[silenteh]

For anybody interested in learning electronics and hardware design, I suggest this book: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Pla...

It really helped me to get into hardware in a structured and clear way.

A must read.

[mwoodworth]

a little more on the analog design end, but I like:

The Art of Electronics by Horowitz & Hill

Integrated Electronics by Millman and Halkias (There was allegedly a newer edition published in 2001)

Electrical Engineering 101: Everything You Should Have Learned in School... but Probably Didn’t by Darren Ashby

Microelectronic Circuits by Sedra & Smith (Look around for a 4th edition)

[vonmoltke]

I second all of the above. The Art of Electronics was my first non-required textbook purchase, and the 4th edition of Microelectronic Circuits was my textbook for two semesters of electronics and came in handy for multiple other classes.

To that list I would add the student manual that goes along with The Art of Electronics, as well as the Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits series from McGraw-Hill. Both those choices are more on the practical side of circuit construction. The Encyclopedia in particular has an abundance of circuit designs with varying levels of explanation that make good starting points for learning about or experimenting with particular circuit functions.

[evck]

The Art of Electronics by Horowitz & Hill gets my vote. A bit outdated, but the fundamentals don't change. Third edition is vapourware, but expected out late 2013.