Ask HN: Which programming books are suitable for self study for beginners?

For people with mathematical maturity there are options like SICP and other. But for those who are not so much mathematically apt, what are the options for bookish learning?

Are there books suitable for SELF STUDY that don't water things down but actually teach programming in any language? By not watering things down, I mean that the student doesn't just learn a bunch of libraries or frameworks and after finishing the book doesn't know how to solve problems on own.