Good day,

I am pretty new to Linux, have been using Ubuntu for little more than a year now, and played little with Red Hat 23 years ago when I got it on a CD with a computer magazine

I really want to get a better and deeper understanding of how it works and get more accustomed to using shell commands. I have been trying to find out what distro I should set up on my new computer - user friendly is not the main issue, since I always have my Ubuntu on the other side of the desk - more like a distro that would force me into understanding and learning.

I am wondering if Linux From Scratch wouldn't be ideal for this purpose? And since I like it much better to have my learning material on paper then I am wondering if someone knows if this book "Linux from Scratch" by Gerard Beekmans, published the year 2000, is good for this purpose or if I should try to find one more recently published? Any recommendations for a good book?

no, I wouldn't say LFS is the ideal way, but that is a possible way. If you wish you can definitely give it a try.

As a side note - the LFS book is updated and on line, including new chapters.

http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/read.html

Delpux,

You could also consider Arch, Slackware or CentOS.

Here's some free stuff that may prove useful:

https://itsfoss.com/learn-linux-for-free/

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I would definitely say Slackware. You seem to be ready for it now and it will teach you how to use the CLI and a lot about system administration. It's also a very good-tempered distro which seldom goes wrong.

LFS is indeed based on Beekman's book, although the build procedures have changed a lot over the years. But I wouldn't recommend LFS immediately. It certainly teaches you how to build a Linux system, but you need to follow the instructions slavishly, so the opportunities for learning are not as great as you might imagine. I have seen people who went right through the book, got a bootable system (hooray!), and then made posts which showed that they didn't really understand what they had done.

If you do want to do LFS later, Slackware is the ideal build host.

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Almost any distribution would work as a platform for really getting into using shell commands. Just boot into level 3 (or "multiuser" if it uses Systemd). I can't recommend Slackware enough for learning Linux via the CLI. It boots into "level 3" by default.

Sorry I can't recommend any specific books nowadays---I've sort of lost track of the "beginners" texts. Your local bookstore likely has a "Computers" section and you could browse through the Table of Contents and Index of the "Learning...", "How to...", or "... for Dummies" books and see which one(s) look like they cover the topics you're interested in learning about, whether the author's writing style is something you like, etc. Back when I was a youngun, SAMS Publishing's books like "UNIX Unleashed", "Linux Unleashed" (this one included the CD with Slackware that I first learned on) were my constant companions. Come to think of it, your local library may have some of those old texts. Just be aware that technical texts in libraries are often outdated---Linux is moving along pretty fast. However, if you were to choose Slackware for your learning experience, those older texts in the library may work out just fine. Even if the details aren't exactly what your distribution employs, you'll get the general flavor of how Linux is configured. Browsing through sections 1, 5, and 8 of the manpages will do you a world of good, too.

Good luck... and have fun.

The only way to learn and understand Linux is to use it for a long time. 10 years or roundabouts will put you at a point where 99% of the time you can fix the problem yourself.

Books wise. Unix made easy by John Muster was what I used early on. Running zipslack somewhere around 20 years ago. I started at Slackware and then tried almost every distro going. I have built LFS twice. its a real pain in the ass. Do it when you understand what a toolchain is, and have some understanding of building from source. Don't do it blindly, you will just spend days pulling your hair out.

I suggest Slackware as your next distro, also read the slackware manual all the way through, then print it off and put it in a binder. You will need to re-read it after the install. To get any decent software installed you will need to learn about sbo, but first you will need all the dependencies. its a harsh tutor. Everything you do on the journey will teach you a little more. if you want a challenge, get Steam to work and games to run. Thankfully its not as bad as it was in years gone by. When i first ran Slackware, you had to compile web browsers from source and often you would have to build a kernel from source to get some feature or device to work, such as modems. Nowadays its a lot easier, but im not sure if its better, since you almost learn less from it being easy.

Just have fun with it.