I bought this book because it was reference in this article: Sims, BattleBots, Cellular Automata God and Go. It’s supposed to have a catalog of all the different metaphors that people have used over the ages to explain the mind.

I read this for the first time in college, expecting some super cheesy and lame story about a pedophile. It’s of course nothing like that at all, and tops the list of my favorite books of all time. Nabokov is a genius, a subtle post-modernist and expert word-craftsman.

As I re-read this for the first time since college, I tested it to see if it still had what it took to hold the top slot on my list of favorite books of all time. About 1/3 of the way through, I was a little doubtful. But I forgot just how strong the second half of the book is, starting from when Humbert Humbert begins to really display is paranoia about Lolita’s eventual departure.

And that last scene at Quilty’s house, you can’t beat that.

Definitely still my favorite book of all time. Reading it with the option of annotations was also a treat, since it translates all the French for you and also lets you figure out those obscure literary allusions.

I figure it’s time to learn a new programming language. On second thought, I’m going to wait a bit before doing this.

I carry this around with me in my laptop bag and read a few things out of it before I begin writing. It’s an excellent little book.

This book was fantastic, the ideas I’ve read about are applicable to pretty much everything you come across. Emergence is the new new thing!

This book comes to me heavily recommended by my wife and by a good friend. So far though, I think it may be a little too Romantic (capital R) for my tastes, especially after being influenced so strongly by the irreverent voice of Humber Humbert in Lolita.

I got the gyst of this book after the first 100 pages, and didn’t figure it was worth the effort to finish it.

So far the writing seems a little forced, but I’m interested enough in the story to see it through. I may have to give this book up in a couple days for NaNoWriMo, though, which starts in 2 days.

I am in love with this book. So far, his description of the structure of canons in classical music is amazing. I want to absorb every thought this guy has ever thought, but I suppose I’ll settle for reading each of his book sequentially. The last half of the book wasn’t as enlightening as the first half, but overall, one of the best books I’ve read in years.