These are just a few books that have helped me get a better grasp on programming in general.

C Programming                                                                                                                                                           

ISBN 1-56592-035
This was my first book on C programming and it’s probably the best place to start. It focuses on a UNIX environment but nearly all of the book is totally applicable to other OS’s.

ISBN 1-861001-14-2
I can’t remember when I picked this one up. It probably isn’t the best to learn from, but it’s a handy reference.

ISBN 0-13-131509-9
This is a must have if you’re going to do any extensive C programming. This is most definitely a reference book but quite a good one. The author was on the committee that established the Standard C Library.

ISBN 1-56592-453-3
An excellent book that covers the common algorithms such as linked lists, stacks and queues. It also covers more advanced topics like data compression and encryption.

Windows Programming                                                                                                                                               

ISBN 1-57231-995
This is pretty much the definitive guide to programming for windows. This edition is getting a little dated so look for a 6^th edition soon (hopefully). This is a great book that really helps de-mystify the asinine architecture of the windows API. If you want to get into Windows programming, get this book and a bottle of aspirin.

Graphics Programming                                                                                                                                               

Here’s a collection of books that sits on my desk for reference. They’re really helpful for graphics programming, but they’re also really helpful for using the programs as well. I’m listing them in order of usefulness to me, their subjects may vary wildly though.

ISBN 0-02-354856-8
This book is a little pricey but it’s worth it. It’s billed as a textbook for learning openGL, however it spends more time explaining 3D graphics than it does on openGL. So as a reference for openGL I’d give it a thumbs down, but for a CG text it gets a big thumbs up.

ISBN 0-12-228760-6
This is a classic book with contributions from very well known CG programmers like Steve Worley (Worley Labs), Ken Musgrave (Pandromeda), Darwyn Peachey (PIXAR) and Ken Perlin (as in Perlin noise). If you want to get into shader writing this is a great place to start, and if not it’s still a very good read.

ISBN 0-07-05350-2
What can I say it’s a math book. If you don’t understand transformation matrices or curve and surface approximation then you should probably read this.

ISBN 0-201-62756-6
I haven’t seen this one in the stores for quite a while so I’m not sure if it’s still in print. If you have no clue how 3D programs do what they do then this is a good book. If you already understand transformations and basic shading techniques then you can probably skip this one.

ISBN 1-55860-618-1
This book is great if you’re into writing shaders for RenderMan. But it’s also great if you’re writing shaders for anything!

ISBN 1-57169-164-2
If you’re going to write anything that uses openGL, read this and keep it handy when you’re coding.

There are plenty of others, but this should get you started… and set you back a few bucks. I would add to the list all of the SIGGRAPH Conference Proceedings and many of the Course Notes.