When I was in grad school, I fell into a habit of going over everything up to 3 times.
The first time was a real quick read-through - really more of a skim - just to get a sense of the overall shape of the subject.
Then I'd go back and actually read the bits that I needed to understand more thoroughly. While I was doing that one, I'd take some notes, because I find that helps a lot with retention. I wouldn't be trying to memorize everything here, more just trying to get a thorough enough understanding that I could quickly re-find information when necessary.
Finally, for anything I absolutely had to have in my head, I'd make flashcards. This part can be indispensable, but I tend to be pretty conservative about it. I'm fond of that (apocryphal, I think) Einstein quote about not memorizing such information as can be readily found in books.
The first time was a real quick read-through - really more of a skim - just to get a sense of the overall shape of the subject.
Then I'd go back and actually read the bits that I needed to understand more thoroughly. While I was doing that one, I'd take some notes, because I find that helps a lot with retention. I wouldn't be trying to memorize everything here, more just trying to get a thorough enough understanding that I could quickly re-find information when necessary.
Finally, for anything I absolutely had to have in my head, I'd make flashcards. This part can be indispensable, but I tend to be pretty conservative about it. I'm fond of that (apocryphal, I think) Einstein quote about not memorizing such information as can be readily found in books.