The Alchemist Question #8

Santiago says, "I could not have found God in the seminary..."
Where are places you have found God? How did you know?

The Alchemist Question #7

Here are some quotes that I personally found really powerful. Please either comment on these, or add your own.

"Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how otyher people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own."

"'What's the world's greatest lie?' the boy asked, completely surprised. 'It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.'"

"People fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises."

The Alchemist Question #6

Santiago is referred to as "the boy" throughout the entire book, but at the beginning of the book he gets a shave, and throughout the book he owns his own business, falls in love, etc. Is Santiago ever a man in this story, and if so when do you think he becomes or defines himself as a man. If you think that he is always a boy, why do you think that?

The Alchemist Question #5

If this story is a religious allegory, which it is often compared to, who/what would Melckizedek be?

The Alchemist Question #4

As a Reading Teacher I am constantly explaining to students WHY it is important to read. I help them understand this with a reading method that asks the reader to relate the literature or text to themself, the world around them, or something else they have read. By doing this the reading becomes meaningful. Most of us do this without even thinking, but if you have ever read a book that you couldn't finish it's probably because you couldn't relate to it at all. Pick one or all of these areas to relate something in the book to something that you thought while reading. (For example, in the previous question I connected a talk I heard to my reading).

The Alchemist Question #3

If you haven't read this talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, I would highly suggest it after reading this book. It is titled, "Good, Better, Best." How do the things of this talk relate to the story and how can you relate it to you?

The Alchemist Question #2

What is this overall story trying to tell the reader? (I want you to know that at different times in my life I have understood and related to various different morals).

The Alchemist Question #1

The Alchemist is full of "signs" that Santiago pays attention to for direction. Which of these signs do you think are the most life altering to his personal myth and why?

The Alchemist Questions

Sorry for the late questions...too much to explain the reasons.

The Audacity of Hope

Hi all... Thanks for being flexible about the book change, but I was a little Eat, Pray, Loved out!

I've been interested in reading this book for a while. And since Obama has a good chance of becoming our next president, I thought it would be a good time to dive in and learn a bit more about him.

Obama writes, “As the child of a black man and a white woman, someone born in the racial melting pot of Hawaii, with a sister who’s half-Indonesian but usually mistaken for Mexican or Puerto Rican, and a brother-in-law and niece of Chinese descent, with some blood relatives who resemble Margaret Thatcher and others who could pass for Bernie Mac, so that family get-togethers take on the appearance of a UN General Assembly meeting, I’ve never had the option of restricting my loyalties on the basis of race, or measuring my worth on the basis of tribe.”

It'll be interesting to see if/how reading this book makes a difference in how we vote come November. I'm excited to talk with you all about it next month. Enjoy! ~Taylor