Similarly to Hillery, I wanted to pick a really light read. The Alchemist is a perfect summer read because it's sort and simple. Seriously, very simple. Good readers could finish it in an afternoon. The translation from Portugese to English makes the vocabulary in the book easy...I can't say that for all of the previous books we've read.
I will be honest, I have read this book before. In fact, I believe I have read this book about 4 times. But, I want you all to know that this book is INCREDIBLY inspiring and every time I read it the story is different for me. I have noticed that as books are chosen, it is painfully obvious who the book host is. We are all choosing something we find interesting, personally, as well as asking others to read about topics we think they should know and learn about. I don't really know what this book says about me. You should all know that I was an English Teaching major and now teach Reading. I teach because I feel very strongly that the only things we can leave behind are moments where we inspired others to be more than they are.
With all that said, this book is a simple read but has a depth to it that is really limitless. While we may have thoughts and opinions that dovetail one another, this book truly asks you to see yourself and where you are going. It even refers to itself as a "modern day parable." I hope you like it, and questions will be posted soon. Enjoy!
3 comments:
I'll just go ahead and say it. This book kind of sucked. It was "The Secret" in story form. Granted, that did make this better than "The Secret", (It's a long story, but I read it because my dad is weird and gave a copy to each of his children.) but I still didn't like it all that much.
I think I mostly didn't like all of the blatant philosophizing. I think a book is a lot more meaningful when I have to think about it, or when I can see similarities in the characters or story that I can relate to or interpret in my own way. Being told what things mean and what was the good thing to do made the book much less intimate (Can I use that word without getting made fun of?) - like reading the books interpreting the Koran, without ever reading the Koran itself (Adam, and also whoever took that Islam class, will know what I'm talking about.)
Anyways, not sure exactly what didn't sit right with me. It felt like a book for middle schoolers, just like it was introduced. It seemed like a book that people who don't like to read would really like.
Sorry if you loved it. I thought there were some good points and ideas (I'd even say great ideas), just not a good book.
Ok Sam, you broke the ice so I'll put my two cents in and hope to not offend anyone. I hated the book. Adam and I read it a few months ago when it was originally posted (like in January or February). In fact, I didn't want to finish it, which is rare for me to not finish a book, but Adam pushed me to finish it.
I couldn't stand all of the cliche'/trite aphorisms. I found myself rolling my eyes every few paragraphs. Also, I didn't connect with the characters. And I whole heartedly agree with Sam, I didn't like the "blatant philosphizing." I don't know that I'm articulating my thoughts very well, but the book just turned me off.
BUT, I do think it will be a great adventure story for our future children. It'd be a perfect book for an 8 year old.
Maybe someone has something nice to say? Did anyone enjoy it?
Okay, so I actually didn't mind it that much. I finished it thinking, oh that was a nice story and I liked his journey and I mainly liked the idea of learning from our hearts, as cheesy as that sounds--but that's what I got from it. I absolutely agree that the "blatant philosophizing" was annoying, but I wasn't terribly upset at the end of the book. It was just a quick read and I liked it, overall.
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