This was my (or rather my father's) chess library when I started to learn chess as a kid:
Winning Chess Tactics Illustrated (Horowitz)
Logical Chess: Move by Move (Chernev)
Fischer v. Spassky (C. H. O'D Alexander)
(Although I like Logical Chess for its applicable themes and game selection, I wouldn't necessarily recommend the other two to a beginner, but this was all I had!)
As a beginner, I felt I made the most tangible progress with Logical Chess, although working tactics definitely helped. I put a lot of work into reading this book. I even went through it all a second time. I could see progress when I didn't have to move the pieces over the board to understand variations. The abundance of resources today probably makes chess study confusing for the beginner. I think it would be a good idea to choose three quality books and stick to them. Chess is a struggle and some new concepts won't be easy to understand right away. If you have 45 books, it is probably easier to get distracted from learning one book well. I didn't have a choice but to focus on three books when I started, but you may need to use some restraint to limit your selection. I think studying one book well is much better than superficially reading ten. (Note I made the distinction of "studying" - it makes a difference to read actively with a board in front of you and ask your own questions.)
A silman's endgame book has a section for each rating range