DT wrote on this topic way more eloquently than I was about too, but I concur with everything said. Especially the caution against digging in our heels about what we don't like, to paraphrase.
I'd add a couple things:
Learning the steps and doing them is one thing.
The other "meat" of the book is, for me, how to live- how to apply them, and how to relate to others. I don't "connect" with the story Our Southern Friend like I do the Women Suffer Too. And, I take issue when people whine or criticize things that are essentially based on when the book was written, by whom, and who the current societal audience was considered. Just like I do when people say Shakespeare or Salinger or ... the Bible....is outdated, sexist, exclusionary...so on ad nauseum.
BECAUSE here's where I feel that looking for similarites not differences is critical. What rings true with (any) you? Selfishness, fear, and particularly when drinking victimhood and anger rang true for me. Those are perhaps "my things" to keep close in mind. Other stuff for other folks.
Here's where I think "take what you want and leave the rest" applies. It DOESN'T apply to picking and choosing what steps you think are OK or that you want to work. It does, IMO, apply to how you create a living program of recovery that works for you, to always have Step one and that big word acceptance in mind, keep your inventory and spiritual life, and serve others.
Intellectual challenging and picking about words only served me badly and kept me drinking for a long time.