I share the same sentiment with many of the commenters. I found GEB to be unnecessarily verbose and repetitive. But that is not to say that I wasn't impressed by the book. Irrespective of your disposition, there is a lot to take from it. First time I previewed it, I was blown away by its scope and depth that I decided to buy it. But after few chapters, I found it difficult to get past the fluff writing. I will take the advise of skipping first 300 pages and re-attempt this.

Like one other commenter, I too recommend the Open Courseware on GEB. I have only watched the videos on the chapters that I have already completed. It offers a fresh perspective and academic take on the material presented in the book.