The reading assignments given below will generally be a preview of the material you will see in lecture.  My suggestion is to skim the appropriate section prior to lecture to get a sense of the material to be covered.  Then, after each lecture, read the corresponding material more carefully.  When doing this careful reading, it is a good idea to test yourself by attempting to prove each Theorem/Lemma/etc. or complete each computation before reading the proof/computation given in the book.  After attempting the proof/computation yourself, then read the proof/computation given in the book to see if you are right, or to see how to do the parts you couldn't figure out on your own.  Once you are confident that you understand all the details, read the section (at least) once more to make sure the "big picture" is clear.

The problems listed below are meant to reinforce material covered in the preceding lecture or reading assigment.  It is suggested that you read and think about these as soon as possible after the corresponding material has been covered in lecture.