I love that term! Will use it but credit you.

I’ve read both. The Alchemist is fine.

It’s funny everyone around here trashes a book for being simplistic in its message then go on to praise To Kill a Mockingbird as though that author doesn’t hit you with themes using a cudgel.

The message doesn’t have to be hidden and esoteric and require a companion manual (Weisenberger’s Gravity’s Rainbow companion is excellent - I dare say it’s a must or the multiple references per page fly over your head) to understand.

Yeah, I can definitely see this as being an issue as he grows more advanced in his reading ability which is already ahead of the curve for his grade. He also has ADHD so the hyperfocus kicks in heavily when he is reading.

Not exactly. IA purchased and digitized 1 book, then put the physical book away while the ebook circulated- ie no “double dipping.” Was it all kosher? No, but no one lost out except the publishers who are trying to squeeze every last penny out consumers- libraries or otherwise…

Charge me what you charge a regular person for an ebook; don’t quadruple the price to force demand (that James Patterson ebook that cost small town library USA $120 also has about 500 on hold for it).

Also, as a legit public librarian I want to point out that I don’t support just pirating- our code of professional ethics require balance between rights holders and the public, see number 4.

Imagine they were just about done and followed the plot of the TV show, then he sees the reception and scraps the whole thing.

There is a philosophy though. I came across this Terrence McKenna quote shortly before I read the Alchemist and it reminded me of the philosophy of the book.

Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it's a feather bed.

Agreed! Ive always had difficulty understanding classic short stories (often thought "thats it? Thats all?" When i reached the end) and sparknotes had been a great help in appreciating the work.

Yep. The boy is on the journey and the women are there as props.

We own a not insignificant number of books, fiction and non fiction, and I cannot wait until he is old enough to read some of them, especially the fiction so that we can share and discuss them together. We always have done everything we can to foster his love of reading and now he reads in the car on the way to school, on the way back from school, on the toilet before his evening shower and now apparently under the covers after bedtime :-D

A tip to find books you enjoy: Start with short-story collections for your favorite genre. If you find a story that is enjoyable to read, lookup the author for more books.

This has given me a lot more success than following the "top X books to read in (genre)" lists.

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

Any copy I've seen looks like a romance novel, featuring two characters staring into each other's eyes.

In reality it's a Science Fiction book about human evolution and the government trying to weaponize it.

EDIT: My memory was a bit off. They aren't staring into each other's eyes...the man is behind the woman in a spooning kind of pose, and they both have their eyes closed as if they're about to start making out. It was worse than I remembered.

The book is like a far out, sci-fi action movie with depth and meaning and is great.

Definitely the most important is to read what you enjoy. If you are reading a book you don’t like, get rid of it. Life is too short to read bad books, don’t force yourself to finish one of you don’t like it.

Also, find a series you enjoy because then you always have another book lined up to look forward to.

Those are what keeps me reading lots

The covers for that series vary wildly in quality, wow.

I think that there are a lot of people who feel the same way. That is why the book was as popular as it was. Sometimes it's all about timing.

Maybe it's a reductive way of thinking, but i feel like sometimes there are these gaps in the market, which even when filled by comparatively sub-par books, end up being just the thing. We have seen this with so many other books like The Secret , Twilight , Da Vinci Code etc.

I am glad the book helped you!

I’m referring to the UK Public Lending Rights Scheme of 1979 which supposedly does lead to royalties per loan.

I liked it. I read it when I was on my own journey of self and it resonated.

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The hand cover looks like a library card. I don’t know how else to describe it.

I love A Court of Silver Flames, so thanks for mentioning that one. Now I know which edition to get when I buy a physical copy.

I haven’t read the Kate Daniels series, but you weren’t kidding. I guess you could order a hardcover of each version and switch the dust jackets??

I haven’t even read it myself yet. Honestly I’d rather she actually wrote a sequel to The Host

I think the law on copyrighted materials is pretty clear and I am not surprised the court ruled to protect intellectual property in this manner. Google claimed the right to take such property at will several years ago and I think they faced the same outcome.

I can't take property from someone, duplicate it, and give it to anyone who wants it. It doesn't matter if my motives and intentions are "good." I have still taken something that isn't mine and harmed the rightful owner.

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Not sure I agree with this, especially 2 and 6. Mainly because I feel like it goes against 8. To me anything I have to 'hold myself accountable' to isn't necessarily fun. Same goes for reading goals. I feel like it sets yourself up for failure and makes reading a chore.

We constantly get posts on the sub about people saying "Help! I can't reach my 30-books-a-year goal! What can I do?" Like just read when you want to.

These tips and tricks make it sound like a workout routine, which is absolutely isn't.

Honestly the ones I think are good are 1, 4, 5 and 8. Reading is an entirely organic thing and I feel like the reason so many people are put off by reading is because of expectations put on people during school.

Heh.

Next step for you: Teach your kid to set aside the book early enough to be completely rested the next morning.

Source: Avid reader as a kid, with an avid reader kid or two, still avid reader, that - once in a blue moon - reads until dawn.

I just checked and Random House has it listed as postponed indefinitely. Unless there’s a sudden big demand, or she either writes something else huge and creates more interest, or can get the rights back, I wouldn’t be holding out for it.

There’s a difference between a book that isn’t finished yet, and one that is written but the publishers don’t want to release it. It’s release date was meant to be November 21

Edit: 11th May 2021

Edit: those pesky American dates always get me

i loved the alchemist, i guess it found me at a point in life where I needed what it told me... that there's other things I could be doing other than what I was doing at the moment... and one step forward per day is all it takes.

however, I tried valkyries and veronica must die and found them almost unreadable. lol...

but the alchemist was huge for me when I read it, close to seven years ago. it legit changed my perspective on life.