Of Atlas Shrugged and Lord of the Rings

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Daily Kos pointed me at Kung Fu Monkey, and there it was, as promised:

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

Yet, for all, that The Fountainhead, and its praise of individuality and the artist's life, did help wean me away from the lockstep monotony of fundamentalist Christianity. Every little bit helps, you know.