Literary Pick (*)

The Alchemist (Paulo Coehlo)

I believe that what you've just finished reading affects your judgment on what you read next. It's hard for me to look at each book as a single item (unless it's spectacular in it's own right) without comparing it to other books I've just recently finished. With that said, I recently finished reading 100 Years of Solitude, and to go from Marquez's beautifully prismatic tale of magical realism, to Coelho's one dimensional fairytale, which should be colorful and wondrous in itself simply because of it's backdrop (Spain, Africa, deserts, oasis') is really disappointing. I'm also not the spiritual type, per say. At least not in the type that recruits. I create my own spirituality and I make up the rules of my soul as I go along. This book seems like it should be geared more towards children, not for adults who already have figured out that the secret to achieving your own "personal legend" is by going after it and not giving up.
I myself have a pretty dynamic spirit, and my soul responds more to revolutionary philosophies. So half-way through this book, I knew there was not much I could gain from it.