I don't just read code for the hell of it, I'm usually trying to get something specific out of it, so usually I try to figure out where the core of what I'm rea

I don't just read code for the hell of it, I'm usually trying to get something specific out of it, so usually I try to figure out where the core of what I'm reading is at (starting with grep), occasionally cutting away the surrounding code and perhaps irrelevant comments with my editor. That said, I'm not downplaying reading code; it's an important skill. But you don't have to just read the code of the masters; you can jump in and add to and fix bugs in stuff from a wealth of OSS projects and there you'll get feedback from those folks too as you get involved. I personally get a much better understanding of a block of code if I treat it as a living thing and hack around with it seeing what breaks it and what makes it go.