The answer is "probably not". Cormen is too comprehensive and dry for self-study; it's best used as the textbook to back an algorithms course or as a reference to consult later on.

A very good book is Skiena, The Algorithm Design Manual. I usually recommend it to people who want to brush up on their algorithms before programming interviews, but I think it's accessible enough to a novice as well. Its strengths are an intelligent selection of topics and an emphasis on teaching how to select an algorithm in a real-life situation.