Pretending you read the book gets you through one discussion. Reading it gets you through the next ten.

Bluffing is a short-term tool that works once and leaves you further behind than before, because the next lesson assumes the last one. Each skipped piece compounds quietly until the subject feels impossible and you conclude you are bad at it. Usually you are not bad at it, you are missing three specific things from earlier. The bluff is what hid them.

Read the actual thing before the next class, even a summary of it, even badly. Notice how much less effort the hour takes when you are not performing. And if there are old gaps behind you, pick one and go back for it this week.