Dune always existed on the periphery of my consciousness as A Book That I Will Get Around To Someday. Then I fell in love with a guy who recited the Bene Gesserit litany against fear on our first date (obviously I found it charming), so someday stopped being an abstract and became a real thing.

I've come to the conclusion that I like Dune as a thing but not necessarily as an experience. Reading it wasn't that fun for me, but I like thinking about and discussing the characters and concepts. There were moments that were so strange that they inspired in me an almost giddy delight in the absurd. With prettier writing and better pacing, this would have been a five-star book for me. But then again, it's far superior to other older science fiction I've read, so I can't complain much.

Also, sandworms.