Some of his books, the aforementioned in particular, are works of insight and genius. Others, such as his recent book on metaphor-as-thought, are speculative steps onto a bit thinner ice.

(Note: I realize Hofstadter and his colleagues have spent decades exploring metaphor-based AI, and that there might be something quite real to it -- but he doesn't make a convincing case for the sufficiency of this hypothesis, though he insists it's there).

And I read it as a kid. I've picked it up recently, I have a degree in advanced math. I kind of like Hofstadter's take on AI. But I think GEB is just terrible. I mean, it has long, clever discussions that half-explain thing so I think it makes people feel like they sort of understand things. But have to say I think it gives the opposite of a solid math approach by never being fully clear, concise or complete.

I assume GEB may be both informing and interest piquing for some people. For us, it just didn't ever get clear about what it was about and was mostly frustrating for that reason. Maybe none of us were "normal".

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Gödels-Proof-Ernest-Nagel/dp/081475837...

Keith Devlin's popular mathematics works also have much the same appeal.

Then again, most books I've read I forget about much sooner than a few months. If you want a good read, go for it, but its not some holy grail that will change your life forever.

That it was heavy in your bag isn't really saying much about the book. Are you familiar with Russell's Paradox? If reading about Russell's Paradox for the first time demands that you work it around in your head for the next hour as though some outside force is compelling you to understand its implications, then the book is probably for you. If that sounds miserable, then it probably isn't.

Yeah, I know it's not an ideal format for Kindle, e.g. the illustrations and... a few other features I won't give away here. But still. What a great thing to have at-hand anytime you wanted to dive in and read part of it. Sigh.