...is a good book.

I just finished reading it then and I must say that I'm surprised I had the concentration to stick with it all the way, but it was such a brilliant book.

That's all really, what did you guys think of it?

I enjoy the book, though it falls into a woeful state of diatribe more than a few times.

What did you like about it?

I guess its the uncertainty that follows everything that the characters do, a bit like a mystery and how it manages to convey the declining state of the country.

Its a bit hard to say, but you know how with some books you just don't really want to put them down?

That 55 page speech was a touch excessive, though.

if its anything like fountain head I would give it a 2 out of 5. Ayn Rand's characters seriously lacked any depth. The philosophy that was being conveyed was legitimate but I could write a 10 page paper and cover it in more detail. Of coarse this is assuming Atlas Shrugged is anything like her other works.

if its anything like fountain head I would give it a 2 out of 5. Ayn Rand's characters seriously lacked any depth. The philosophy that was being conveyed was legitimate but I could write a 10 page paper and cover it in more detail. Of coarse this is assuming Atlas Shrugged is anything like her other works.

It's a similar tone, but it's much better written than the Fountainhead. She called it her mangum opus for a reason. My favorite book.

gave up around page 400, about the time i realized that love was worth sacrificing yourself and your dreams for

atlas shrugged: or how to act like a total douche for three weeks after finishing.

gave up around page 400, about the time i realized that love was worth sacrificing yourself and your dreams for

Scary shit

Brilliant novel, I couldn't agree with her philosophy anymore if I wanted to.

I read to about page 200 then quit.

Possibly one of the most boring books ever written. It's the same thing throughout the entire book. Here's my summary:

"O no everyone's a dumb fucking commie, what will we do? Wait, how about we just do things like we would if we were capitalists and make some money? Nobody likes us at all anymore but at least we have money."

Social Darwinists are full of shit.

Grow a conscience, expand your monkeysphere. Empathy is what makes us human.

Social Darwinism does the opposite. It turns you into a consumerist exploitation machine and invites the morality of the savanna into your living room.

Fossil fuels have rewarded the worst of our expansionist rapist-nomad nature for at least 200 years now. The "pinnacle of human achievement" stands on a mountain of slippery effluent and bloody corpses.

atlas shrugged: or how to act like a total douche for three weeks after finishing.

LOL! Most insightful thing said so far.

And I do truly love Atlas Shrugged and everything else I've ever read by Rand. I had to definitely work to read through Galt's radio address because it didn't flow like the rest of the book, but I did seriously feel like a douchebag towards not only my friends and family and anyone who needed me for weeks if not months afterwards, I felt no sympathy for Darfurian refugees, Iraqi babies, victims of Robert Mugabe's torturous regime, murdered journalists in Russia, and Tibetan political prisoners in China.

Possibly one of the most boring books ever written. It's the same thing throughout the entire book. Here's my summary:

"O no everyone's a dumb fucking commie, what will we do? Wait, how about we just do things like we would if we were capitalists and make some money? Nobody likes us at all anymore but at least we have money."

^I lol-ed at this

Aimrehtopyh, that's some deep shit, more so then I expected this thread to produce

, I felt no sympathy for Darfurian refugees, Iraqi babies, victims of Robert Mugabe's torturous regime, murdered journalists in Russia, and Tibetan political prisoners in China.

That could be why I liked it so much.

But I already didn't give a shit because it had nothing to do with me and took up my time having to listen about it.

But I already didn't give a shit because it had nothing to do with me and took up my time having to listen about it.

That's cool, man. When something totally out of your control completely fucks your entire life up, nobody will have to listen to you either.

That's cool, man. When something totally out of your control completely fucks your entire life up, nobody will have to listen to you either.

You've missed the point.

They've nothing to do with me...at all.

They're not my friends, they're not my friends friends nor are they family.

Whats the point of weighing yourself down with something elses baggage.

You've missed the point.

They've nothing to do with me...at all.

They're not my friends, they're not my friends friends nor are they family.

