Ask HN: Help me cram Java

Hi everyone,

I've got a background mainly in dynamic OO languages (Python, Ruby and JS). I'm starting to read a lot of stuff on OO design, patterns, code quality and so on, but I'm facing the reality that many of the 'classics' (Go4, Martin Fowler's books, GOOS and such) are written with the assumption that everyone's doing Java. I'm looking for resources that will help get my Java reading comprehension up to a level where following code examples doesn't feel like translating Assyrian tomb inscriptions, ideally quickly although I'm aware it's a big language. Any suggestions much appreciated.