Much like books come in both fiction and non-fiction (recreational vs useful), programming needn't be about having real world purpose, it lets you be like Elsa in Frozen - creating and exploring your own worlds for your own enjoyment. I was going to recommend The Armchair Universe as a fantastic guide down the rabbit-hole for new programmers, full of "applications" you can attempt, but it appears to be out of print. I assume that useful programming with real world application is the only reason you're looking to get into programming, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway because non-programmers might not be aware of this aspect, and being sucked away by passion and creativity helps tremendously - you didn't learn how to read books as a child from a desire to read technical manuals or trade treaties.