I read the "for dummies" books at one point because I thought they might explain some concepts I didn't feel I understood very well in very basic "Lego" terms. I was not very impressed with their coverage of basic electronics.
The Malvino book suggested above is very well-written, but it is more of a "second-term" college book, rather than starting off as though the reader knows nothing about electronics.
Scherz/Monk's book is useful as a reference, but if you're not comfortable with calculus, the theory chapter might be a little confusing, and it is enormous in length. I would advise setting aside "chunks" of it to read, as it's a lot to take in all at once, and the mathematical/typographical errors in it are off-putting although there are errata pages available for the third edition here if you search this forum for them.
Edit: I have the second edition of "The Art of Electronics" and its companion lab manual. TAOE is definitely not a "beginner" text, unless you are a physics grad student interested in getting out of your comfort zone and experimenting with circuit design. Although the lab manual allows it to be used in this way, it was never really intended as a primer in the usual sense of the word; it assumes you know a thing or two about the laws of physics if not circuit behavior. I'm astonished that there are people who have the commensurate experience and understanding to learn the fundamentals of electronics utilizing this book without extensive formal education or a mentor, but they're out there. I take my hat off to them. I came away from my first reading of the tome as more of a review for designers who already have a firm grasp of what they're doing and enjoy some professional insight. I understand it's deemed indispensable to those in the know, but much of it goes over my head, even though the book is not as formula-heavy as some.
My reservations about these books are just my own grievances as a rank amateur. Students in an engineering setting swear by these books over the textbooks assigned by their professors for class, and they have more at stake. I'll just tell you what I've personally found useful to me. (Disclaimer: I am not an EE or an educator; I'm a hobbyist. At this point I've read many primers, including most of the "classic noob texts" like the ARRL Handbook and Forest Mim's series which got a lot of people started.)
I've already mentioned this book in the "Primer" thread, but that thread is really about free resources and I really had no business posting in it as I don't have a link to a free PDF. It's called "Electronic Communication" by Robert Shrader, and it's been through six editions although dated (last edition was 1990 I think). I felt that Shrader explained basic concepts-- ground up-- better than any of the other textbooks I've seen. He taught merchant mariners and his main focus was preparing them to maintain radio equipment at sea, and at a certain point in the book it becomes generally about communications systems, radar, etc. But there is no calculus notation in it. I think that or someone who has had a hands-on education specializing in the military already would find it an excellent primer for technicians who are preparing to go into the field. It fit me like an old shoe. YMMV.
I'm currently reading Malvino's "Calculus for Electronics", another primer I found in a box of discarded books at my library. (As you may have guessed, I'm not exactly Captain Calculus. I'm enjoying it, though.) There are tons of free books recycled into pulp every day. The older editions of most textbooks are still educationally valuable, as has been stated in this thread.
After reading several primers, I found an odd book called "Electronics Are For Earthlings". It is unique in the sense that it is not really an electronics primer, but more of a novel made up of analogies. After becoming familiar with the basics, you may find it enlightening-- there are some overgeneralizations in it, but it might help to reinforce understanding in juxtaposition with the book-larnin' dryness of the more conventional texts. I liked it.
Dave has threatened to review some textbooks recently and I hope he decides to do it in a future EEVBlog.
rstofer is right that there are tons of videos out there; they are certainly less dry, possibly more entertaining, and that may well work better for some. I prefer books because if I don't understand something in context, I can stop, reread the whole paragraph/page, or stick a bookmark in and call it a night if I don't feel like I'm making progress. I don't enjoy rewinding or noting where I left off in the video format. Plus I can take a book anywhere without need for wifi or power considerations. I also don't prefer reading backlit, tiny screens. All of that said, I very much enjoyed these animations, which I also found here on one of the myriad threads discussing this topic.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkyBCj4JhHt8DFH9QysGWm4h_DOxT93fb 
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