Boy, I feel like a complete lost puppy after playing realMyst for an hour. I enjoyed the island and the visuals were pretty for the most part, but i'll be darned if I could find much to do so i could progress to doing anything meaningful.
Tying not to use a walkthrough or guide, but not sure if i'll make it.

Keep at it! You'll feel like a superhero once you discover a few of the puzzles! Check out the books in the library... thing. Just flip through them for a while, it's all part of the story.

Take your time, there's no point in rushing in games like Myst.
Read everything you can get your hands on, books, notes, etc. Pay attention to details. Take notes, make drawings, do whatever it takes to get a clear picture of your surroundings and of how you think things are supposed to work.
If it stops being fun and starts getting frustrating, play or do something else for a couple of hours and then get back in there.
Like BoxOfSnoo mentioned, the most rewarding part of playing this kind of games is figuring stuff out on your own.

Thanks for the encouragement guys, i'm pumped back up to try again tomorrow. I'm determined to go through this without a guide, so yeah maybe i'll try and keep the mindset that it's not a race...i tend to do that in other games too much i think. Taking notes it a good idea, i keep a notepad at my desk for just such occassions so i'll have to make use of it.

That's great ;)
I'm sure you'll be unlocking the secrets of Myst island aswell as those of all the other fascinating ingame places you'll be visiting in no time.

I don't know the first thing about any zip mode.
As to realMyst though, holy crap i'm still struggling. I managed to get to the Lighthouse and opened the gear to access a book that took me to another island. It's very difficult thus far, which I don't mind some difficultly but that this rate i think i might not finish this game before the world ends in 2012(kidding).