As a 40 something successful engineer who read GEB in my early 20's, calling it the most "influential" of my life would be telling on myself. It's a fine book, I'd absolutely encourage people from their mid-teens to their mid 20's to read it. I really enjoyed the examination of Bach's fugues in comparison with other mathematical concepts. But it's just not that profound. There isn't a lot of substance in the book, and much like Ender's Game, another great book, you should recognize it's limitations.