I tend to really be partial to Ayn Rand, and to The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When I was younger, I was drawn to Ayn Rand books and other works of fiction celebrating individualism.
I read all of Ayn Rand's novels when I was 17.
Whether or not you agree with Ayn Rand - and I have certain issues with some of her beliefs - the woman can tell a story. I mean, the novel as an art form is just in full florid bloom in 'Atlas Shrugged.' It's an unbelievable story. The characters are so compelling, and what she's saying is mind-expanding.
The anti-individualist enemies that Ayn Rand battled are still the enemy, but they've shifted their line of attack. Political collectivists are no longer much interested in taking things away from the wealthy and creative.
I guess when you take a look at the book 'Atlas Shrugged,' I think most people always like to identify with the main character - that would be John Galt. I guess I identify with Hank Rearden, the fella that just refused until the very end to give up.
Every stylish man should have a copy of 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand on his bookshelf.
I love Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Flannery O'Connor. I read a lot of American writers.
I read Noam Chomsky. I like some of Gore Vidal's stuff.
My favourite author is Leon Trotsky - the political philosophy and the way he writes is beautiful, and really relevant, too.
Ayn Rand is a rhetorician who writes novels I have never been able to read.