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The Alchemist
July (The Alchemist)
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this book has been on my tbr for soooo long !! just started reading and i already love it :)))
@neha same!! I read a bit in the sun on the beach today and it was lovely!! <3
that sounds amazinggg 💗 @kendra
Just finished this…..I usually label myself a slow reader.. but guys wow I must’ve whizzed through this. potent, potent, potent. I will be marinating in the essence on this book for the foreseeable future. It sticks. I actually first read it when I was 17, my mum gave it to me, speaking of what it had to offer. But I know I must’ve skimmed that sh*tttttt 🤭. Or, simply took what I needed, in that time in my life. Now, at 23, it has left a beautiful impression on me.
It doesn’t quite feel tangible to neatly seal, package up, what the alchemist coats my spirit in! Well… goodness gracious I will wait til the end of the month DUH until I “tange” with it.. just realised I was about to write a friggin summary and spoil it for some, not cool 😊😝💔🏆💔😝😎😝
Unsure how to reply to comments ^^ but I’ve already finished also! Had a slightly different opinion but again will wait till end of month before I give my thoughts 🤭🤭
just finished the book as well!! writing the comment immediately as i did lolabsolutely love this book!!! im glad i read it now tbh, i wouldn't have understood it's significance before. books are truly meant to be read at the right time :)
can't wait to share my thoughts at the end of the month 💗
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just finished it today, it was such a nice day that i went outside and finished the book within 3 hours. I couldn’t get my self to put it down :)
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This book really put into words a lot of the ways I view life and the way I live it. I truly believe in signs (omens) and listening to one’s gut (or heart) because I have an inkling that my heart already knows the right path to take but also that if I wish (and work) hard enough the right path will present itself. This book presented that entire way of living through a beautiful adventure which I really enjoyed reading. It didn’t teach me a lesson so to say, but had I found this book earlier in life I’m sure it would have. I didn’t find the book particularly emotional nor did I feel super connected to the characters, but I felt super interested in the story and the adventure that was occurring itself. Which was a different way of enjoying a book than usual but lovely nonetheless. I underlined a couple quotes from the book which stuck out to me:
“We, people's hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them - the path to their destinies, and to happi-ness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.” - I found this an interesting way to point out that a lot of adults lose this child like wonder and curiosity for adventures and their dreams (which I promise myself not to lose). And also how we are largely in charge of painting our own picture that is life, and we have more power than we realise when it comes to creating the life we want. That same point was pushed on further later on in the book when it stated this:
“The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles.”
I thought this was such a beautiful way to express that you yourself, with enough will and hard work, can get to where you desire to be.
Some others I underlined because I wanted to remember them:
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
‘In response to the boy asking what happens if he doesn’t succeed’
"Then you'll die in the midst of trying to realise your destiny. That's a lot better than dying like millions of other people, who never even knew what their destinies were.
"But don't worry,"
They’re obvious lessons about following your dreams, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t nice to be reminded sometimes. That’s what this book felt like. A reminder that I’m able to achieve my dreams if I work hard, follow my heart and believe :)
I would give it 3.5 / 5 stars. What did y’all think???? I'm so excited to hear your opinions!!
This book is very aligned with where I’m at right now. I’m definitely on my spiritual journey, and this book was soo good at putting those values into story. It made it easy to understand and has the ability to lead more people into an understanding of a spiritual life which is amazing. Lots of spiritual books can be hard to follow as it can be something that’s hard to explain in such a short form as the alchemist. But experiencing it as Santiago is in the book is truly beautiful. It’s like you’re existing through him and feeling the deep emotions he did and reading into the universe as he did and being connected to everything as he is. 10/10 for me.
I was reading ,,Alchemist" while I was flying to Spain and it touched my heart so mutch. The book is easy to read and I love the secret meaning and symboles hiden in this book. And this was crazy, the whole situation with this book. Becous in Alchemist main character is talking somtimes about signs. And this book found me like it was a sign to read it. When I joined to book club Iwana posted that next book is Alchemist and I was like hmmm maybe I read this book. But I wasn't shure.Few days later I went on my ex highschool friends trip and at The Summer haus I was like... oooh there is a lot od books here, I want to see The books od my friends father. And Then I found this book. I still think it was a sign
Ps: sorry for my mistakes in writing. I have dyslexia and right now im pretty tired
I definitely enjoyed reading the Alchemist this month! Although I didn't feel particularly intrigued with the characters or the story in general I was most interested by the concept of the personal legend and how it manifested in Santiago's life. I've tried to live by this moral but I think we can all get in our heads of course, and make countless excuses to do something else. Thats why I particularly liked how he highlighted the certain people who know their calling and chose to ignore it in place of comfort. The quotes that stuck with me the most were: "If God leads the sheep so well, he will also lead a man, he thought, and that made him feel better." I know some people aren't religious but this phrase really spoke to me and made me understand or see clearer that I am in good hands at all times even when things feel disorienting.
