" It should be called "Learning how to read a textbook on your own." Successful self-learners don't just __read__ a textbook. They toil with it, try proving things on paper themselves, work through exercises, attempt to apply it to some real-world situation, and hunt down someone who's smarter than they are to explain something that seems unclear."

+n.

I wasted 3 years trying to avoid this bit. On the positive side, once you learn to do this you will never be afraid of any book or paper again.