[themarkn]

At 15 I sat with a book about QBASIC and got to a certain point, got stuck, and had nobody around me to ask for help and no idea what to do. I decided I wasn't smart enough for programming and stuck to basic html and CSS for years and years. I avoided CS in college. I turned out ok, but: I can code! I was wrong when I gave up, but I didn't know that because the resources weren't approachable enough for me. And maybe my determination and self-belief wasn't as strong back then. I wanted to be a game developer really badly growing up. And then I found a book that taught me I couldn't program.

I like the new stuff better!

[z3t4]

If you get stuck following a book or a tutorial it's warranted to send an letter or e-mail to the author telling them where you got stuck. They will be happy to know where their book can be improved.

[croon]

This is very true once you start producing content for people yourself (if you ever do), but it's probably something that almost no one reading a book considers doing.