This discussion is evidence that some people really liked GEB and other people found it boring or too unfocused. It can't be that many people who bought it just to look cool on a shelf. The people who found it boring should perhaps try to appreciate that sometimes other people can genuinely like things they don't like (and vice versa I guess).
Again, if you do any work with computer algorithms, it's worth checking out TAOCP at the library and skimming the sections relevant to your work. If you might need it as a reference, it's not a bad source to have at hand; I look things up in there maybe a few times a year for the past decade. Some parts are now a bit outdated in this fast-moving field, but it's still the best available survey source about some topics, and there are some nice explanations and a lot of great problems in there. Knuth is a pretty funny writer if you enjoy dry humor.
Again, if you do any work with computer algorithms, it's worth checking out TAOCP at the library and skimming the sections relevant to your work. If you might need it as a reference, it's not a bad source to have at hand; I look things up in there maybe a few times a year for the past decade. Some parts are now a bit outdated in this fast-moving field, but it's still the best available survey source about some topics, and there are some nice explanations and a lot of great problems in there. Knuth is a pretty funny writer if you enjoy dry humor.