it's been a long time since i referred to a book on the subject - but I'm pretty sure i ramped up on verilog with an earlier version of this: https://www.amazon.com/Verilog%C2%AE-Quickstart-Simulation-International-Engineering-ebook/dp/B000TBBZWW
I'd suggest starting with something every designer eventually designs, like a SPI or I2C controller. yes there are loads of designs out there already, so reinventing the wheel doesn't make for a particularly valuable new wheel... but it goes pretty far to help you learn how to build "stuff". SPI is great because it's very simple (an experienced designer could whip up a standards compliant design in about a day), but it has lots of interesting features: - multiple clock domains - IO/clock conflation - clear but interesting timing characteristics - room for lots of feature creep - and so much acceptance in the industry that you'll have loads of ways to talk to it if you spin up an FPGA or PLD