I won't get into all of this argument - it's a good one, and I'm enjoying reading it - but Ayn Rand does one thing that very few other people do: she admits outright what her works are. She never pretends to teach anything other than Objectivism. And while her thoughts are flawed, she has an ability to take complex thoughts and make them easy to follow. Atlas Shrugged is absolutely worth a read.

Ironically, your saying that you don't like Rand because other people don't like her is going along with the very principle that Rand most stands against. Make your own opinions, based on your own logic. Don't follow what other people say. Read it yourself and decide.