I get smart by being against the wall. Maybe a sign of internet ADD. I've tried reading, rarely worked. I watched tons of talks, sometimes deeply inspiring, most of the time the equivalent of a TV show for emacs nerds. I learned the most in crysis (bricked os, fubared hdd, proving for interviews, having a client).

ps: btw, try MOOCs, it had a positive effect on me, people compared it to IRL college, but I found the irc channels more open to discussing problems, replaying classes very good when your brains shuts down, the self pacing valuable too.