Get Good at Programming

Serious question. How do I get good? I know C and Java but I don't really know programming outside of loops and pointers and simple programming exercises and shit. When I try to read source code from a small open source C project, I get daunted and just stop before I even begin because everything just looks alien to me. There are stuff like makefiles and shit. It makes me sad. I don't even know data structures yet. I want to read SICP but I'm not comfortable with it yet so I'm reserving that book when I've amassed enough background.

>>1
Read SICP and K&R, seriously. Then go with Learn You a Haskell. After that the classic Data Structures and Algorithms.
When you finish all those books you may start with some problem sets like Project Euler, IPSC, ACM ICPC, etc.