Comments on: The 25 Most Influential Books of the Past 25 Years: The Alchemist

By: Phil Bailey

Phil Bailey — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 05:20:51 +0000

I carry this book everywhere and whenever I meet someone new I pass it on. What the ALchemist has is a simplicity that I have never experienced in another book. A simple story that follows an unpredictable path and ends up back at the beginning. What else is life ?

By: Vivian

Vivian — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:33:05 +0000

“whatever.the alchemist is brilliant FOR itâ€™s simplicity.i donâ€™t see you writing such a simple book with such a powerful,broad reaching message.” from comment above by Nikky

For future reference, your argument needs better support rather than bullying. Whoever wrote that the book was too simple never claimed they could write it better.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:30:00 +0000

The great thing about the alchemist is this book finds you when you are ready for it. It is that powerful, I have read it over and over and still learn and grow everytime. Paulo is a genius and his new book the witch of portabella & Brida are amazing.

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:51:00 +0000

More evidence he’s good at marketing: This book appeared on my bookshelf one day, and I don’t know from where. Now I’m going to read it, but how did he get it there?

By: bethany

bethany — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:20:00 +0000

I love all of Paulo Coehlo’s books. The Zahir is my favorite. I can’t wait for Veronica Decides to Die to be released in theaters, should be a great movie.

By: adrienne

adrienne — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:51:00 +0000

He’s still giving away free chapters to fans on Facebook. I don’t recall what his newest book is called, but he releases a chapter every week.

By: nikky

nikky — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:16:00 +0000

whatever.the alchemist is brilliant FOR it’s simplicity.i don’t see you writing such a simple book with such a powerful,broad reaching message.

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:53:00 +0000

I can understand how the marketing works. How many times have you, dear Reader, seen a movie in a theater and later bought the DVD? I’ve done it dozens of times, and I would definitely buy a print copy of a good story I had read on the Net. Stephen King released “The Green Mile” as a serial in a magazine, I believe, and I went out and bought the book after I had heard he had done that (I hadn’t yet read any of it). I’ll have to release my books in a similar manner.

By: Jacquilynne

Jacquilynne — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:07:00 +0000

It’s sort of a shame that it’s such a stupid book since the marketing lessons are really interesting.

We read it for my bookclub and it was almost universally reviled for its pat, simplistic take on philosophy and moreso for its appalling conclusion.