What is the toughest book you've ever read of your own choosing?

Ha! SFC Douglas Duckett, is that of your own choosing?

CPL Brendan Hayes Of course it was. I was not coerced or threaten by her withholding certain things. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

CPT (Join to see), I'm not a huge Rand fan, but I can see what you are saying about it taking a while. Definitely not a light read. Sir, did you find it worth while after you finished?

At the time that I read the book I was not a huge Rand fan either. I am still not a huge Rand fan because some people take her ideas to the extreme. I find extremism unappealing in most, if not all contexts. However, I try to remember that Rand does a fair job capturing the ideals of these fictional characters even though the ideals may be different from the way that I perceive reality. There may be some detail that a character in the story imparts that alters my view of the world of some real life situation that I experience. For a moment, I might see the situation from a perspective that I wouldn't ordinarily see it. The Fountainhead might not be for everyone. But so long as a reader finds an author that challenges the reader to see the world from a different perspective, or even a character in the story's perspective, the author will have succeeded in testing the reader. The reader can determine for himself or herself whether or not they passed.

Sir, I agree with you about the subjective nature of interpretation. However, does "good" fiction/literature need to alter perspecive/world view? As an example, I love Hunter S. Thompson's writing. He does a wonderful job of blurring the lines between fact and fiction (his clear intent) for the sake of better understanding the subject of the writing. I find his writing to be both challenging and "good" literature, but I don't feel that his writing has altered my perspective in any substantial way. Does that diminish his status as a "good" author? Or, does the fact that he seeks alternate perspectives strengthen his status as a "good" author?

Sorry I'm an English teacher, so I tend to over think these things.

I thought you might be an English teacher (my hat's off to you)! I tend to gravitate toward the idea that fiction itself probably does not necessarily change a person's world view, but it could potentially give form to some important ideas that influence a person's world view. I identify your fascination with Thompson as preference, but that is the economist's answer. Your opinion as an English teacher probably goes a lot further than mine though.

To me - an author that demonstrates empathy in a character or situation within their writing and influences the reader to see the world momentarily, in a way that would not normally be seen is the mark of good writing and good literature.

LCDR Rabbi Jaron Matlow, I did ok with some philosophy after taking an Ethics class as an undergrad (Mill and Kant especially), but a lot of the more modern French thinkers really messed me up. I tried reading Foucault on my own and that was a train wreck.

It is definitely tough stuff...