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Paulo Coelho

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Leo40:
This week I am reading Paulo Coelho, "The Winner stands alone."
This is quite a remarkable work and without giving the story away
I just want to quote two parts to whet your curiosity.

One charakter wants to find out what is "normal" and collects observations
in a notebook. Here are some:

1. normal is anything that makes us forget who we are and what we want;
    that way we can work in order to produce, reproduce and earn money.
3. spending years studying at university only to find out that you are
    unemployable.
15. believing absolutely everything that appears in print.
45. being equally convinced that aggression and rudeness are synonymous
      with having a "powerful personality".

Another charakter is irritated by the incessant propaganda about climate change
and "saving the planet" activists and remarks:

"How can we be so arrogant? The planet is, was and always will be stronger than us.
We can't destroy it; if we overstep the mark, the planet will simply erase us from its surface
and carry on existing. Why don't they start talking about not letting the planet destroy us?

kannas:
Hello Leo,

I've read most of Paulo Coelho's books, and they still grace my bookshelves. Each Coelho book envelops an unique perspective, I think. I haven't read "The Winner Stands Alone" and it sounds interesting from what you've shared.

I like this that you shared from the book:
--- Quote ---"normal is anything that makes us forget who we are and what we want"
--- End quote ---

Good writers collect observations all the time. I'll put this on my list to read for 2010. And I have quite the long list!

By the way, one of my favorites of Coelho is "The Alchemist."

Here is a quote from the Introduction of The Alchemist:


--- Quote ---I ask myself: are defeats necessary?

Well, necessary or not, they happen. When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.
--- End quote ---

Psyche:
I nearly forgot about Paulo Coelho!  I remember that I read most of his books up until Eleven Minutes , published in 2003. Unfortunately, I had to give them away when I moved. Now I don't even remember some of the plots, I only remember that it used to be a lot of food for thought.

Aya:

--- Quote from: kannas on January 02, 2010, 09:25:00 PM ---By the way, one of my favorites of Coelho is "The Alchemist."

Here is a quote from the Introduction of The Alchemist:

--- Quote ---I ask myself: are defeats necessary?

Well, necessary or not, they happen. When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.
--- End quote ---

--- End quote ---

"The Alchemist" is my favorite, too.
Here is one of my favorites quote.


--- Quote ---The secret is in the present. 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. Forget about future, and live each day according to the teachings, each day, in itself brings, with it an eternity.
--- End quote ---

I have Paulo Coelho's two books, "Eleven Minutes" and "The Witch of Portobello" at home. They are on my reading list. I have a long reading list, too and I hope I can get to "The Winner stands alone" near future.

Zadius Sky:
Just wanted to mention that Coelho published his latest book, entitled Aleph, which is another one of those journeys about self-discovery and dealing with the "traps" of routines and the disconnection from the Divine. It is one of his autobiographical novels (the others were The Pilgrimage and The Valkyries). This book is a consideration on the questions when one faces a crisis of faith: "Are we where we want to be, doing what we want to do?"

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