1) Read the ToC carefully to see what each chapter is about. Identify which chapters/sections are about "Concepts/Ideas" vs. "Implementation/Technology".
2) Read the book's Foreward/Preface/Introduction where the author(s) often lay out a plan of action for reading the book. This will give you the dependencies among the chapters and which are the most important so that you can decide on your path of action.
3) If the book has appendices/introductory chapter which lays out some needed background knowledge refresher in Mathematics/etc. read these first.
4) Go through each chapter's beginning introductory section and last summary section in sequence for all the chapters. Now you have an idea of what each chapter is about (motivation and summary) even though much is still unknown. Mark/Underline/Annotate key points/terms as needed.
5) Now from (1) & (2) you have a set of chapters/sections dealing with the fundamental "Concepts/Ideas" which is what you now start studying in sequence. Have paper and pencil handy to mark/underline/annotate the text and take notes as needed. You could use "SQ3R" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQ3R) and "Cornell Note-taking method" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Notes) as techniques.
6) Make another pass over (5) to better grasp the "Concepts/Ideas". For difficult to grasp subjects this might not be enough. Make a note of why; perhaps you still lack some needed background knowledge/Mathematics which you need to brush up on. Make sure you don't go too deep into tangents; sometimes it can be treated as a black box i.e you just need to know "what it is" and "how to use it".
7) Now with some understanding of Concepts/Ideas in hand go through the chapters sequentially looking at the "Implementation/Technology" sections. Follow and understand the logic of the solved examples/code snippets/etc. This will help cement your understanding.
8) Make another pass over (7) but now also work out some exercises from each chapter as needed. A lot of folks get hung-up on this in the early stages which is counter-productive. Only when you have some idea of the concepts involved will you find the motivation to do the exercises. Obviously, for Mathematical subjects this is of higher importance but even here go according to your comfort level and needs/wants.
Finally, keep in mind that Reading/Studying should be positive/enjoyable so that you keep doing it. Work around anything that makes you anxious/demotivated so you never get into a negative mental state when you think about studying. Your memories of learning should always be pleasant.
2) Read the book's Foreward/Preface/Introduction where the author(s) often lay out a plan of action for reading the book. This will give you the dependencies among the chapters and which are the most important so that you can decide on your path of action.
3) If the book has appendices/introductory chapter which lays out some needed background knowledge refresher in Mathematics/etc. read these first.
4) Go through each chapter's beginning introductory section and last summary section in sequence for all the chapters. Now you have an idea of what each chapter is about (motivation and summary) even though much is still unknown. Mark/Underline/Annotate key points/terms as needed.
5) Now from (1) & (2) you have a set of chapters/sections dealing with the fundamental "Concepts/Ideas" which is what you now start studying in sequence. Have paper and pencil handy to mark/underline/annotate the text and take notes as needed. You could use "SQ3R" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQ3R) and "Cornell Note-taking method" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Notes) as techniques.
6) Make another pass over (5) to better grasp the "Concepts/Ideas". For difficult to grasp subjects this might not be enough. Make a note of why; perhaps you still lack some needed background knowledge/Mathematics which you need to brush up on. Make sure you don't go too deep into tangents; sometimes it can be treated as a black box i.e you just need to know "what it is" and "how to use it".
7) Now with some understanding of Concepts/Ideas in hand go through the chapters sequentially looking at the "Implementation/Technology" sections. Follow and understand the logic of the solved examples/code snippets/etc. This will help cement your understanding.
8) Make another pass over (7) but now also work out some exercises from each chapter as needed. A lot of folks get hung-up on this in the early stages which is counter-productive. Only when you have some idea of the concepts involved will you find the motivation to do the exercises. Obviously, for Mathematical subjects this is of higher importance but even here go according to your comfort level and needs/wants.
Finally, keep in mind that Reading/Studying should be positive/enjoyable so that you keep doing it. Work around anything that makes you anxious/demotivated so you never get into a negative mental state when you think about studying. Your memories of learning should always be pleasant.
References:
a) How to Read Papers Efficiently (based on the original How to Read a Paper by S.Keshav which you can download) - https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sAyJsvkWxFTkovqZF/how-to-rea...
b) Deliberate Practice : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practice_(learning_method)#Del...
c) Marty Lobdell - Study Less Study Smart : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0