Fountainhead is an introductory novel leading to the main novel. But, it's not a complete loss if the order is reversed. Fountainhead is a more difficult book and needs to be read at an impressionable age. I was thinking that Atlas Shrugged is twice as long as Fountainhead and should be read later when one is more used to devouring hugh scoops of text, and when one already knows the motivations of the primary characters. Reading Fountainhead second could be considered a top-down approach that has some benefits of its own. All the same, reading each every year or two for a few years could also help some of the concepts seep in to a functional level.