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$4 - read Atlas Shrugged

(The dollar sign in the title post is intentional, of course.)


This has been one of my favorite list items so far!  I knew Atlas Shrugged was a classic and everything, but I never had any desire to read it...probably because it's over 1,000 pages long.  Go figure. 

When you read a description of it, it sounds like the most boring plotline imaginable.  A railroad executive?  Corporate America?  Overreaching government?  1,000 PAGES?!  (You can see why it took me so long to begin reading it.)  Imagine my surprise when it took about .2 seconds for the story to become incredibly engaging.  Out of the entire behemoth of the book, there was only one section of about 30 pages that had me anxious to skip ahead to the more "exciting" parts I knew were coming, and even those 30 pages were worth reading.

Besides being a wonderfully well-written and appealing story, the philosophy is fascinating!  It's almost impossible to walk away from the novel without a new perspective on government, big business, international responsibilities, human relationships, and happiness in general.  I still can't believe the the book was written in 1957--it's so applicable.

I'll spare you all the intricate details of my literary obsession and just say that this is a classic for a reason.  I highly recommend it!

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 18, 2010 at 7:47 AM

    You should work in a book store, just like you said :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pennilesspo8August 18, 2010 at 10:53 AM

    It's been on my list for ages because it's Chaise's favorite book, but since I read so slow I'm very apprehensive of starting such a long book, as you say you were. I was recently talking about it with chaise because it has been hands down our biggest seller in our Literature section over the last year. He was telling me about how, especially now the philosophy and all really hits home to people right now because of how chaotic and all everything has been the last few years. We didn't get into the details, because obviously I hadn't read it, but I'm sure next time you see him, you should really talk to him about it. I'm sure he'd be eager to talk to anyone who braved it. He's got my dad reading it, but thats going to be forever, no offense to my dad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pennilesspo8August 18, 2010 at 12:47 PM

    * take out the especially now. I really wish there was and edit button.

    ReplyDelete

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