Atlas Shrugged update

[prillalar]

I had a bit of a break from Atlas Shrugged but I'm back on the horse now. And I've just come up to what is clearly The Speech, which I hope to sit down and read through either today or tomorrow. (My god, the print is so tiny.) So, I was wondering:

Should I read it all in one sitting? Break it up? Drink coffee? Beer? Wine? Single malt? Should I read in silence or play Tool in the background? Stay home or go to the coffee shop? (Reading Ayn Rand in public tends to draw attention, I've found.)

Do you wish you had done anything differently, your first time?

Comments

[lasultrix.livejournal.com]

Ah, the speech, the speech!

I confess that after 12 pages or so, I went to count the pages left.
Upon finding just how many there were, and being SO DAMN CURIOUS about what the consequences of the speech would be, I blithely skipped past it. And have no regrets. :)

I did read it later, but since the philosophy has already been expounded for us, the reader, it really serves no narrative purpose and is just a redundant indigestible chunk - pretty though the language may be.

[prillalar]

I considered skipping, but figured I should just suck it up and read through. Maybe tomorrow, though. :)

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

I wasn't old enough to drink back when I read Atlas Shrugged, but in retrospect, large quantities of alcohol probably would've helped.

[prillalar]

Booze: check.

[alice-and-lain.livejournal.com]

I tried reading Atlas Shrugged once. I don't think I broke 50 pages. Alas, I am not smart enough for Ayn Rand. If I wanted to try it again, I'd have to go to a coffee shop so that I wouldn't get distracted by other shinier things. So I vote coffee shop, despite the possible attention.

[prillalar]

I don't think one has to be smart to read Ayn Rand, just masochistic. And, seriously, I've heard people saying, "She's reading Ayn Rand!" like they thought I was going to come over to their table and start preaching Objectivism at them.

[elbomac.livejournal.com]

Well, it does take some people like that. My first-year roommate in college... oy.

[shikishi.livejournal.com]

You know, I have never read that book.

Hm.

Just saying.

[prillalar]

I can't say I would exactly recommend it. But it's better than Moby Dick.

[shikishi.livejournal.com]

Harlequin Teen Romances are better than Moby Dick.

*nods*

[jessabelle2x.livejournal.com]

No kidding. Someone in my book club recently started Moby Dick, not realizing until page 400ish that she was supposed to be reading To Kill a Mockingbird. We were all yelling for her to stop- "For the love of god, NO!!! The whale wins in the end. Stop now! Save yourself!"

[prillalar]

I'm surprised she made it that far! Moby Dick haunts me, though. I feel like I should have read it, but it defeats me every time. Maybe it's a metaphor for itself or something equally recursive.

[elbomac.livejournal.com]

I skipped it. It's something like 40 pages! I always say I love Rand's novels, but am not so absorbed in the philosophy itself. Maybe because I was an English major? Anyway, it's never troubled me not to have read it, and I don't feel I missed anything from the experience of the book.

(I actually reread The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged every few years; it may be time for that now.)

[prillalar]

I guess I could skip it but I think it's a matter of honour with me now! We'll see how I feel once I get a few pages in.

[reapingfolk.livejournal.com]

When I read the speech, I read it in one sitting from a long streak of reading beforehand. Doing it again, I definitely would have stopped before the speech and then picked it up a day later in a comfortable spot.

And seriously. You can't even THINK the words Ayn Rand in public without garnering some attention/interest/antagonism/enthusiasm.

[prillalar]

And seriously. You can't even THINK the words Ayn Rand in public without garnering some attention/interest/antagonism/enthusiasm.

Maybe I should put up a little sign while I'm reading: Shut up, it's just a book.

[threefrog.livejournal.com]

Yup, it was so appealing to read once in a go--I think I stayed up all night then, stopped only because I had to go tutor a kid. That was pretty fun.

:D

really? attention? ick ick ick.
the one time someone bugged me over a book was when I was reading The Way We Live Now in London. That was annoying. :(

[prillalar]

The attention is more people looking and whispering than approaching me directly. Though that may be because I am NOT the kind of person people approach in public. It's useful skill, I must say.

Now when I was reading Guns, Germs, and Steel, cute girls would talk to me, so maybe I'll get that one again soon.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

If you can read The Speech in one sitting and not be barking mad at the end, you're a strong, strong woman.

I think you should break it up, definitely. Do *not* apply booze, as the combination will make you fall asleep -- trust me on this. Coffee might make you too wired to concentrate. I recommend tea and short bursts -- maybe four pages at a go?

Personally, after the first ten pages I started to skim...

[prillalar]

Maybe I should make a recording of myself reading it and post it here. People could listen to it when they had trouble sleeping. :)

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

I'd say it's a good idea, but I wouldn't want to put you through dictating all that!

[jcalanthe]

Do you wish you had done anything differently, your first time?

Other than not bother? I'd have to concur with booze or other mindnumbing substances (tho laurashapiro has a point in worrying about that putting you to sleep). I still want all that time from reading 3 of her books back, tho I suppose it's somewhat nice at times to have informed reasons to rail about her writing...

Is it wrong to think that if Rand had just found a community of support for her rape fantasies, everything would have turned out differently?

[unearthly-calm.livejournal.com]

Is it wrong to think that if Rand had just found a community of support for her rape fantasies, everything would have turned out differently?

*sporfles*

[prillalar]

Is it wrong to think that if Rand had just found a community of support for her rape fantasies, everything would have turned out differently?

If she'd only been born a bit later, Objectivism's loss could have been fandom's gain. She clearly wants these guys to fuck each other; she just doesn't seem to realise it.

[unearthly-calm.livejournal.com]

Well, I read the whole thing in one go while lying on the sofa, but I was actively avoiding studying for a rather important set of exams, so I was motivated :)

It's probably better to get the pain over in one go, I think? Might be funnier if you're drunk while reading it...

[prillalar]

I wonder if an Ayn Rand hangover would be worse than a normal hangover.

[priestess123.livejournal.com]

So, this comment is rather off the topic of your post, BUT! I just had to mention that I am so lovin' Slam Dunk. I found the anime on YouTube and I've been watching a couple of episodes and reading a few chapters. It's great! Sakuragi kinda reminds me of my brother, big, tall, has a temper, and likes to head-butt. Yes, this definitely something I can get hooked on. ^_^