development environment) -- Think Python by Allen Downey (i haven't read this one, but it comes very highly recommended. the excerpts I've read show that Allen communicates the concepts very clearly) -- Eloquent Javascript (very good introduction, all examples can be done directly in the browser with the specially-made console. This eliminates the time and confusion you will experience trying to set up a development environment with other languages.) On top of those I'd also add: -- The C Programming Language by K&R (if you are interested in C) -- Dive into HTML5 (if you are interested in web development. HTML is a markup language, but you are going to need it to be able to build web stuff. This book complements Eloquent Javascript nicely) -- Land of Lisp…