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Really? Was it the rape scene that did it for you?
I feel like young people need to read Rand in those formative years just after high school, when one finally breaks free on one's own and starts to discover one's self. Most 19-23 year olds will connect in some way to Roark, Taggert or Galt, embracing the idea of Rand's absolute individualism, just as their own individualism is truly forming, along with the hope that they are exceptional people meant to be placed on a pillar before the masses.
But they then need to experience the world and grow out of it or they'll lead very lonely and unproductive lives.
Just my take, and the road I personally took. If you're gonna read any of them, read The Fountainhead. Atlas Shrugged was particularly uninspired. Fountainhead lacks depth but at least had a somewhat interesting plot with a cast of disparate characters.
And Rand was, of course, not a communist, but wasn't the idealized community at the end of Atlas Shrugged suspiciously commune-like? One can see how someone could get confused, methinks.
No, Its not the "rape" scene that got me hooked to Rand's works and Roark. Having liked Rand's work you really didnt think my thoughts would be that shallow, did you. Never mind...
What I like about her Philosophy is that, she believes that anything is possible provided you believe in what you do. I like her works because they help me focus on "what I could do" rather than focussing on "what I have" done. Now at 26, I still like her works. At the same time I have also discovered that being Roark is not easy, infact in a corporate world its next to impossible. I realised that I need to maintain a fine balance between being Roark and being just me.
In real life, I always think what I am capable of doing. I maintain my stand when required and put forth my thoughts. If my ideas are not accepted I dont take offence (at work and at home).
Well said Rakhi. I think her work is inspiring to me b/c of what I see the welfare system doing to society, and individuals here. You know, the mindset of "let's all help the downtrodden, it's bad to make a profit just for the sake of it", yadda yadda. A few years of helping my partner run his own business cured me of thinking profit for profit's sake is a bad thing.
I think her work expresses how I feel, and felt more strongly after starting Atlas. Of course.
It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it helps me cope in an environment where we seem to be giving handouts to people who are the weakest link.
Rand would probably turn in her grave.
It's a tough contrast when I have to finish reading A.S b/c I've arrived at work. I look forward to getting back into it after work, and it helps me through the day.
*all hail to the Rand Book*
Last edited by jacq63; 12-17-2008 at 12:25 PM..
Reason: Cant spell.
She is my favorite author and has been ever since I read her book at the age of 15. Can you believe I actually fell in love with Howard Roark?
I don't read fiction. I have a copy of "Atlas Shrugged" but despite all the wonderful things I have heard/read about it, I cannot get past the first couple of chapters.
Jacq, I agree with you. Rands works were, are and will be an inspiration to many. And I see even you read while going to work just like me. 20yrsinBranson, why couldnt you get past the first couple of chapters of Atlas Shrugged? Did the concept bore you or you dont agree with the philosophy behind the story? Just like you, I could never get past couple of chapters of Jean-Paul Sartre's book's. May be when I grow older I will understand his works.
I read everything I could get by her before I finished high school. I think the first was Atlas Shrugged, but it's been so long I'm not sure any more. I think Rand's works are the kind that should be read at the right stage in life - too soon [rare] or too late [more often] just doesn't do it justice.
I'm a huge Ayn Rand fan, but you gotta remember that her novels are more about ideas than plot or realistic emotional development. Plus her ideas are a product of 1920s-50s mostly, many things have happened since then. She was too black-and-white on the "USSR evil, USA good" perspective, like being uncritical of McCarthy and the military-industrial complex, and she put too much weight into her own aesthetic preferences which don't always stand the test of time. She might be wrong on a number of other issues: intellectual property, Arab-Israeli conflict, positive aesthetic and metaphorical qualities of smoking, mild intolerance for homosexuality and vegetarianism, etc. So I wouldn't recommend an intellectual diet focusing on Ayn Rand alone.
Those critiques aside, she is definitely my favorite author, and I think the most definitive American novelist of the 20th century.
I read several of Ayn Rand's books in my early twenties. ATLAS SHRUGGED and THE FOUNTAINHEAD were my favorites followed by WE THE LIVING and some of her essays.
GL2
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I look forward to getting back into it after work, and it helps me through the day. 
just like me. 20yrsinBranson, why couldnt you get past the first couple of chapters of Atlas Shrugged? Did the concept bore you or you dont agree with the philosophy behind the story? Just like you, I could never get past couple of chapters of Jean-Paul Sartre's book's. May be when I grow older I will understand his works.
