Yeah, I always play human players. To be honest I don't now how they program the computers to play that badly. For computer level I mean where a good computer can blitz out moves almost instantly that will challenge > 90% of chess players.
I tend to watc chess videos rather than rea books though, except for Yasser Seirewan's seires of books which I have mostly read.
level 1 - 400
level 2 - 600
level 3 - 800
level 4 - 1000
level 5 - 1200
level 6 - 1400
level 7 - 1600
level 8 - 1800
level 9 - 2000
level 10 - 2600
"Chess for Dummies" is actually a pretty good book. If you're losing on level 1 then you're either violating the principles/guidelines mentioned in that book, or falling prey to typical low-level tactics (forks, pins, exchanges, etc.). I'd say most any beginner's book is good when first starting out. For customized advice you can post your games in the Game Analysis section.
Don't play the computers......play real people.....computers do not help you to learn, real people do! Thank you. 
I would love to play you in a game. I am not very good myself and maybe we can get better together.
Possibly helpful:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1949)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Discovering Chess Openings by GM Johm Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Hey all! 26 years old and just starting to play. I taught myself the rules through this site over the past week, but I'm absolutely overwhelmed right now. I've been playing very casual games against friends (real life and through the chess.com app), and picked up 'Chess For Dummies'.. and have been pulling my hair out playing against the computer.. on level 1.. and constantly losing. Couple questions! 1. How good is the computer on level 1? I imagine it isn't good, I'm just a guy whose been only playing a week 😖 and 2. Can anyone suggest a good book that will just give me some very general principles to stick by during my games that may help me out? Not looking for too much on specific strategy or tactics... just a good, easy to understand book that will give me some solid principles that will get me going in the right direction.
Thanks for any and all help!
Mike