That's how I was in the beginning. I did most of my learning by playing. It wasn't until we played In Nomine that I read my way through every available book because the world interested me so much. I did the same when we got to 7th Sea. But I don't think I've done more than flip through the...
I don't know about old school, just that we like to try different systems. In the six or so years we've been playing together we've done D&D, Pathfinder, In Nominee, Dresden, and are now playing 7th Sea. Which is kind of like Princess Bride meets Pirates of the Caribbean and is tons of fun!