The good news is there's not really a way to "get the system wrong" if you've paid any attention at all. You might not do it straight by the book, but if you are indeed GTD, then don't sweat it.

As to how you can get through that pile of books. Reading and self-improvement is one of those things that's hard to place in a GTD system. What I would recommend is setting a goal for how fast to get through the pile. Then figure out how fast you need to finish a book to stay on pace. Read quickly the first go.* The progress you are making would need to be an aspect of your weekly review.

The day-to-day grinding through the material is tougher. Many people find it helpful to make appointments with themselves, i.e. put the reading time on calendar and keep that appointment just like any other meeting.

You mention that you are a programmer, so I have some suggestions in that regard as well. In learning a new language or concept, I find it's more helpful to me if I have a project in mind that I plan to use the new concept or technology for. It's hard for me to stay motivated if I don't have some personal stake in it. So, if you're learning Cocoa programming it would be helpful to brainstorm what you envision your first app or plugin or tool doing and work through the material with that in mind. ( This helps me just because I can't motivate myself very well for this-will-be-useful-someday tasks.) It also helps with motivation if you can set a very near deadline for this. Announce that new app on your blog. Post mock-up screenshots. When I buckle down to learn Cocoa programming, it's because I have an idea for a Mail plugin. When I'm serious about doing it, I will announce the plugin on my website, Twitter, Jaiku, and anywhere else I have people watching. I'll even announce a target completion date to put the pressure on. (A very real threat - particularly the threat of shame - is the single greatest motivator. See this story from Primetime.) For me, that threat would be looking like a hack to people I respect in the Mac OS X programming community.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I could write a lot more about it, but I don't want to belabor the point here. Post back or PM me if you wanna talk more.

*This recommendation is based on the 80/20 rule. You will learn 80% of the material (maybe even 90%) in 20% of the time you spend on it and then the remaining 20% is likely to take a significantly longer time. Gruber and Dan Benjamin talked about this rule in relation to photography in Ep03 of The Talk Show.