Fiction is Reality I started reading Ayn Rand's renowned book, "Atlas Shrugged" last week. I am almost finished and can't decide if it's good that I have opened this can of worms or not. Don't get me wrong, I think it's quite possibly one of the best books I have ever read. If you haven't read it, you should. Her book is a treatise on what happens when people surrender their agency to the government. It is enlightening and agonizing to read all at once. Every parent in this country should require their high school-aged children to read it (perhaps with a little editing--Mom and Dad should read it first). There was a time in the 60's or 70's when someone could have read her book and said, "Nah, that will never happen." And they would have slept comfortably that night. But, rather than reading a book written in 1957, I feel like I'm reading today's headlines or the headlines of the very near future. I'm not sleeping wel