If you were to suggest reading Ayn Rand to someone, which book would you have them read first?

The Fountainhead… no doubt. (In my mind her best work)

I’ve never read any of her work, simnply because what I’ve heard of it sounds like a waste of my time. I suppose it can’t be as bad as Mein Kampf, but I really don’t want to take the chance.

I read the Fountainhead first and then Atlas Shrugged. I think that was a good way to go. Anthem might also be a good choice.

Anthem was my first and only Ayn Rand book and I think it is a good introduction – not too difficult but still challenging.

Anything but Anthem – that book turned me off to Rand; even at age 12 it seemed like way too much overtly obvious propaganda. I really liked the first half of Atlas Shrugged, but when horrible things just kept happening I eventually lost interest in finding out who John Galt was and just wanted to somehow let the author know that I get it already, socialism as you interpret it can grind down the human spirit, etc., etc., please get on with the story… I’m a bit torn. She’s a great writer, and I guess I’d say to start with Atlas.

I read “The Fountainhead” and then “Atlas Shrugged” only because they were written in that order.

Neither her writing style nor her philosophy is my cup of tea, but I’m glad I read them.

Atlas shrugged most definitely. Notwithstanding her socialist background, the real story is the foolhardiness of the capitalists and the capitalist government (read USA) ... which breaks down not unlike what we are seeing in the last year or so…

i have only read Anthem. it was interesting though and a lot less intimidating than The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged both look to me, haha.

The only pleasant thing to read about Ayn Rand was her obituary.

@wildpotato said it all, in my opinion. The stories aren’t worth wading through her “overtly obvious propaganda.” The only adjective missing there is “heavy handed”. If you like being hit over the head repeatedly with someone’s else’s stick, I’d suggest reading one of her shorter works first, so you don’t waste so much time if you don’t like her stuff. But if you have plenty of time to spare, read “Atlas Shrugged” first. Buried somewhere in the 1,200 pages is a decent 400 page story.

Anthem is definitely less intimidating than her other books, but I liked Atlas Shrugged a lot better. There were about 50 pages of total preachiness towards the end, which I actually skipped over (feeling horrible the whole time, ‘cause I never do that with books), but otherwise I found the story really interesting and it kept my attention the whole time. I haven’t read Fountainhead yet, so I don’t know if it would be better to start with, but starting with Atlas was enjoyable for me…

if you love (depressing!) detailed details that detail every little detail, fountainhead is the way to go.

back story: i haven’t read anything but fountainhead, and i must admit that i resorted to sparknotes for the first time in my life because i could not get past the second half of the book. i thought her philosophy was interesting, and the characters were interesting. but she stressed everything so much that it took away any enthusiasm i had about any of it.

The Fountainhead. Less propaganda, more of a story line. Howard Roark (the protagonist) is odious, but he’s as much a member of the literary pantheon as Fitzgerald’s Gatsby, so if you’re at all interested in the body of modern English and American literature, the book’s a must-read. It’s also interesting to note how Rand gets the reader to sympathize (if not empathize) with Roark, despite his odiousness.

It’s not her socialism that’s distressing: It’s her libertarianism.