Hello Sir, @wolfje;
The best book I've ever read is:
THE FOUNTAINHEAD by AYN RAND
The book was published in 1943.
I read the book early last year..
Its the story of an architectural genius; Howard Roark, who undergoes bitter travails at the hands of a society sworn to uphold ancient ideals, believing that essentially nothing can ever come out from the modern world. Howard Roark is defiant. He is the epitome of the noble man, put through a mental and physical hell; that he must be like others; must present his work as a tribute to the styles of old, period; that he is in no way permitted, on the order of the pure, ancient spirits of architecture, to seek his own style or the style of his time. Roark does not agree, and with the innocent, immaculate dignity of a god, he defends his work without argument or aggression but with a quiet protest against their mediocrity in his manner which effuses an almost impossible understanding; that he knows they are incapable of appreciating his work because it threatens the scrubby safety they have acquired in the solace of the styles of old. Hence in silence, he suffers the doses of pain they dish out at him; not in the manner of a saintly martyr, but in the manner of a man incapable of betraying his intellect and his reason...
The Fountainhead is the one book that has had the most impact on my personality, and my values. Its a book that deeply appealed to me as it spoke to me of a respect for the abilities and capabilities of mankind. It inspired me; to scrounge for mastery, to seek to be original, me; to strive for a plain and naked honesty. It didn't just change me; its made me who I am today. On the artistic front, Ayn Rand is a flawless writer. Her capacity for the conveyance of tangible emotions is a stunningly, mysterious level. Rand presents her characters, raw and without compromise. She is an expert at what she writes. She is an expert in how she writes..
Thanks @wolfje. I'm more than just grateful for this opportunity to give this tribute to what I consider, one of the most powerful tributes to the mighty spirit of mankind ever written...
don't forget to upvote my post to be entered in the competiton.
Thanks. I have.