The complete beginner should start with Harris & Harris "Digital Design and Computer Architecture" (David Harris is one of "CMOS VLSI Design" authors), it provides a gentle introduction into the underlying physics but focuses more on the logic of the whole endeavor, i.e. how to get from transistors to CPUs.
Looks like there's a 2nd ed (mips based?) and an "arm edition" (more recent?) of the same title by the same authors. Online reviews are sparse, wonder which is better now?
Weste and Eshraghian was (and may still be) the Bible for a very long time: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-CMOS-VLSI-Design-Perspecti...
It's a lot newer (and nicer) than most other references.
I would avoid Mead and Conway because it's really dated. It's not wrong, but a beginner won't know which parts to skip.
If you're looking for something about VLSI layout design, "The Art of Analog Layout (2nd Edition)" by Hastings would be the choice: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Analog-Layout-2nd/dp/0131464108/r...