As an electronics teacher, I don't think it is specifically that learning from books is difficult but that it is hard to strike the balance between theory and practice, the high level and the low level.
As a hobby electronics enthusiast who has been dabbling with this stuff basically my whole life, and is currently lodged firmly somewhere in the gap between "total n00b" and "advanced beginner", I would absolutely agree. The gap between practice and theory in this field is so large, and so many books are all the way at one end of the spectrum or the other, that it's very hard (in my experience) to find material in the "sweet spot" between theory and practice.
The reality is, you can learn a lot, and do a lot, with a moderately superficial knowledge of the underlying theory. But at the same time, there's a lot you can't do, or a lot of mistakes you can make unknowingly, without knowing the theory. Learning it incrementally, piece-meal as needed, is somewhat doable, but it's a slog. I wish I had a good answer for people who want to "do some electronics" but don't want to go get an E.E. degree.
I'm in the same position more or less. I recently discovered a book that looks to be a good "intermediate" theory text: Passive Circuit Analysis with LTSpice: an Interactive Approach.
Only have the kindle sample at present, as it's a fair chunk of money for my budget.
As a hobby electronics enthusiast who has been dabbling with this stuff basically my whole life, and is currently lodged firmly somewhere in the gap between "total n00b" and "advanced beginner", I would absolutely agree. The gap between practice and theory in this field is so large, and so many books are all the way at one end of the spectrum or the other, that it's very hard (in my experience) to find material in the "sweet spot" between theory and practice.
The reality is, you can learn a lot, and do a lot, with a moderately superficial knowledge of the underlying theory. But at the same time, there's a lot you can't do, or a lot of mistakes you can make unknowingly, without knowing the theory. Learning it incrementally, piece-meal as needed, is somewhat doable, but it's a slog. I wish I had a good answer for people who want to "do some electronics" but don't want to go get an E.E. degree.