Yeah good point, the reason for the strange comparison is that I started to write “I wish I could make more time for [TAOCP]” and was immediately forced to conf

Yeah good point, the reason for the strange comparison is that I started to write “I wish I could make more time for [TAOCP]” and was immediately forced to confront my time spent on social media/HN, so I did. :) There is also a contrast between the two: they lie on opposite ends of a spectrum from shallow to deep, of things that make you really think / put in honest effort, and also give a deeper enjoyment. As for reading other (good) books: like anything else, it's ultimately a question of what gives you most joy, I guess. Learning (say) real analysis from Rudin would also be deep and make you work, but Knuth has more jokes.