Monday, May 11, 2009

I Finally Finished Atlas Shrugged

I have finally finished reading Atlas Shrugged. It took me forever. At 1168 pages, it took at least four weeks and that is an inordinately long time for me to spend on a book. My excuse is that I was only reading at night right before bed which slowed me down. Because of all the LIFE things that I do all day that was the only reading time I had!

At any rate, it was a wonderful book and I'm glad I read it. I was supposed to read it in high school but didn't, tried to read it later and never finished, and then just put it off. So now I've read it. This might be sacrilege but I thought it could use an editor. I loved much of the prose and the symbolism, the message, the themes, but sometimes it just got tedious.

Ah well. Next up. I just had to reach for something fast and light after that one, so I grabbed the John Grisham off my "to read" shelf. The Associate. I have a few Harlan Cobens sitting here, too. Fast and quick.

I still have Joe Torre's book that has been sitting here for a while. I adore Shreve Stockton and The Daily Coyote, and her book is still sitting here. I've looked at all the pictures already! And I still have The Tale of Despereaux which has been sitting here for months. Mrs. Astor Regrets has been sitting here longer than that, and Flyboys by James Bradley still awaits. And any day, my copy of A Safe Haven will arrive.

So goodbye, John Galt, Dagny, Reardon, and Eddie. The summer reading season is about to kick off!


4 comments:

yukio ngaby said...

"This might be sacrilege but I thought it could use an editor. I loved much of the prose and the symbolism, the message, the themes, but sometimes it just got tedious."

Welcome to the world of Ayn Rand. (: The film version of "The Fountainhead" which Rand took a lot of personal control over, had Gary Cooper talking to the audience for almost twenty mintues straight. Talk about needing and edit... not since Tom Laughlin's
"Billy Jack Goes to Washington."

My own opinion about Rand's fiction is that it gives an occasional insight while bogged down in dogma and preachiness. When it comes to fiction, I prefer things with a bit more narrative distance from the subject.

Congrats on finishing it. And four weeks... You took a lot less time then I did.

Bride Of Rove said...

I read Anthem, The Fountain Head and Atlas Shrugged every year as a reminder. I have print and audio of all. Audible.com is ten kinds of awesome for a commuter (2 hours each way every day).

I recommend Flatland A romance of many dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott 1838-1926 It was a life altering read. If you have any students who love science and math it's especially cool.

Bride Of Rove said...

Sorry. Link to free online version.

Pat Austin Becker said...

OMG I read Flatland ages ago; a math teacher in college had us read it. I totally loved it. I loaned it to someone and it never came back. I should replace it. Awesome book! So clever!