The Alchemist

Personal notes, not review
+Themes
-Follow your heart
-Enjoy the journey
-Learn from everything
-Learn to enjoy everything
-"Its the possibility of having dreams come true that make life interesting,"
-Love every moment.
-There is only one thing that keeps a dream from being realized: the fear of failure,
-Always listen to your heart, or your "intuition".
-“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we...read more

I really disliked this book. I could only make it through the first third, so consider this a partial review. Still, it practically screamed "here comes your great life lesson!" Not that I can't appreciate an occasional pummeling about the secrets to a well lived life. Perhaps the parable form was just too much for me.

What a wonderful little book. I loved it!!

I guess I was really in the mood for a fable. The heart of this fable is a shepherd from Andalusia, but this is not your ordinary shepherd. He was trained to be a priest and cherished his ability to read in several languages. As his tale continues, he meets interesting people who foreshadow one another. The thing I really appreciated about this charming tale is that the shepherd is so unflaggingly honorable in every situation that faces him, he ...read more

I've been wanting to read this for a while and my book club had as the next book to read. Shame I missed that particular book club meeting but I'm still happy I read this. I feel like it needs a re-read.

The plot is very simple. Since it's so simple, there is obviously a greater, spiritual meaning behind the book. We follow Santiago, a poor shepherd, on a trek to the Egyptian Pyramids in search of his treasure. He has been having many dreams about...read more