Good source to learn about the basics of integrated circuits?
Check out https://code.google.com/p/elementary-microprocessor/. It's a basic microprocessor I designed for educational purposes simulated in a Java program so it should work on any platform. Read the introduction and it has links to other designs that are even more basic in case the Elementary Microprocessor is more difficult than you are ready to take on. It doesn't go into the physical design, just the logical design but the documentation is in plain English, avoids technical terms and defines them when used, and doesn't assume the reader has ever taken a class on the subject. Good luck!

Also, it comes with some pretty bad Perl scripts that serve as an assembler to help you write programs that do work when imported into the simulator program. You can email me for any questions at all.
-Rory