Godel, Escher, Bach

Christ I know so many people who love this book, but I can never make it past the first few pages. Something about the giddy tone that the author uses to tell you exactly how you should feel at any given time just feels hard to stomach. Just present the facts and their connections in a concise manner, and let me feel my own sense of awe. Don't rob me of my own excitement by trying to imprint yours onto mine.

The rest of the books, solid recommendations.

Thanks for the suggestions! I gotta make a list when I get home. I haven't heard of a few of these so that should be exciting.

The first two or three on that list might take several fits and starts to get through, YMMV, but they are WELL worth the effort, and you will come out the other side changed by the experience.

I'm anticipating this, not too worried. I have trouble comprehending thick prose, but part of why I'm asking for recs is because I won't improve if I don't try.

I loved having LOTR read to me as a kid so maybe it's time to revisit it.