Reviews

I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R. Hofstadter

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justfoxie's review

informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

A disappointment after the tightly reasoned and deeply insightful Gödel, Escher, Bach. This is Hofstadter at his most self indulgent and bombastic. That said there are still grains of deep insight which are valuable and useful to understanding consciousness. Glad I read it I think?

zabiume's review

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maybe it wasn't the right time but it did not grab me as much as I thought it would

coronata's review against another edition

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3.5

Sadly, I Am a Strange Loop is nowhere near as good as GEB, but it was still mostly pleasant to read. I switched to audio partway through because my eyes kept glazing over and found it to be a nice companion for getting my chores done.
My main criticism is that Hofstadter frequently loses the plot with his bajillion anecdotes and personal asides, which weakens the overall argument. GEB worked so well largely because it was coherent and (relatively) objective; this book is much more of a personal ramble. The sections where he argues that, for example, playing Bach "wrong" means someone is "less conscious" were very odd and make his whole argument about "souls" come across as judgemental and myopic. It's a shame because GEB was such a thought-provoking book!
I will say that the chapter(s) where he discusses the loss of his wife, Carol, and the impact it had on him—and how she still "exists" in him—were really lovely. He clearly loved (loves!) her very much and that love made those chapters far more engaging than the rest of the book. Perhaps this book should have been a memoir instead?

elsie_n's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective medium-paced

3.5

mgalvan's review against another edition

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3.0

Hofstadter, you were doing something relatable for a moment, then it was greedily incoherent.

Reading this book is like spray painting a lamb's wool just because you can.

adze's review against another edition

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1.0

I don't need to go into why this book is bad as plenty of other readers have done so marvellously. Link, link, link and link. But if you do end up reading it, treat it not like a book, rather a long monologue turning into background buzz that might trigger you to some of your own ideas.