Reddit mentions of Literature and the Economics of Liberty: Spontaneous Order in Culture

I came here to post Economics for Dummies as well. The for Dummies books can be hit or miss, but I felt like that one was pretty good. Well organized, good at explaining the basics without getting lost in technical jargon, and it has a glossary of terms in the back (something a lot of the For Dummies series books don't have).

If you are interested in politics and economics, then I would recommend anything by Joseph Stiglitz, Milton Friedman, David Friedman, Frederich Hayek, John Kenneth Gailbraith.

If you are interested in economics more as a social science and how it relates to everyday life, I would recommend Superfreakonomics, More Sex is Safer Sex by Steven Landsburg, Discover Your Inner Economist by Tyler Cowen, and Predictably Irrational by Daniel Ariel.

Also, you should check out the economics, finance, and banking videos on khan Academy as well.

Also--don't just study economics by itself. Economics is great, but some people who study it get tunnel vision and think that the "economist" way of thinking is the only way we make decisions. Throw in some psychology, political science, anthropology, even literature and it will enrich your understanding of economics and vice versa.

And a final note--also remember that economics is not like science and engineering in that it is always value neutral. Usually when people argue for one type of public policy or another, and use economic reasoning to justify it, there are usually implicit ethical arguments they are making as well. If you can pick up on these as well, you will be a more astute observer of the news and a wiser policy maker if that is the direction you wish to go. For more on that, you should check out this book, although it is a little bit more advanced.