TAOCP is too detailed and too deep as a beginner's book; you first want something lighter that you can worth through end-to-end before taking on a 7-volume book that is still not even finished (volume 4b of 7 in progress at the time of writing).

Note I am _not_ saying TAOCP isn't readable, I consider it very well written. But it's terse, hard, too deep and too detailed for a beginner, IMHO.