Newsgroups: comp.text.tex

Recently, I rambled over the inet from FAQ pages trying to figure out the ways to go further from using the default \text?? fonts. I found that those FAQs assumes some basic knowledge that I don't have, so I haven't been able to put all puzzles into a big picture yet. So I'm just wondering:

What would you suggest to a newbie if he wants to wander further in the Tex world and try to use more fonts to beautify the output. What are the easy steps for him to take off? where are the valuable web pages that can give him a hand? … so on, and finally, after his success with the first easy step, are there any other options (ie, more difficult ones) out there for him to conquer if he is really ambitious…