On The Alchemist...

Hey All,

Before I start this post, I think I should make something clear: I am not a book reviewer. This blog contains my very subjective responses to books. While my writing may stray into objective - or objectifying - language, this is, overall, a fun exercise in reading and writing, and one I hope you, too, may enjoy.

Ah, The Alchemist. I`ve seen many people reading it over the years, and I suppose it sparked a bit of interest for me by virtue of that fact. Yet nothing about it ever pulled me to read it. And I think I now know why.

It’s, well, hard to say why that is, without offending too many people. First, the book is about the physical and spiritual journey of a young Spanish shepherd, or what Paulo Coelho calls a Personal Legend. Lame. He is in search of a treasure that is located in the Pyramids in Egypt. Lame. There’s a lot of talk of God and Allah. Lame. The writing style is simplistic, and stunted. Lame. I can see the appeal of The Alchemist, and Paulo Coehlo’s style of writing, but it’s not for me. Young people should read and enjoy it (They should also, however, read more challenging and intellectual books). But a thirty-two year-old man has other things he`d rather read. At least this one does.

There is one thing about the book, though, that really struck a chord with me, and it`s something that I`ve been thinking about a lot lately: enjoying the journey. I recognize that I’m not good at doing that, and that I too often get impatient and caught up in simply getting to or achieving an end goal. I know that’s not what Sasha was after when he suggested there is something in this book of particular value to me at this point in my life, but I’ll take it. I’ll try to slow myself down and take a look around me from time to time. I find that my propensity to do so comes in waves throughout my life, and perhaps I’m entering into one of those periods again.

I will grant that the book is uplifting and positive, and was a nice reminder of the interconnectedness of life on earth. But more than that, it was a great warmup for this project of mine, like skipping rope for ten minutes before hitting the heavy bag. It took me all of four days to read the book, which is a good thing, because quite frankly, with thirty-two titles to read in twelve months, I`m in trouble. That means I’ll have, on average, about one and a half weeks to read each book if I`m to complete this in a year. I am a slow reader, and some of these books are pretty hefty, so I have to make sure I keep to that schedule, or ahead of it.

Thanks for the recommendation, Sasha. No sarcasm intended.

-Bryan

ANOTHER One To Add to The List

Hey All,

I’ve been meaning to post this for a few days, now, but have not had a moment, as all my free time has been spent reading The Alchemist (more on that in my next post. I’m finished it, by the way). Among other things, of course.

But I have another book to add (this will be the last one added, I swear) to the list. Ann Sheldon wrote in a comment on Facebook that I ought to read a book that she thought she had lent to me (but that her husband subsequently proved was a false truth - aka, a lie - by pulling it off her bookshelf). Since I had not, in fact read it, number thirty-two on the list is:

32. City of Thieves by David Benioff (Ann Sheldon)

I hope to write a post this evening about my thoughts on The Alchemist, since I know Sasha is dying to know what I think. I’ll leave you with this, though: I finished The Alchemist on my train ride in to work this morning, and immediately picked up City of Thieves. Goddamn, if I’m not hooked. The opening chapter is short, but man, what a difference from Paulo Coehlo.

-Bryan

One to Add to the List

Hey All,

I gave leeway to Saam Hashemi to give a recommendation, so long as he did it by today, October 1st. He did, so it is added to the list. Number thirty-one on the list is:

31. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham (Saam Hashemi)

I extend the same to anyone else: if you can get me a recommendation before the end of today, October 1st, I will add your book to my list.

-Bryan

First Past the Post...

Hey All,

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you may know what I’m up to here. In a nutshell:

I asked people, on Facebook only, to recommend one book for me to read. I plan to read those books within one year, beginning on October 1st, 2010. This blog is about my thoughts on those books, as I read them. And maybe after I read them, too. It’s also a place where I plan to work on my writing, which, in the last while, has gone down the corporate drain. Mostly because I work in a corporate environment.

Here is the list of books I will read over the next year (and the person who recommended it to me):

1. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay (Debbie Murphy)
2. Linchpin by Seth Godin (Kim Gardner)
3. Orange Crush by Tim Dorsey (Dan Pelosi)
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Sasha Kumar)
5. Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahnuik (Katelyn Foster)
6. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Keltie Neville)
7. Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry (Jocelyn McEachern)
8. Josephine B. Trilogy by Sandra Gulland (Erica Zeman)
9. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Kristine Sorrento-Evans)
10. The Cave by Jose Saramago (Ines Ortiz)
11. Beautiful Boy by David Sheff (Nicole Callahan)
12. Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (Okame Musume)
13. Stroll by Shawn Micallef (Kris Williamson)
14. Songbook by Nick Hornby (Andrew Eaton)
15. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Amy Bea)
16. Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh (Teena May Smith)
17. Still Alice by Lisa Genova (Aaron Stewart)
18. The Wind-up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Marukami (Mark Van De Ven)
19. The Englishman’s Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe (Chaz Sullivan)
20. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (Scott Harmer)
21. Rant by Chuck Palahniuk (Graham Dalseg)
22. The Stranger by Albert Camus (Danny Gorman)
23. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Chris Roy)
24. The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant (Philip Wilson)
25. ‎Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Martina Smith)
26. The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein (Tim O’Connor)
27. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (Mariona Blanch)
28. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (Curtis Maloley)
29. Night by Elie Wiesel (Shauntel Jaclyn-Ann Daley)
30. The Aquariums of Pyongyang by Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre Rigoulot (Robyn Nepean)

I do not yet have a methodology to the order in which I will read them, but I know two things:

1. I am starting with the Alchemist, at the behest of Sasha Kumar.

2. I will alternate between heady, heavy works of fiction based on Keltie Neville`s belief that “all good works of fiction are depressing“.

Also, if any of you who have made a recommendation (or anyone else, for that matter) have these books and want to lend them to me, please feel free. I will buy you a coffee (or make you one in my home) in exchange for the book.

-Bryan