Read the intro section - it'll be maybe 30 minutes, and then just flip through and find recipes or topics that look interesting. It's a reference book. Check out the chili section, the weeknight chili might be a good fit. I've had the book since it came out and there's still whole sections I haven't read

I've been reading it in 5-10m increments for 5+ years. That's all you need to learn something neat.

Food lab isn’t that dense I think it’s only 100 pages then recipes. The best reading is the first tome of modernist cuisine. The knowledge contained there on food safety really is mind blowing. Nobody else has dared to publish that kind of info in an accessible form.