Congratulations, Matthew-Bester.
A whole new vista is a beautiful thing!
Respectfully,
O.A.

Well done. Like a fog has been lifted right? Welcome... to the real world Matt. There's no going back.

Reading Atlas Shrugged is a big Accomplishment. I go so completely sucked in when I read it the first that I took a week off of work to finish it. I read it the first time in about a month. It drastically changed how I think about life and relationships.

I highly recommend reading it again now that you can focus on the philosphy and the wording and not so much the story.

I think you will find that being awake is a lot more fun than the sleep that everyone else is commited to. Enjoy!

Alright! Congratulations. Time to celebrate...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIsbD0l_bEg

Reading Ayn Rand...shedding the indoctrination one book at a time. =)

Who was your favorite character of the book? I relate to 'Frisco more than any other. Hard working, not scared to make the hard decisions. Even willing to watch his legacy burn in order to keep the wolves at bay from scavenging off of his labor.

Realistically we all can't be John Galt. Although I wish my mind would produce something that I could rock the foundation of the world.

I think it took me a couple months. I found it to be a page turner until the final speech. That section was very slow and superfluous for me. I was sold on this mindset before I read the book (my Dad read the book and followed its philosophy,) I was sold on the concepts by the time I came to the speech and so it was difficult to rehash them again. I put the book down several times during his broadcast but I did get through it and am happy I did. I still recommend every citizen reads this book to repair our society.

I remember when I first discovered Rand. Early 70s when I was still hippie with all those left leaning, mystical ideals of that time and mindset. First read Fountainhead which I found in someone's bookcase. OMG. I could never ever look at the world the same again. All my old rubbish pretty much crumbled. Then I found AS. I must have read it at least 3 times that summer. I wasn't quite mature enough in many ways and read it seeking strength and a new focus. I sought to absorb something I knew I didn't have by osmosis. Which is a sort of secondhander thing in retrospect but the best I could find it in me to do at the time. I guess I have read it at least 10 times since in the 40+ years since then. Each time I find something new and come to it with slightly new eyes.

In between I have of course read everything else Ayn Rand wrote or was written about her. But AS is still a shining beacon to me. Even if The Fountainhead is a better novel qua novel.

Welcome to Clarity :)

"I am awake" wonderful. I felt the same after reading it the very first time.

Excellent! I remember it taking me 5 months to get through - mostly spent laying on my family room floor reading it after my family went to bed each night. I look forward to reading it a second time in the near future...

*****SPOILER*****


Congrats matthew! Did the ending surprise you? What did you think about Eddie staying with the train?

Welcome to Atlantis, Matthew.