[Jtsummers]

I worked through Chapter 1 back in college, now over a decade ago, with a professor of mine one summer. It was a great introduction (and led us to Concrete Mathematics) for me to a lot of topics regarding algorithmic thinking and discrete mathematics.

That said, I never worked through the remaining chapters of the series, and likely never will. It's a reference book. Read the sections as they pertain to you. For instance, TAOCP was my introduction to sorting networks. This led to direct, measurable, improvements in a few embedded programs (where consistent, deterministic behavior, and optimal behavior, were strongly desired).

I mean, few people ever read a dictionary. I still have one on my desk at home and at the office. This isn't substantially different (though I do recommend skimming it so you are aware of what resources it contains for later reference).