The way you should read “The Ruby Way” is, you’re thinking of doing a new project, writing a new feature, or hammering out a tricky bit of code and then you think to yourself, “Hmmm, wonder if I can make this easier on myself?” That’s when you pick up The Ruby Way, browse the sections of the book for a few minutes, find the section closest to what your needs are, and absorb the knowledge Hal has laid out.