Stephen Pinker’s How the Mind Works
It helps to have a passing familiarity with programming and self-organizing systems, but on the whole it’s an extremely fun and readable introduction to how cells can compute. Pinker demolishes a lot of philosophical fortresses built around the ever-sliding concept of “consciousness” without even really trying. Scientists are never so gleeful as in the rush to explain what exciting things they’ve learned, and despite the book’s length, that energy rarely flags. A highly recommended science read.