To echo an earier respondent, "You're (but) a child," yea, verily, an infant in swaddling clothes. I didn't even toddle out to touch the robe till I was past 60.

But (now that I have that little self-indulgence out of the way) my most effective tutor was the project (well, many of them, and all quite basic) that captured my interest and satisfied a personal or professional need.

And yes, I blasphemed; I cursed the documents at times; I cried out to the heavens at my own rockheadedness; my lack of any CS studies other than those that we self-directed (and the fact that the lessons learned were, thus, spotty and sometimes wrong).

But, persevere! Study as you can, but leaven the host with projects you fancy. Is it a phonebook; a filter; or some other tool that would make your life easier? Why, then, work on one that seems within your reach... and if you hit a block where perldoc -f (something), Search, google, your texts (AND your attempts!) leave you unenlightened, the Monastery's Reverend Brothers (and Sisters) will be pleased to scourge^H^H^H^H^H^H^H dispel your ignorance and add to your fund of knowledge.

So, go in peace, Acolyte and in the faithful hope that you will "internalize the basics" if you refuse to abandon yourself to despair.