Hi boi,
I think we are in the same boat. After jcpowers21 instant messaged me through installing XWindows from source code on my Mac (the guy is a Saint)!, I decided I needed to pay my dues and become much more self sufficient. I have a few books which are basically *nix command dictionaries and although these types of books are (or will be) quite useful once one knows something of what they are doing, I personally needed more guidance. I just bought "Visual QuickStart Guide, Unix" by Deborah and Eric Ray, PeachPit Press, and it is really helping me get a firm handle on the basics of Unix. It starts off with many simple commands and quickly progresses. Of course, it may not work for you, so do what I do and go to one of your local bookstores, grab a pile of Unix books, go to the coffee shop (in the bookstore, else you will be arrested) and see which ones you like.
Personally, this is my way of contributing to X on X by giving the gurus more time to port applications, window managers and desktop environments by spending less time tutoring me (though I'm not saying you are in any way a burden to anyone!).
Good luck!
