I think it's a "Read like math" not a "Read like prose" situation. The best learning mantra is "See one, Do one, Teach one" and I think they've conflated the first two parts of that. They give you the information, but force you to work through it to achieve understanding.

Beyond that attempt at helping you to find the right attitude with which to approach the book, I no further advice.

I'd be interested in hearing why you're catching up on electronics of this type. Maybe we really should have a London meetup.