I didn't notice this thread till now, sorry for that.
All of us will have wildly different answers for you, so be prepared to get conflicting tales of how hard one is over the others.
What do you want to do? Do you want to make web pages and do server side coding? Do you want to write Windows applications, Mac Apps, Android OS apps, Movie's, games, etc....?
How strong are you in math?
My evolution through programming was pretty typical for my time, but I doubt it would be typical today. So I don't really want to tell you how I learned all this crud.
(Dylan is a good example of someone learning programming today. Kid is starting with Java by building Minecraft servers and playing with the Mods in there. )
As far as books: http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/
They write the best books out there.
I am not nearly as good at coding applications (Phone, or Desktop) as I am at DBA level crap. These days I am honestly just a SQL script monkey.
If I had to do it all again, I would stay away from the following languages at the beginner level:
CGI/PERL - No, just no, Seriously. To this day I cannot code in CGI/ PERL. Everyone says its beginner friendly, but its not really. Go do PHP if you really have to
ActionScript - While I am not sure if its 100% dead, lets be honest here, When was the last time anyone played a Flash game, or ran a flash Movie. HTML5 drove the last nail into this languages coffin
Fortran - Old as balls, my mom learned this back in the 80's, Very few use it, very few resources. Those that do use it can make decent money, but I never found it to be worth the headache
Cobol - See above, Sure you can make decent money, but the headache is nuts at the beginner level
PHP - Start with HTML and Java instead, come back to this. You (Everyone) should learn it, but don't' start with it.
AS/400 CL - I got pushed off on learning this for a job I had in Chicago..... Steer away until you have a few years under your belt.
Things to look into at the beginner level:
JavaScript (This is not the same as Java) - I found this easier to learn to be honest, also, it helped me pick up Java (I have heard others reverse the order of what they learned)
C (Note this is the base C programming language, it is not C# or C++, With this you will have a basis for loads of other langauges, also there is ssssoooo much documentation out there that you shouldn't have many issues)
MySQL - Everyone should attempt to learn how databases work. MySQL is a great way to do that. Its really easy and straightforward, but can grow more complex as you grow as a user
HTML4/5 - Honestly, start off with some really basic Hello World pages and then move on. Everyone has to cut their teeth somewhere.
Tools to help you:
Notepad ++ is a great tool for reading code, its Windows Notepad on steroids.
http://notepad-plus-plus.org/
This website:
http://stackoverflow.com/
Lastly for now:
Start a series of cheat sheets, or even a google drive and store little chunks of code in it. You will find yourself developing your own flavor of coding as you learn more and more. By saving these little code chunks you will save yourself headache in the future.
Do NOT try to reinvent the wheel, find code that works, and then steal it. Seriously, we all do it.
T. S. Eliot, who in 1920 wrote “Immature poets imitate, mature poets steal”, really nailed it down. Find something that someone else did really well, and drop it in your tool kit so you can in turn use it. just be sure you understand why the code works how it does.
Example of one I swiped back in November, that has saved my ass more than I care to admit.