"When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision." I LOVEE this quote because it is so utterly honest. We all have an end goal we want to reach when we make an important decision but forget that we are not in control of how it comes to pass. I believe that it is SO IMPORTANT to know this in the beginning so as not to loose sight of what you want when times get tough and it seems unattainable, when in reality you are on the right path.
"If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better." Another amazing phrase that reminds us to just live in the moment and work on yourself for the better in the time being and it will be rewarded."
Overall I gave it a 3.5-4 stars!
i'm so glad it was a july's book! at the beginning of july i took a trip with my friends to morocco and it was so amazing and cool to be reading the alchemist whilst discovering africa and sahara! it made me appreciate both the reading and traveling more since i got to (kind of) find it to my cost. i loved the symbolism but tbh i found some aspects of it too unrealistic which made it hard to read at times. overall worth reading for sure!
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and it touched my heart so mutch. The book is easy to read and I love the secret meaning and symboles hiden in this book. And this was crazy,..."
no wayyyyy that is such a fun coincidence that the book was just there!! Right in line with what the story is about! And it must've been so nice reading it in Spain where Santiago started his journey
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yes yes yessss so agree on how wonderful this quote is: "When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision." and love everything you had to say about it!! The book overall carries this motivational inceptive for the reader (I feel)
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I dream of reading a book based in the location I'm in at that moment ( a foreign one preferably ) And I hear you it was definitely a fantasy story but I quite enjoyed the fact that even though parts of the story were unrealistic a lot of it could be applied to our realistic lives.
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100% agree. I love how this book put it all into words
While reading the book, I was very eager to see how it actually ends, since you know from the start that there’s supposed to be a destination or a “treasure.” I think that’s also what makes it such a page-turner. The emotions and situations the main character goes through are very relatable. We’ve all had our own “sheep,” which for me felt like a metaphor for the emotional baggage we often carry. Once you get rid of the “sheep,” things become unfamiliar, but that’s the only way to make room for new things and experiences. And for me, that’s what this book is about.Anyway, it’s ironic that you end up where the book begins, and it really makes a point about how what’s important is the process. Overall, it’s a very must-read book and a good reminder every now and then. Considering that it was my first book in a long while, it was a great, cute read.
This review is slightly delayed as I’ve been so busy! But The Alchemist was such a good read, I’ve had this book on my TBR for longest time and I’m so grateful to have won the giveaway and finally read this book. I love that this book was a fictional book with non-fiction aspect that can be applied to real life packed with omens and messages. I also believe in these always calling things ‘signs and synchronicities’
I interpret the book to say that sometimes things may not seem worth it or may feel like a burden when in reality you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be in order to reach your ‘end goal’ like at the end of the book where the boy is digging near the pyramids only to be told where his treasure is by his attackers. This book has shown how having an open mind and being open to different realities can actually get you to where you’re supposed to be even if it doesn’t seem like something you should be doing.
Overall, I rate this book 4/5 stars because of all the metaphors and the underlying messages this book carries that I resonate with. And thank you Iwana for sending the book I really enjoyed it!!
p.s. ALSO what’s really ironic is that the day after I finished the book I had a ‘The Alchemist’ concert to go to so that was even more fun and exciting!!
i had read this book half way through when i was in the hospital. a nurse tech had generously given me his own copy, fully annotated and worn with love. i feel like i’ve reached full circle. during the first time of reading this book, i was lost and terrified of absolutely everything, guiding my way through life with anxiety. recently i’ve found my joy again, reliving my childhood. i’ve always been conscious through nature, so this book really emphasized living by the way of omens, and talking to the soul of the world. my favorite part was towards the end when santiago was talking with the forces of earth, finding relativity between himself and the sources of life. “when i first reached through to it, i thought the soul of the world was perfect. but later, i could see that it was like other aspects of creation, and had its own passions and wars. it is we who nourish the soul of the world, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. and that's where the power of love comes in. because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are."
thank you for prompting me to finish this book! i rate it 4/5:)
To those that shared their thoughts on last months book I sooo enjoyed hearing them and found some of your takes super interposing!I hope that everyone else also enjoyed or at least found the read interesting. And I hope you're all participating again this month :)
Happy reading! Speak to you all at the end of the month xx