This article is pretty nice and encapsulates map reading pretty well. But it also presents navigational charts as an almost insurmountable barricade to becoming a pilot.

If you’re thinking about becoming a pilot do not let this article dissuade you or stress you out. By the time you take your first long solo flight you will be intimately familiar with every symbol on those charts. You will be confident enough to be able to fly your plane using dead reckoning, GPS, radio navigation aids and so forth.

Now get up there and fly!