Me being a amateur hacker and want to get better; I really had no place to start. Then I came across this book in Fry's Electronics called the best of MAKE (a magazine for hackers). I got it and boy did I find some sweet stuff in there! It has all these projects from regular people around the world. Don't be scared to get this book. The projects in there range from extremely easy stuff to things only a major techno geek can do.

The other thing I found out was most of these projects not only came from the MAKE magazine but also from http://www.instructables.com/. There are thousands of hacks in there in different categories like games or home appliances!!

So if you want to be a hacker, I recommend you try these places.