I sounds like you have enough knowlege and reference information to do a good job. All you need now is experience to show you which bits of wisdom are the wisest.

I'd recommend diving right in and coding now. Close the books, devise a small cgi application, and code it. One or two database tables and four to eight display pages would be a good size. The subject doesn't matter, but you will get more out of it if there are several interesting views of the data.

It is convenient to choose an application where you can import the database itself, rather than rely on public interest to populate the tables. File systems, logs and the like are handy for this. GIS, math tables, census, and academic projects can also provide for you.

Use perldoc when you need specific information. Assume that you will be using the application for years to come (it might be true). Share your code here, listen to comments.

When you're done, reread the excellent books you mentioned. Their clarity and intellegence will astound you and you will get a new round of benefit from them.

After Compline,
Zaxo