I think it’s an age thing. I’m pre internet by several years and remember reading most of the books you give here. Reading online sucks as well - it’s much harder to remember stuff. O’Reilly try really hard with Safari but it’s a pain. I remember hearing a podcast (on Conversations Network somewhere) that was saying in general people are finding it harder and harder to pay attention to stuff because of this - always want it now - even when it is poor quality and not a lot of use.
You can also read books in bed without scorching your lap and scribble on them. It’s easier to try coding examples from a book because you’re less likely to cut and paste them and learn nothing. Typing it in makes you think about what you’re doing.
That said, I agree about the quality of programming books. I’ve been doing Ruby now for about a year and understand a lot of the deep stuff - code generation, metaprogramming etc., that can save you loads of time if you use it intelligently. I recently picked up a book on design patterns and the first third of the book was an introduction to Ruby padding it out - WHY? This ground already covered extremely well by at least 5 other authors - I want the advanced stuff (but couldn’t find it). And 40 (yup $80 or so) was a pure rip.
Also - you haven’t mentioned this - but I learned a TON of stuff at the Euoropean Rails conference and Scotland on Rails. Go to conferences and hang out with other coders, look at what they’re doing. Be humble.