I've been trying to get through Atlas Shrugged

[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.

[BuddyRey]

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

Yeah, and if the tediousness isn't bad enough, it's full of socialist, pro-New Deal propaganda. Then again, that's true of most required reading in schools.

[Aratus]

i think she had a love/hate relationship that created an attraction and revulsion
at a distance concerning the real life person she had based ellsworth toohey on!
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-an...?msg_id=004FMp Myself, i'd wonder if
he was 100% serious or saying things for their shock value, knowing how cults are.

[kathy88]

Okay it's getting better, thankfully.

[low preference guy]

maybe you don't like her style, and if that's so probably you shouldn't try to force yourself to like it. i wasn't crazy about her style, but i could read her.

[sailingaway]

Okay it's getting better, thankfully.

how far are you into it? I never reached that point. Let me know if it is worth wading through the earlier part, when you are done.

[Carson]

Thanks for saving me the grief.

I sort of liked what I heard about the concept of the book.

I'm thinking Jaws was a book that was an easy read. It's an old one but so much more than the movie.

Maybe give yourself a break with something readable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_%28novel%29

[MozoVote]

The plot stages about piracy returning and sections of the oceans becoming too dangerous for commerce seemed outlandish and "sci-fi" to me at the time I read Atlas Shrugged. But when the real life Somali pirates cropped up, that made me remember the book...

[Okie RP fan]

Hahaha, I've encountered a predicament where I always go to the section with Atlas Shrugged and debate buying it or not. I never did and probably never will. I've simply heard too many varied opinions about it. I've read some long books, and I plan on reading The Lord of the Rings, but, I don't think I'd have the patience to get through Atlas Shrugged from what I've heard.

So, I bought Ayn Rand's Anthem instead to get me acquainted with her works.

[thoughtomator]

God help anybody who tries to make it all the way through Atlas Shrugged - they're going to need it. Personally I opted to tear three teeth out with my bare hands as the less painful alternative.

[fr33]

If you have trouble reading Atlas Shrugged, I still recommend buying the audiobook if you are able to listen while driving/working. Audiobooks are a bit expensive but I don't think you would be disappointed.

[helmuth_hubener]

audiobooks are a bit expensive

Search for Atlas Shrugged audiobook torrent. Problem solved by internet.

[dbill27]

the fountainhead is better imo. But Atlas Shrugged is a work of brilliance, Murray Rothbard called it one of the greatest books ever written.

[kathy88]

how far are you into it? I never reached that point. Let me know if it is worth wading through the earlier part, when you are done.

Page 400 something. It is getting better. It goes in spurts. I'm fascinated for 30 pages, then bored to tears for 45. So up and down, but I'm glad I'm doing it. The philosophies are pretty fascinating.

[nelsonwinters]

I got it on audio book. but i'm on the road a lot.

I second this advice. I would have never gotten through it otherwise. I picked up the audio version at the library and listened to it in the car every time I went somewhere. I thought the reader did a good job.

[sailingaway]

Page 400 something. It is getting better. It goes in spurts. I'm fascinated for 30 pages, then bored to tears for 45. So up and down, but I'm glad I'm doing it. The philosophies are pretty fascinating.

Well, I read the Fountainhead. Let me know when you are done. I consider it an author's obligation to keep the reader interested, personally.

[kathy88]

I did it! AND in time for the release of part 2. I never thought I could do it, but once I got into it (like page 500ish?) It got much easier.

[VoluntaryAmerican]

I did it! AND in time for the release of part 2. I never thought I could do it, but once I got into it (like page 500ish?) It got much easier.

Part 2 comes out tomorrow here, probably going to go see it.

I opted to watch the movie instead of read the book. I enjoyed Part 1.

[Suzu]

I did it! AND in time for the release of part 2. I never thought I could do it, but once I got into it (like page 500ish?) It got much easier.

You'll like it more the 2nd time.

[moostraks]

This thread had me snorting with laughter (semi sorry for the visual folks). Am trying to get through Atlas on audio and good gravy does my mind wander. She is rambling about minutiae and the main character is hard to become emotionally attached to in any significant manner so as to really want to finish. I have restarted the audio so many times as I find my mind wandering again that I almost feel I should buy the written version so at least my eyes must focus but I have been known to have my mind wander that way as well. Thank goodness it isn't just me. Glad to hear it might pick up my interest if I hold on for a bit.

[TheNung]

This thread reminds me of Honor's English when I was a freshman in highschool. I didn't really like or dislike any of the books we covered except one: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. It is the only book I've ever actually hated enough to burn at the end of the semester.

And to think that throughout grade school, high school, and college, I was never given Ayn Rand as a reading assignment. Nor was I given 1984 or anything similar. No. I get Tess of the D'Urbervilles.