I’ve also got the Linux Basics for Hackers book but it’s at home while I’m on vacation.
I’m just really happy rn yall :) this install took some work, SecureBoot kept getting in the way and I’m not the most savvy person so there was a lot of Googling and trial and error in the way of getting here.
That’s awesome choice, even though I wouldn’t choose Mint for myself at that point.
It’s really nice you read on Linux, that will help you a lot if you decide to give Arch a try. Don’t bother putting it straight on your hardware. Experiment in VM first and commit to it if you feel confident and like it :)