The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand has made me question my existence and the function of society ever since I started reading it two weeks ago. It has absolutely consumed my every thought, making me go crazy with cynical thoughts of corruption, capitalism, and our ideas of so-called selflessness. Maybe these thoughts will spawn a later post, but for now I want to celebrate the fact that I finished the novel at noon today! Woo!

Also, I watched the movie tonight. Gary Cooper plays Howard Roark, which I couldn’t quite picture until I started watching the film. Turns out it was a pretty good casting call…though I really don’t think anyone can do Howard justice. The movie (as expected) cut out a lot of my favorite smaller story lines, but as a whole captures the essence of the book. I don’t really know what I think about it. It was fine…it was just kind of unsatisfying in comparison to the book. Plus, I much prefer the imagination it takes to read a book than the attentiveness to watch a movie. But that’s just me.

Still, for anyone who doesn’t have time or (God forbid) doesn’t particularly enjoy reading, I would suggest familiarizing yourself with the story of Mr. Roark, the architect, with the film. Yeah, yeah, I know Ayn Rand is known for her radical and anti-capitalist novels, and yes, this is one of them. But this story has inspired a whole new train thinking in my mind, and I would only wish that everyone else be given the same opportunity to think in this way!