I got a bilingual Bible for Christmas, and since I already have a number of passages from the Bible memorized in English, memorizing them in Spanish as well will be a faster way for me to learn the language than what I started doing above (since I don't have the Librolibre.net text already established in my long-term memory, thus requiring me to, in effect, memorize the same material twice.) I will continue the above exercise also though, to help broaden my vocabulary, especially as relates to modern-day topics.Librolibre.net has archived a list of Spanish learning resources. And since you feel most Spanish courses go too slow (not to mention that you dislike talking into online websites) you can start by copying articles from Woodward Spanish, translate them into English using Google Translate, and then memorize them to start expanding your practical-use vocabulary relatively quickly while avoiding the mostly unproductive repetition of your typical Spanish class.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
En el principio, Dios creó los cielos y la tierra. La tierra no tenía forme y estaba vacía, y la oscuridad cubría las aguas profundas; y el Espíritu de Dios se movía en el aire sobre la superficie de las aguas.