After spending a semester with Barthes and pairing it with the Best American Non-required reading 2006 book, I'd say I got a lot out of it. A lot our class (that we read this book for) really didn't like Barthes, primarily because he is so abstract and likes to use the flowery language. I think for the average reader, this is a book where you have to slow down and think about every word, every sentence, every paragraph to get what he is saying in the slightest bit, which is good because it challenges the brain! That's why I did like the book so much. As much as I hated being abstract and trying to decipher it's text, it made me stronger as a reader and a writer. Good ole Barthes! :D