Paulo Coelho

When I first moved to New York a friend suggested I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and since I spend an average of 1.5 hours a day on the subway (a busy day of errands or go-sees I could spend 3 hours or more on trains), I figured, why not fill up that time with some food for thought? After reading the back cover I thought I'd hate it, "Why would I want to read about some boy going through the desert and stuff?" Turns out, its a great book. Full of inspiration and just what I needed to read while starting my journey in New York. I would sit in the subway and mark all the quotes I loved. Some pages would have 3 or 4 quotes on them that I had to remind myself to keep. My facebook statuses were written by Coelho himself for the next month.
I figured it was such a great read, that I'd try another one of his books out. Next I read Veronika Decides to Die. Cheery, huh? It was so thought provoking. I won't give away what happens in it in case you decide to read them but here's this gist of it. Veronika decides she is going to commit suicide, and it delves into her thoughts and justifications of doing so, followed by a variety of plot shifters including insane asylums, nuns, a piano, love, oppression, freedom, several mental illnesses, and in the end of it all, it is a beautifully written piece on human decisions and emotions, well worth reading if you aren't afraid to think before you feel. Thinking is something we should all do more of. Too often we just do what is expected or do what we want instead of what we should. We are selfish and we are self-destructive. We eat whatever we want, drink whatever we want, smoke whatever we want, do whatever we want. We end up unhappy in our situations even though we put ourselves into them. We are there through every step of our own lives, making choices, and we have to live with the outcomes.
Which brings me to my current read. I am now reading The Fifth Mountain, a book about the story of Elijah from the Bible. Yes, I am a Christian, however, I don't know very many Bible stories. I usually only look to my Bible when I am in need of a word from God and I usually open the book and read what is on the page I opened it to, hoping that God will help me to open it to something relevant to my current need. So, I cannot say if what I've read so far is completely in line with what the Bible says. I also don't believe that the Bible tells the story of Elijah for 300 pages, so he must of taken some artistic license. That aside, it is a quick read so far, as is all of Coelho's books. I'd say he writes in a very natural way of speaking, however, he is Brazilian and I believe his books are translated, so whoever translates them does an excellent job as well.
So there you have it. If you are looking for a new book to read to pass the time on your lunch break, on the subway, before bed, or while on the toilet, any of Paulo Coelho's books are highly recommended by me.
Happy Reading.
xo