We download the book. If the pdf is in parts, we will use pdftk etc to join it into one document. We will then move it to a relevant spot in a well organized folder hierarchy, renaming it for consistency if necessary. Then we never open it again.

I usually try to go through the whole thing quickly in a weekend (usually skipping exercises unless I'm not sure I understood something correctly). This allows me to get rid of a chunk of my "unkown unkowns" (e.g. if I ever face a problem related to the topic, I will know a solution exists). I will sometime do a more in depth study a few months or even years later if the topic truly interests me or if I need the knowledge for a specific problem I'm trying to solve. (see just-in-time vs. just-in-case learning for pros and cons)

If I really want to master the topic, I will try to only study a few hours a week and do the exercises, but I rarely get the discipline required.

If it's something I can read in a couple days' worth of free time (~12 hours) and it really interests me, then I'll read it and work the exercises. Otherwise I save a copy and never read it.

I don't recommend my approach.

It depends on the topic (especially if it can be helpful for work in the near future), but the best approach I have found so far is to put everything at least mildly interesting in a single place, and to process every item one by one whenever I have some free time. That way you always have something to read when on a plane etc.

It is also easier to get rid of the urge of reading every paper in the world when you're no longer on HN but with a folder full of files you're supposed to process, so when you realize you're not really interested in one of the items you just throw it away.

I usually bookmark the page then later when I have the time I will read the parts that could be useful for my project.

Smile and nod :)