I think Bill, Charlie's teacher in Perks of Being a Wallflower , gave the best advice for reading Ayn Rand that a teacher has ever given: “Try to be a filter, not a sponge." If you ever attempt to read Ayn Rand and especially Atlas Shrugged, I'd take this tip to heart. It's what I try to do when I read her novels. I focus on the writing, the characters, and the plot and block out the crazy philosophy stuff (because it is crazy, and I will not get into further discussions on this). If nothing else, reading Ayn Rand teaches to separate yourself from the author's intent.

I first tackled Ayn Rand in middle school. I started with The Fountainhead and then decided to read the (definitely) more intense Atlas Shrugged. My only explanation for this is that I was a very bookish preteen always looking for a challenge. School was boring, and I try to educate myself in what I read. Also, I watched Gilmore Girls and heard Rory and Jess argue about it. I won't deny what an effect that show has had on my library. I remember the looks I would get from teachers seeing me read the mass paperback with tiny print.

Atlas Shrugged is bigger in scope than The Fountainhead and certainly more ambitious as a novel. The main question plaguing the novel is this: Who is John Galt? The plot of the novel revolves around the idea of all the creators and movers and shakers of the world deciding they'd had enough and leaving the rest of the world to fend for themselves. Rand attempts to imbue her philosophies here, but I'm not sure it works as well as she would like it to. The world she purposes is complex and compelling, but I'm not ever sure I really bought into it. I just never thought it was that plausible.

What earns Atlas Shrugged four stars from me is the writing itself. Ayn Rand may be a political nut, and her philosophies may be complete crock, but she is a good writer. No matter what else I think of her, I will always think she is a good writer. Rand has an exceptional concept of pace and plot. Her stories, though long, stay moving when they're not being weighed down by 40 page monologues (yes, this book has one of those). Dagny Taggart is a character that fascinates me against my will. Rand women always feel like she sculpted them out of ice and forgot to add a heart. Dagny is a typical Rand woman, but there is also something more to her. She just won't give up. She is determined to keep her railroads running come hell or high water, and her struggle is possibly the most interesting thing in the novel. She is a beautiful women who uses men without really using them because it's equally advantageous for her. You sort of get the vibe at the end of the novel that she is in a relationship with three different men, and it's never a decision that is emphasized or judged. Francisco d'Anconia, Hank Rearden, even John Galt... They are not the center of her world. They are merely part of it. In that respect, Rand gets a gold star.

There is a lot of debate of whether we should read Ayn Rand or not. It's certainly a hot button literary topic (with almost everyone on each political side having an opinion on it). Here's my two cents. Is Ayn Rand a little crazy? Yes. Does her work have some literary merit? Yes. Should it be read by young people? Maybe. I think that's an individual decision. There's something to be learned from it. It just depends how you decide to read it. Just, whatever you choose to read, please do be a filter and not a sponge.