[kmfrk]

Read about the basics on http://htmldog.com and try it immediately. After running through the entire tutorial, find a project, actual or fictitious. Visualize what you want it to look like and stick with it and start reading books once you run into problems.

Smashing Magazine and A List Apart are good places to search for answers to CSS and HTML in detail. If you read five books before you get your hands dirty, you can be fairly sure to have forgotten most of it by the time you actually try it in the wild.

After that, you can check out resources and literature, but don't overtheorize it. Many people keep researching, when they seem afraid to try the actual subject.