i've decided to take the learned path and buy some REAL books on programmering. the three books i own right now are:

C++ for Dummies
Visual Basic 6 for Dummies
Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus

so yeah, i need something real. i'm going to buy four books (so far), one book every pay. here are, in order of purchase, what i'm going to be getting:

Windows Forms Programming in C# - Chris Sells

Programming C# - Jesse Liberty

Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software - Erich Gamma

C++ Standard Library The: A Tutorial and Reference - Nicolai M. Josuttis

i'm probably going to need a directx9 book eventually - and probably a decent video card to supplement that. but there we have it. i've already ordered the first book, i'm just waiting for it to be shipped. the prices they show at the linky-ends are inaccurate. i ended up paying $81.31can for WinformsC# which is listed there originally at $71.99 and if its taxed 15%HST then the price should be $82.79. *shrug* i asked and they said the prices are wrong, but didn't care to explain further. whatever. i'm getting my books regardless of the cost.