I see by the old Book-O-Matic™ clock on the wall that it has been at least 5 minutes since I've posted a bibliographical reference of some kind, so here is a short list of books that are not directly about code. They are a kind of indirect pointer to coding.
I recommend these books as a small part of what it takes to ground yourself in the art and practice of programming. Read these when you wonder what it is all about. Read them when you wonder why bother? Hell, just read them— test on Monday!
Update: Fixed links.
–hsm
"Never try to teach a pig to sing…it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."