I'm also to the end of AS, and it is a great book. It will change your thinking about capitalism, collectivism, work, pride, etc.
I don't agree with everything that Ayn Rand taught, but I certainly don't disagree with everything either. I think she had something important to say, and I think the world would be a better place than what it is if everyone read her work.
I've already read The Fountainhead which is also very good. What I took from that book was that work should be something you care about passionately, and you pursue it as much as you can striving for excellence. OTOH, I think it is also fine to compromise your values for the sake of the customer. Rand would howl at this, but all I can say is that Frank Lloyd Wright's chairs were good to look at but you can't sit in them.
Where I really disagree with Rand is that you she seemed to want to replace public tyranny with private tyranny. She even held mock courts and "excommunicated" people from her circle. That's not what an open society or the free market mean to me though she was certainly free to do what she wanted within the confines of her own company.
I disagree with Rand's dogmatism. This doesn't mean I accept all the subjectivity coming from the left or academia. I believe in an objective reality that can be perceived, but I also believe that authority should be questioned. Rand didn't seem to accept this. It was her way or the highway, and I'm not down with that.
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