Hey, Chow
As for books for UX n00bs, there's a lot to look at and plenty of lists out on Google. Not knowing your background and now n00b you are, it's difficult to give a more targeted list, but here's a few off the top of my head:
Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug
User Experience Team Of One by Leah Buley
Undercover User Experience Design by Cennydd Bowles and James Box
Elements Of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett
The Design Of Everyday Things by Don Norman (this has recently been updated and I'd like to "book club it")
The Inmates Are Running The Asylum by Alan Cooper
Designing For The Digital Age by Kim Rees (it's a big book but covers an awful lot of one process of working through a project)
There are so many more books to recommend, but those, I think, are a good place to start if you're looking for UX books.
If anyone else on the list would like to chime in with other books and opinions, please do.
Francis