Book Meme...stolen from Deena!

[deusxxmachina]

Because I'm having bad luck with my strike-through and underline functions (for some reason they won't show up), I'm just going to list my thoughts, book by book. Interestingly enough, I've read a ton of these books - having an english teacher for a Mother does that to you, I guess - but I'd only count a slim few as books that had a great impact

Comments

[mothwentbad]

I still haven't read The Fountainhead, if you can believe it.

[mothwentbad]

Part of that has to do with my vague idea of what objectivists are like. I saw one give a speech once, and he was like some kind of creepy overbearing atheist Baptist preacher.

[mothwentbad]

My general impression is that Rand is someone that smart people like way too much when they're 13, and then they get to feel embarrassed about it for the rest of their lives. Either that, or they turn into maladapted jerks. I guess I'll have to see sometime.

[deusxxmachina]

I don't think I'm a maladapted jerk. Nor do I feel embarrassed about having read Ayn Rand. I think there are a few people in our society (E, for one) who stand up for their personal beliefs in such a bold, unflagging fashion as to recall Howard Roark.
And while it may not always be practical, I think it's a beautiful ideal.

[mothwentbad]

I mostly base that opinion on how the name treated when used by uber-sophisticated liberal 30-year-old writers who read nihilistic_kid's LJ. The nicest thing I've heard said over there is that someone said that he agreed with most of her conclusions, but found the reasoning abhorrent.

I went to the Objectivist Club one time. There were some hippie environmentalists who seemed cool, and some people who were kind of creepy. Though the general cultishness is a little offputting. I think you have to swallow it whole and use Ayn Rand the way someone else would use Jesus before it's embarrassing.

But mostly, I shouldn't even be trying to talk about it yet.

[deusxxmachina]

I have it, if you'd like to borrow it...

[mothwentbad]

Hmmm, maybe. I might have something to exchange for a while.