Then maybe it's time to expand your horizon a bit, he also has another book about Erlang that's a bit more beginner level: http://learnyousomeerlang.com/ , I promise you that if you stick to it for a couple of weeks that you will not regret investing your time even if you never use Erlang professionally. Some of the philosophy behind it and the methodical way of attacking a problem will rub off and will make you a better programmer in the longer term.