From my experience, the solution is to find a book that matches your current knowledge and goal; which usually means finding a combination of books. Also, if yo

From my experience, the solution is to find a book that matches your current knowledge and goal; which usually means finding a combination of books. Also, if you do not have the necessary prerequisite you'll need to find a mentor who can fill you in. About exercise, I do not think you are meant to solve them all. The most important thing is to get the main idea from chapter to chapter.