I'm always on the lookout for new books to read, but sometimes I want to learn a little bit about a book before committing to it. So this is right up my alley, kudos.

Glad it can be helpful!

You could also try Figma Make. Pretty good at making app concepts that are well designed, and you can try it out on a free plan.

will see what's up with it. also want to get some code testing in the project as practice

And the last 2% is often the hardest part. The low-hanging fruit has been picked, so you're left with these tricky edge cases that may not have a straightforward solution.

Honestly, just applying to positions you're interested in and trying to get interviews. Worst case, you can treat the job interview as practice / learning, best case you pass the interview and get a job offer.

Actually getting job interviews can be difficult. It helps to find the email associated with the person hiring, that way you can email them directly to make sure your application actually gets seen.