i am also new to electronics, and i guess i will pass on a little pearl of wisdom passed onto me by ETO's very own 3v0 "this isnt a spectator sport!", so i guess the best way to learn is dream up so projects and get the soldering iron out and have a go. i desoldered loads of junk to get parts at the start, that way when i made magic smoke it didnt matter. i have also found posting questions on here and reading post after post you gain nuggets of info.
personaly after reading alot of books i have come to the conclusion that jumping in and trying to make things is much more fun and a quicker way to learn...........................BUT that dosnt mean i am right..