What are good ways to learn modern C as a complete beginner without relying heavily on books?

You can learn from video courses, online tutorials, and documentation, but you’ll still need to read quite a bit of code and explanations. Work through small exercises as you go—write simple programs, compile them, and gradually explore pointers, arrays, structs, memory management, and file handling. A book isn’t mandatory, but consistent practice is.

If you strongly dislike reading, C may be frustrating because understanding code and technical explanations is unavoidable. You don’t have to start with a huge book, though: follow short lessons, type the examples yourself, change them, and solve small problems. That approach can make the reading feel more purposeful.

Documentation and tutorial sites can be useful references, and videos may help explain difficult topics. Just be careful with outdated material—make sure the course covers reasonably modern C rather than relying entirely on old compiler-specific features. Reading documentation and example code is still an important part of programming.

For a first language, a structured class or beginner-friendly course may be easier than studying alone. Use an online tutorial alongside a compiler and build tiny projects so the concepts stick. C rewards patience, so there isn’t really a shortcut that avoids learning the fundamentals.