The last time I was forced to read particular books (in high school), I would read chapter one, the first paragraph of all the other chapters, and the last chapter. That seemed to be enough to pass the tests (usually with an A), so I'd read my own books instead after that. In one case (The House of the Seven Gables) I didn't even read the book at all, and just learned enough from class discussions to pass the test (got a B on that one.)

In college, when one professor wanted us to read a particular book, a group of us got together and asked for permission to read a different one instead, which he allowed. That was pretty cool. (We picked one by an author we knew he liked.)