How to approach reading in UG archaeology

Hello,
I've started uni (BSc Archaeology at Durham) a few weeks ago and I feel overwhelmed with the reading, the only thing I do most of every day is read, and even then I just barely finish it before lectures, but this week I have to read 7 essential chapters for monday for just one of my six modules! I take notes on my reading by trying to summarize each paragraph/set of sentences in one sentence but this is taking up an exorbitant amount of time, I can't even go back over my lecture notes and revise because I got so much to do. I heard skimming helps however I don't exactly know how to do it effectively, and it sounds like I'll just take longer as I'm reading it twice, just faster one time. Also, I have little way of knowing what could be on the exams beyond exam papers from previous years, which I fear may not be representative because they only show a microcosm of content that COULD be on the paper rather than a list of things I need to know.
Help is appreciated, thanks.