anyone read anythign by Ayn Rand?

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yllus

Elite Member & Lifer
Aug 20, 2000
20,577
432
126
Atlas Shrugged is a great book in some ways, and I was captivated by many of the ideals it expressed. At the same time, only about one-third (the starting third) is readable because of the annoying repetition of "teachings" Rand was prone to, the droning prose and the book's overall snobbish tone.

In the end, it's a book I'd recommend everyone read and then have a discussion about afterwards. I consider myself a more educated individual for having done so.
 

Mr Pickles

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2006
4,104
1
0
Originally posted by: 3cho
Originally posted by: txrandom
I'm ashamed because my mother's maiden name and my middle name is Rand.

her real name is not ayn rand... it's alice rosenbaum. you didnt think she would write such things under a real name in that era did you?

the truth of the matter is, Atlas Shrugged was a fantastic book that more or less accurately described about the greed mentality of the people in the 80s... she set the book up to be in the near future relative to the time of her writing...

when i read the book back when i was ~16-17, i couldnt put it down because i argued with myself constantly about the merit of the book, and whether objectivism is right/wrong. but in the end, i have to agree with her philosophy and i follow it to the best i can.

it's true, the book isnt for everyone, but then if the book is not for you, you have to think about why and whether that is a good thing. afterall, if you found the book to be disturbing, you have to think about whether you are one of "them".

I think you were one of the first to actually mention objectivism in this thread. I have read all her books, hooked by Fountainhead and inspired after reading more about the philosophy behind it all. I then read Atlas Shrugged and finished her smaller works. There are groups here and there that devote most of their social structure to objectivism. I don't personally take it that far, but to know where one with an objectivist mindset would stand on certain issues is a great help in life.

It's not fascist, its not selfish (selfless actually), its more than all of that. For those of you that thought her characters were weak, imagine the time and work that has gone into a book with the purpose of explaining an entire new way of thinking and reacting through the use of characters and plots. Her work should really have been more academic than entertaining.

Because of the movement during her era, her work was considered the most inspirational book of her time next to The Bible.
 

GenHoth

Platinum Member
Jul 5, 2007
2,106
0
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Originally posted by: homercles337
Officer Barbrady: And then I read this: 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand. I read every last word of this garbage, and because of this piece of *shit* I'm never reading again!

 
Dec 27, 2001
11,272
1
0
Originally posted by: Mo0o
I read fountainhead and anthem. Both mediocre although Fountainhead was a little better. Anthem pales in comparison to the dystopic classics (BNW and 1984). Overall I found her writing to be too selfcongratulatory and her politics that bleeds from the pages, to the point where it detracts from the story.

I'll add you to the list of Michael Moore haters too then? :thumbsup:
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,414
8,356
126
Originally posted by: Mo0o
I read fountainhead and anthem. Both mediocre although Fountainhead was a little better. Anthem pales in comparison to the dystopic classics (BNW and 1984). Overall I found her writing to be too selfcongratulatory and her politics that bleeds from the pages, to the point where it detracts from the story.

not to mention that anthem is largely a ripoff of the book that started the dystopian genre: We.
 

Evander

Golden Member
Jun 18, 2001
1,159
0
76
I listened to the unabridged audiobook of Atlas Shrugged this year and absolutely loved it (Galt's looong speech at the end needed to be edited quite a bit though). To the OP, if you're having trouble getting past the first page, know that the first chapter is too filled with description and not enough dialog, I think it's chapter 2 when Reardon and his family are talking- that's when things start to get interesting. And I like the audiobook (blackstone audio) performer Chris Hurt, he has a good voice and does different subtle voices for the different characters. The abridged audiobook is quite a bit shorter, I think less than 15 hours. You can try that if you get pressed for time, I believe it's a different person doing the reading but I'm not sure, just check your local libraries. I'm looking forward to the movie, rumored to be a trilogy. I suppose 3 x 3hrs might be sufficient if they can get the audiobook down to 15 hrs.

The second Rand book I read was Anthem. I prefer it to 1984, though 1984 I think had better ideas (I have never read We). This book is really short, and there is also a free audiobook you can download from libravox:
http://librivox.org/anthem-by-ayn-rand/

The third book I read was "We the Living". I got about 1/3 through but found it to be too slow and stopped reading.

I have purchased "The Fountainhead" on mp3-cd a couple months ago but haven't read it yet.
 

Mrvile

Lifer
Oct 16, 2004
14,066
1
0
I read Anthem in like two hours, thought it was pretty good although a little blunt. I got a couple hundred pages into The Fountainhead but I'm having quite a hard time reading it because it's so slow. So far it's pretty good though but I honestly have no idea where it's going.
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,512
21
81
Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: Mo0o
I read fountainhead and anthem. Both mediocre although Fountainhead was a little better. Anthem pales in comparison to the dystopic classics (BNW and 1984). Overall I found her writing to be too selfcongratulatory and her politics that bleeds from the pages, to the point where it detracts from the story.

not to mention that anthem is largely a ripoff of the book that started the dystopian genre: We.

Link edited to lead somewhere. Excellent novel too, I really enjoyed "We". "Anthem" does read almost exactly like "We", but edited to be closer to an instruction manual. In "Anthem" the character "wins", or at least escapes from the system. "We" was a little darker and didn't seem to have any hope to it.

ZV
 

Nerva

Platinum Member
Jul 26, 2005
2,796
0
0
Originally posted by: MrLee
Originally posted by: 3cho
Originally posted by: txrandom
I'm ashamed because my mother's maiden name and my middle name is Rand.

her real name is not ayn rand... it's alice rosenbaum. you didnt think she would write such things under a real name in that era did you?

the truth of the matter is, Atlas Shrugged was a fantastic book that more or less accurately described about the greed mentality of the people in the 80s... she set the book up to be in the near future relative to the time of her writing...

when i read the book back when i was ~16-17, i couldnt put it down because i argued with myself constantly about the merit of the book, and whether objectivism is right/wrong. but in the end, i have to agree with her philosophy and i follow it to the best i can.

it's true, the book isnt for everyone, but then if the book is not for you, you have to think about why and whether that is a good thing. afterall, if you found the book to be disturbing, you have to think about whether you are one of "them".

I think you were one of the first to actually mention objectivism in this thread. I have read all her books, hooked by Fountainhead and inspired after reading more about the philosophy behind it all. I then read Atlas Shrugged and finished her smaller works. There are groups here and there that devote most of their social structure to objectivism. I don't personally take it that far, but to know where one with an objectivist mindset would stand on certain issues is a great help in life.

It's not fascist, its not selfish (selfless actually), its more than all of that. For those of you that thought her characters were weak, imagine the time and work that has gone into a book with the purpose of explaining an entire new way of thinking and reacting through the use of characters and plots. Her work should really have been more academic than entertaining.

Because of the movement during her era, her work was considered the most inspirational book of her time next to The Bible.

yeah it is hard to do everything according to her philosophy. but yes, when you do, it can be really beneficial.
 

Argo

Lifer
Apr 8, 2000
10,045
0
0
I read "The Fountainhead" and wholeheartedly agree with almost everything mentioned there.