How do I defect?

[Burton Kent]

I use Perl because of the nifty regex.  But
I hate Perl because of the data structures.

If you ever need any kind of data structure
in perl, move into a padded cubicle.  Check
into the funny farm. Flop into the loony bin.
Perl is like LSD.  It's cool and pretty and
will slowly drive you insane.

So how do I defect from Perl to Python?  I 
have the Programming Python book on order.  
What can I read to get started ASAP?

Thanks.

B