Reddit mentions of Adobe Photoshop CS4 HowTos: 100 Essential Techniques

this series of HOW-TOs are great because they focus on 100 essential techniques for each program. why i like them so much is because you can go through them pretty quickly and they will give you a great base to work from. then will feel more comfortable tacking more complex techniques. in addition, mastering these first will give you the capability to begin designing things.

the adobe training books are great but they're really long and go into too much detail for someone just starting out. you want to get your feet wet first before you jump into these books lest they discourage you due to the apparent daunting size of how much there is to learn.

also, you can buy these books at the store, finish them in a week and return them for 100% refund. i'm just saying.