I am not a techie at all and I rooted using autonooter 3.0 which was easy. It too me about 30 minutes, probably because I was deliberately going slowly to avoid mistakes.
Just look at this video, only make sure your NC has the latest firmware from B&N and then use autonooter 3.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUoHALWvPts
Some tips:
Make sure you have a gmail account set up before you root. As with all Android devices you will need it.
Once you have everything set up and have the Market going, make sure to sign in to google talk otherwise your apps won't download. It will say they are, but they won't, it will just hang there.
Unless you use a different launcher, your apps will not show up in Extras until you reboot your NC. You can open them via the notifications list. If you use a launcher like ADW or Zeam they will show up right away.
To search for something in the Market and see all the results you have to hold the NC sideways. If you hold it portrait only about 8 apps show up.
All I can think of for now. Good luck!