Even putting the common lisp aside, PAIP is my favourite book about programming in general, by FAR. Norvig's programming style is so clear and expressive, the book touches on more "pedestrian" parts of programming: building tools / performance / debugging, but also walks you through a serious set of algorithms that are actually practical and that I use regularly (and they shape your thinking): search, pattern matching, to some extent unification, building interpreters and compilers, manipulating code as data.
It's also extremely fun, you go from building Eliza to a full pattern matcher to a planning agent to a prolog compiler.
Next time you see a HN post on a lisp-centric topic, click into the comments. I'll bet you a nickel that they'll be happier than most. Instead of phrases like "dumpster fire" they're using words like "joyful".
That's why I keep rekindling my learn-lisp effort. It feels like I'm just scratching the surface re: the fun that can be had.
