I've gotten more particular about what sorts of posts I am going to read. If it turns out to be long and on some topic I don't care about, I just go back and leave it. There's plenty of really good content here, so I can afford to be picky about what I read.
I wish I could sort my reading more effectively... there are about 15-20 whose stuff I'd read ALL the time, and them some I'd read SOME stuff from, and others who occasionally publish something in an area that interests me.
That sounds like a good way of doing it. Basically, I think I just need to get a small network here, like you have done, so that I have a few people whose posts I always want to read :-)