Start Coding, People go Crazy

One of the biggest mistakes I used to make was reading programming books start to finish, and then coding. I would read in a comfy chair and code at a desk. Laziness would kick in, and I'd sit and read, instead of popping over to the desk and coding what I just learned.

The second mistake I used to make is wasting time (and $$) on crappy books without researching reviews first. I like the philosophy behind Zed's tutorial - learn by doing - but I was wondering what Python programmers thought of it.