[pdenya]

Run through almost any programming book once and do enough examples that you have a handle on what you're reading. The point of this is to get familiar with basic programming (syntax, conditional logic, etc).

Once you're through the book start a project with a specific goal in mind and go about implementing it. If you get stuck search on google or stack overflow.

A solid background in a language is something acquired by getting things for long enough. The goal should be knowing "enough to get things done" and continuously putting that knowledge to use.