Learning to Draw (for beginers)

I'm 40ish, no art classes beyond middle school, no formal training, have always liked art and wanted to learn to draw, but until recently haven't had time to learn a new skill. I picked up all the supplies needed at Amazon for under $40 (though I had to add a couple movies to get the free shipping). You can start with just some regular old paper and a standard H-2 pencil--same one you use in everyday at work, home, or school--you can get away with an h-2 pencil for the first part of the book, but as the lessons advance you're asked to use more shading, so getting a set is ideal if you plan going past the introductory lessons. BTW, nice to meet you, I'm generalizethis.

Here are supplies I started with:

The book has a lot history and science, so you can get through it faster by skimming past a few chapters to the lessons.

The first thing you are supposed to draw is a self-portrait. I didn't have a hand mirror, so I just drew a scene from Blade Runner.

Next is a person from memory--the book outlines how most memories are stored symbols, and that for most people, these symbols need to be refined in order better represent a realistic portrait (short: it won't look like the person you're trying to draw unless you've been trained or are a savant).

Lastly, you're gone to draw your hand.

That's it. That's your baseline--it's good to keep so you can look back and see how far you've progressed. You should see a major improvement in the next exercise.