Approach the manual like a college textbook, read each chapter separately and thoroughly, and absorb the content before proceeding to the next chapter. 

I find that reading a manual thoroughly just leads to information overload, or I read the first chapter 5 times and never get to chapter 2. I prefer to just skim rapidly through the entire manual, not trying to absorb it, just getting a feel for what's in it and how it all hangs together, skipping over areas which don't currently concern me (like, say, hair room or animation). Then I poke around in the application and when a question comes up I know exactly where to look, and the info is easier to absorb because it comes as an answer to a question, not just a lot of information.