I was about 17 when I encountered The Hacker's Dictionary . It hasn't been updated much for years, but I think it would still provide an easy-to-read gateway into the way programmers think and some interesting tidbits of history. Reading or watching Guy Steele's Growing a Language talk could be fun. The Little Schemer could be a good choice. Van der Linden's Expert C Programming covers some serious C topics, but is a…
The Hackers Dictionary by ESR?