Again, there is already a well known solution for this problem -- C++

And it's trivial to upgrade to from C

So basically, use EITHER idiomatic C, which means long functions / few internal interfaces, reuse with ABIs not APIs, bespoke data structures, etc.

OR use C++ and ADTs (type safety, abstraction, polymorphism). Or use Rust if you don't need compatibility.

So books like CII are of very limited use, especially not for beginners. They will be fighting with the language and not understanding what it's about.