@msh210 Those are both not light reading, to say the least, though they are very detailed. (I have never read either cover to cover; I've used them (esp. the former) more as a resource for going in depth about a certain q or issue.) I recommend you read through R Breuer's 'summaries' of 21/EMT trop that are in the introductions to Bereishit and Tehillim respectively of the Daat Mikra series, and decide then if you want to go further or if that was sufficient for your current needs/wants.
Those summaries are of a much more manageable size (one to three sittings probably), cover many fundamental structural points, are in modern-rabbinic Hebrew (I find that more comfortable), provide quoted examples (verses) of most rules discussed, and are (likely) available at your local Beit Midrash/Keneset. (However, if you've never even heard of Meshartim/Melachim or diagramed a sentence before, then these might be too advanced. Being "summaries", they do move quickly.) cc @IsaacMoses
