I started feeding my interest in geology through basic textbooks, USGS and Arizona Bureau Mines publication. The internet has been a godsend to me along with You Tube. Wikipedia and blogs are generally good.
Geology News is particularly good on news of the present state of the discipline. you can audit whole courses on You Tube though I have to be careful as to who is posting and why. It's a great hobby and, as you say, it can get weird. Structural geology has my interest just now. Difficult for me, a slow witted old man. However, it answers "how" questions I've had since reading about and working in Arizona's Superior (Magma) district.