I have a few years on you (not a lot, but a few). I picked up Perl a couple of years ago to solve a specific problem - I wanted to shove a pile of documentation written using Word into a wiki. I first read the Camel (a fine bedtime read, but not much fun as a reference book as I recall) then happened on PerlMonks. I've now had a good poke around many of Perl's corners and feel I understand a fair chunk of it.

Much of my learning has been SoPW driven - someone asks a SoPW which I know almost nothing about, so I read the module documentation or whatever seems pertinent, figure out an answer and post it. Great way to learn about all sorts of areas of the language and its application!

Actually, its not just Perl I've learned here. Perl has been a spring board for learning a lot more about HTML, XML, CGI, SQL, UNICODE ... . All of which I've found applications for.

So my suggestion? Browse through the SoPWs and see what you can answer (not that you have to post your answer, but the exercise is great). And if you run into stuff you don't understand, post a SoPW. If you don't understand by the time its ready to post then chances are the question will help someone else to enlightenment too.