Whats the point of weighing yourself down with something elses baggage.

I haven't missed your point, you've just portrayed a pretty negative image of yourself (in my opinion). 'Out of sight, out of mind' right? I think it's a positive human trait to be empathetic of someone else's situation, it's what separates us from most of the animal world. If you can't see outside your own world, how do you expect other people to view or enter your own?

The point of weighing yourself down with someone else's 'baggage' is to offer a hand up in times of need. What satisfaction is there in ignoring problems just because they don't affect you?

^I lol-ed at this

Aimrehtopyh, that's some deep shit, more so then I expected this thread to produce

Thanks. The Monkeysphere (http://www.cracked.com/article_14990_what-monkeysphere.html) seldom fails to impress.

The point of weighing yourself down with someone else's 'baggage' is to offer a hand up in times of need. What satisfaction is there in ignoring problems just because they don't affect you?

What satisfaction is there in failing at a futile undertaking?

What satisfaction is there in failing at a futile undertaking?

Ask that question to people who have been helped out by humanitarian aid organisations. Ask that question to any person who has their life saved by NGO's such as Amnesty International. Ask that to every child that has a bite to eat thanks to the donations of empathetic people with money to spare.

Are you fucking serious? How old are you? 10?

Ask that question to people who have been helped out by humanitarian aid organisations. Ask that question to any person who has their life saved by NGO's such as Amnesty International. Ask that to every child that has a bite to eat thanks to the donations of empathetic people with money to spare.

Are you fucking serious? How old are you? 10?

Good for them. As I previously stated, not my problem, care or concern, at least, no further than a possible tax break.

Thanks. The Monkeysphere (http://www.cracked.com/article_14990_what-monkeysphere.html) seldom fails to impress.

Thanks for the link, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Good for them. As I previously stated, not my problem, care or concern, at least, no further than a possible tax break.

Fair play, man. To each their own lifestyle. I don't mean to sound like a prick (well, kind of), I just find it frustrating when intelligent people just choose to look the other way. I'm a member of Amnesty International and we have a hard time raising the money to help out those who can't do it themselves, only because people choose to not care.

Fair play, man. To each their own lifestyle. I don't mean to sound like a prick (well, kind of), I just find it frustrating when intelligent people just choose to look the other way. I'm a member of Amnesty International and we have a hard time raising the money to help out those who can't do it themselves, only because people choose to not care.

I read Atlas Shrugged and mostly agree with what you've been saying.

gave up around page 400, about the time i realized that love was worth sacrificing yourself and your dreams for

wow you took away the completely opposite lesson.

wow you took away the completely opposite lesson.

Eh, a billion years of evolution ingrained that as an instinct. Your instincts don't care if you ever write a great novel, just that you breed. Unfortunately, those same instincts will likely make him fall out of love in 4-6 years, and spend the rest of his life in miserable regret of having ruined what he really wanted in life in a temporary surge of glandular activity.

Fair play, man. To each their own lifestyle. I don't mean to sound like a prick (well, kind of), I just find it frustrating when intelligent people just choose to look the other way. I'm a member of Amnesty International and we have a hard time raising the money to help out those who can't do it themselves, only because people choose to not care.

Personally, I think Amnesty does great work. That doesn't mean I've ever seen a rational defense of a positive duty to help others that didn't assume such a duty in the first place. The Randian position is not that donating, or caring about causes is bad, but that it is not required to be a moral person.

I loved the Fountainhead so I'm gonna have to read this :)

Eh, a billion years of evolution ingrained that as an instinct. Your instincts don't care if you ever write a great novel, just that you breed. Unfortunately, those same instincts will likely make him fall out of love in 4-6 years, and spend the rest of his life in miserable regret of having ruined what he really wanted in life in a temporary surge of glandular activity.

you're probably right, but i lack common sense and would rather love for a month and hurt for a year than just fade away with my feelings of lethargy and apathy

what can i really do if the only thing that saves me from apathy is love?