1 general:: Study with concentrated effort, as in At exam time we all hit the books. [Slang; first half of 1900s]
American Heritage Idioms
2 general:: Phrase(s): hit the books [and] pound the books Inf. Fig. to study hard. • I spent the weekend pounding the books. • I gotta go home and hit the books. I have finals next week.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs