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walan (m)
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Ayn Rand Books Anyone?
hey guy, has anyone had the pleasure of reading books by Ayn Rand? She is a novelist/philosopher.
If there is somebody who has or knows where her sold here in Nigeria, please kindly describe the shop/bookstore
thanks
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mochafella (m)
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Haven't read any yet, The Fountainhead is next on my list though
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GREED (m)
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Yeah, i've read one her book's it's called "ANTHEM". It was ok.
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walan (m)
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i have read Atlas Shrugged and it shook the hell out my world. it is the best book i've read so far. i tell you. the ideas and world it painted is simply unconventional, beautiful!
i have the fountainhead ebook but am looking to buy the paperback. can't seem to find it though.
the anthem was good too.
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thekrafter (m)
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Yeah I've read Atlas Shrugged. Don't agree with everything, but it certainly made me think. @walan it certainly is one of the best books I've read.
Check out second hand booksellers. They have some gems there. I bought some great books from them when i was in Naija, like A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.
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smiler (f)
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I have never read any of her books but my husband adores them, he actually hides the ones he has from prying eyes. I watched a movie about her i though she was wacko though  |
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Linda M. (f)
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To Walan: "Atlas Shrugged" absolutely rocked my world. Reading it opened my eyes to the parasitical nature of some (maybe most) people. After reading it, my political views swung even farther to the right!
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afrobeat
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Try nu metro. If they don't have it then maybe they could order it for you
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Orikinla (m)
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Go to Jazz Hole on Awolowo Road or Glendora at the Falomo Shopping Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos. They should have Ayn Rand.
"Good readers make good leaders"
~ Abba Babbi
God bless.
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flyKUDE (m)
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yeah,i have got the fountain head and can lend it to whoever wants it, you must reside in abuja of course
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Orikinla (m)
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"How much lying to yourself are you actually capable of?"
-- Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand. You can also get her books from my blogs http://amazingamazon and http://kissesandroses and there is free shipping for orders over $25.
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walan (m)
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@Orikinla thanks for the lead man. l'll check it out when i get back to lagos(currently out of the city).i have been to the sites you posted but i can't seem to find anything related to Rand. anyway thanks @Linda M. i certainly understand how beautiful the world can be after reading "Rand." i sure would like to know which of her works you have read of recent?. @Afrobeat- thanks for the help @smiler- A. Rand is sure is wild<wacko, crazy,, > and to every objectivist in the house: big Ups |
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Seun (m)
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I'd love to read her books. It seems as if i agree with the basics of Objectivism.
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sexy_nes (f)
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Wow, People who actually know about Ayn Rand. I have to say that she was a phenomenal writer. The problem is that her philosophical ideas are not completely realistic and it seems that from her description of women in very subservient roles amongst other things, she didn't want to be a woman
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Seun (m)
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hello sexy_nes. I find it very interesting that a woman (Ayn Rand) can get so much respect for her thoughts from men and women alike. Which aspects of Ayn Rand's philosophy have you found to be unrealistic?  |
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sexy_nes (f)
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Hey Seun, for one thing, Ayn Rand has a certain model that most of her primary male characters follow. They have to be these ubermensch type people. By ubermensch, I mean super human. They almost have no "flaws" (that is if you believe that Ayn Rand's view is the perfect one). No one is that way and anyone who is that way may be ahead but that person is lacking in some part of their life.
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Seun (m)
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Thanks, but aren't you criticizing her fictional characters and not her ideas (objectivism)? |
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sexy_nes (f)
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Well, her characters are only a medium for her to express her ideas. So by criticizing one, I'm criticizing the other. Have you ever read Atlas Shrugged? You should read it. You'll understand what I'm saying a little bit more. There is a whole "cult" of people that follow her books ardently - I'll look for their website and post it so that you'll see what I'm talking about.
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Seun (m)
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Objectivism holds that there is a mind-independent reality, that individuals are in contact with this reality through sensory perception, that they gain knowledge by processing the data of perception using reason or "non-contradictory identification", that the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness or "rational self-interest", and that the only social system consistent with such a morality is laissez-faire capitalism.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivist_philosophyThat is Ayn Rand's Philosophy - Objectivism. It doesn't seem to impose perfection on its followers at all.
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sexy_nes (f)
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I know what Objectivism is but now I'm certain that you have to read Atlas Shrugged. Her ideas of perfection are sometimes really subtle and are sometimes very prominent. The idea of rational self-interest is very attractive but people fail to see that rationalism is marred by human emotion.
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Linda M. (f)
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Hi Sexy Nes - I believe that Ayn Rand was extremely realistic - she exposed the reality of the "bottom feeders" of the world and the very valid point that bottom and top feeders have a symbiotic relationship. But - she also revealed that top feeders can survive without bottom feeders, and not the other way around. (read: Darwin). I believe that rationalism can be reduced to this: if it's in one's own best interest, one can convince oneself of absolutely anything, ;)peace
lm
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Seun (m)
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Which Ayn Rand books do you think I should buy? 'Atlas Shrugged' and 'The Fountainhead'?
I've read the plot of 'The Fountainhead' and I'm not impressed by the idea of an architect who doesn't want to serve his customers but only himself. Isn't customer service an important part of practical capitalism?
As for 'Atlas Shrugged', I've read the summary and I don't know if I should bother buying the book because it's too long and convoluted. I don't know if I'll find it interesting, so should I just satisfy myself with online summaries?
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Ka (m)
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I've read both books.
I agree with quite a few of her ideas (like the way she celebrates the productive individual). However, I think it would have been better for her to write her books as ideological treatises rather than novels. I found the development of her characters very weak - indeed, there are parts where the characters go off on long rants in which they are thinly veiled mouthpieces for Rand's opinions. I found the parts of storyline somewhat unrealistic as well.
I also agree with her that human beings should be self-interested, but I dislike the way she uses the word 'selfish' (which gives the impression that they should look out for themselves with total disregard for others) rather than enlightened self-interest (which is where they look out for their interest while not harming other persons while doing so).
I don't want to get into a critique of her ideology (Objectivism) in detail here, but I think the uncompromising stance that she takes in the book borders on the religious.
But my comments notwithstanding, it's still an engaging read, as long as you read with your skeptic's hat firmly on your head.
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sexy_nes (f)
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I really agree with you Ka. I agree with the idea of self-interest but I don't like the idea of selfishness. Seun, I have heard really good things about The Fountainhead. Maybe you should get that.
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Seun (m)
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I also agree. Self-interest doesn't imply selfishness. Selfishness is self-interest plus disregard for others.
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