I've been trying to get through Atlas Shrugged

[Aratus]

i spent a long weekend in my teens by first reading THE FOUNTAINHEAD and then ATLAS SHRUGGED just so i could boast of it later!

 

[mad cow]

I liked it,but then I loved Moby Dick.No accounting for taste.

 

[Suzu]

I couldn't put it down the first time. Have worn out several copies. Listened to unabridged audiobook twice also. All this over a period of about 45 years.

 

[PierzStyx]

For weeks. I keep reading books in between. What's the secret to staying focused? It's become almost a personal vendetta now. I must finish it. I took a second degree in English and read so many books. The only one I've never been able to finish is Moby Dick. That book blew. I don't want to add to that list.

I feel like saying Moby Dick blew is a double entendre. There is the obvious blowjob joke there. (heh heh She blew MY Moby Dick!) But also I think there is a more subtle joke there. After all Moby Dick was a whale, and whales are famous for blowing water out their BLOW holes. So Moby Dick literally blew as well.

 

[PierzStyx]

Its a different perspective on the liberty movement . Its good to be part of the quire and have someone preach to you. Its a constant state of growth you need to be in. I was what I would consider fully awake before I read atlas shrugged and it changed me as did rothbard and others. To this day no other person has influenced my life in such a way as Rand. I simply integrated much of her philosophy into the one I already had under construction.

I strongly suggest this book to anyone who hasn't read it. It focuses strictly on the morality of liberty. Not economics or politics as much as it does morality. Thats one thing I think people miss when reading this book. And those that miss it and love the book I cant stand because its like they never really read it. And those that miss it and hate the book I feel hate it because they missed what its really about.

I think you meant choir.

 

[PierzStyx]

INDEED!!! Movies have never been able to live up to the books they are based on. Cinematographers have never been able to capture narrative properly IMO.

I don't think its that. Its just that movies require a different type of narrative.

 

[osan]

For weeks. I keep reading books in between. What's the secret to staying focused? It's become almost a personal vendetta now. I must finish it. I took a second degree in English and read so many books. The only one I've never been able to finish is Moby Dick. That book blew. I don't want to add to that list.

If it is any consolation, it took me about 6 months to get through it. Rand had great messages but was not always the best at delivery. A-S could have been written as effectively in about 1/4 to 1/3 the space. Way too much time spent on imagery and so forth, not to mention the endless repetition of the message. If you're going to write a political polemic, don't make it an over-long and redundant novel. Just my worthless opinion, of course.

I liked the messages in the main, but found the sheer volume of the work unnecessary.

 

[helmuth_hubener]

Keep thinking the word "suspense". Suspense. Atlas Shrugged definitely has suspense. Suspense is an artistic thing and a good thing.

The first time I read it, I was young and I got a bit frustrated with it because I kept asking "when is anything ever going to happen?" The "nothing happening" is "suspense". It doesn't have non-stop action and sword battles the whole way through. But there's a big pay-off in the end. Things really do happen...eventually. It's just got to set you up for it first. And that takes a long time.

 

[BuddyRey]

The audiobook made it very easy and enjoyable to take in. Listening in 8 to 12 hour chunks per day, it only took about a week and a half. And yes, I did listen to it in 8 to 12 hour chunks...that's how engrossing the story is. Absolutely loved it! In fact, I may have to re-listen soon.

 

[rhelwig]

I think it helped me that I read her books in order. First Anthem, then We the Living, then Fountainhead, then Atlas. It allowed me to build up to the longer books.

But I would recommend that for your friends with shorter attention spans, have them watch Ratatouille instead of reading the Fountainhead. Its basically the same story, only better written, shorter, and easier to enjoy. Now if only the Pixar guys would take on an improved version of AS.

 

[helmuth_hubener]

I think it helped me that I read her books in order. First Anthem, then We the Living, then Fountainhead, then Atlas. It allowed me to build up to the longer books.

I think had I done this I would have quit after We the Living. That book I did not really enjoy.

 

[Jumbo Shrimp]

For weeks. I keep reading books in between. What's the secret to staying focused? It's become almost a personal vendetta now. I must finish it. I took a second degree in English and read so many books. The only one I've never been able to finish is Moby Dick. That book blew. I don't want to add to that list.

The secret is to skip pages when it gets tedious.

 

[Jumbo Shrimp]

I prefer to read it while washing laundry. Definitely not what I consider a page-turner...but not awful either.

You know the machine washes the clothing without needing to be supervised...

 

[MozoVote]

Tedious is the Grapes of Wrath. Ugh. I simply read every other chapter to get through it.

 

[kathy88]

UGGGHHH I just struggled through 20 more pages. It's like watching paint dry.

 

[torchbearer]

if you want to understand Rand, you can skip the fiction and go with the non-fiction works.
"The Virtue of Selfishness" is a short read, and it is basically a lecture on the ideas of objectivism. if you were to read only one of Rand's works- this should be it.

 

[sailingaway]

UGGGHHH I just struggled through 20 more pages. It's like watching paint dry.

Why bother?

I think books need to be good enough to read.

 

[sailingaway]

if you want to understand Rand, you can skip the fiction and go with the non-fiction works.
"The Virtue of Selfishness" is a short read, and it is basically a lecture on the ideas of objectivism. if you were to read only one of Rand's works- this should be it.

That might be a good idea, and less time consuming if it is awful....

Fountainhead was ok, but got kind of L.Ron Hubberd-y at the end.

 

[ClydeCoulter]

I read it maybe 12 years ago from the time I got home from work till I fell asleep every day until done, was so pissed at the way it ended that I almost burned it, but it wasn't mine so I returned it. Last novel I have ever read since then.

 

[torchbearer]

That might be a good idea, and less time consuming if it is awful....

Fountainhead was ok, but got kind of L.Ron Hubberd-y at the end.

it is the core of the ideas she is trying to convey with her fiction works like atlas shrugged.
i enjoyed the lecture. audio book works best for me.