[bkovitz]

I haven't liked it as much as GEB. At times, it strikes me as too clever (puns and autobiographical digressions all over the place). It's definitely interesting and thought-provoking, though. With translation as its main topic (not so interesting to me), it explores lots of tangents (of more interest to me): syntax and semantics, medium and message, constraint and discovery, all with loads of interesting examples. Most of all, it's a book about words, for people who love words. The main thing I get out of it is an appreciation for just how sophisticated the verbal part of the human mind is.