What Atrios said:

I actually learned from Rand without becoming a Randroid. The specifics of aspects of my upbringing and schooling meant that I got the message a bit too loudly that all selfishness was bad, and self-sacrifice was good. A bit of counter-messaging to that was actually healthy.

But she was still bonkers and a horrible writer.

A lot of authors are bonkers. It's the horrible writing that I find unforgivable. I tried reading both Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead in high school, and could not get through either without giving up from sheer boredom. Even the sex scenes were boring. Imagine a novel written collectively by the Seattle Times editorial board. That's Rand.

I understand why teens might find Rand's ideology of selfishness appealing, but her books are just awful.