Review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Anything that's recorded by Jeremy Irons is good in my book! No pun intended. I enjoyed listening to this book because it told the story of how someone accomplished figuring out his own personal legend rather than the current trend of telling the reader how to do it for themselves. That said, I really didn't think it warrants being on many "top books of <fill in the blank>" lists. Santiago, the main character, is an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel the world in search of a treasure. His journey leads him to experience and learn things he never imagined to be possible. According to Goodreads, "Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams." I did not get that from listening to this book, at all.

Perhaps the message of "all you gotta do to accomplish your dreams is to go after it real hard with all you got and blinders on without caring about your other responsibilities" was inspiring and new in the late 1980s when this was first published. Or perhaps it was inspiring in Coelho's native country of Brazil. Who knows? I don't.

I can see why others would enjoy this if they haven't read other self-help, motivational, inspiring quest novels before this one. As for me , I wasn't sold on the message. I think a big reason why I kept listening to it was because I kept epxecting it to get better and I also enjoyed listening to the voice of Jeremy Irons.

**
Review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Audiobook, narrated by Jeremy Irons
Published 2005 by HarperCollins Publishers, first published 1988
Dates Read: June 10 - July 4, 2017
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Review: The Home Front: Life in America During World War II by Audible Originals

This book was suggested to me in my audible account last year when I still had an active account, so I subscribed to it since it's an Audible Original which allowed me to download it to listen at another time. From Audible's website, Audible Originals are, "are exclusive audio titles created by celebrated storytellers from worlds as diverse as theater, journalism, literature, and more, all produced in the Audible studios. Members can now select 2 of 6 featured Audible Originals every month, in addition to 1 audiobook, regardless of price, plus unlimited access to premier audio fitness programs. There’s never been a better time to join the listening revolution!" The Home Front was my first Audible Original title and I'm glad I chose this one!

I could listen to Martin Sheen all day long talk about any topic. He just has that kind of voice that sounds soothing to me, and it certainly helps that he is an actor so he's trained to "perform" in various settings. I enjoyed listening to these episodes about life in America during WWII. Every episode built on the previous episodes and covered subjects like women in the military, women who went to work (Rosie the Riveter) while their men went to fight, racial tensions, refugees seeking asylum in the US, internment camps for Japanese Americans, the round up of Italian and German Americans, the development and use of atomic bombs in Japan, and the affects of war on returning soldiers and what we now call PTSD which I learned wasn't called that until 1980.

We hear from the people who lived during these harsh times. Some stories were recorded during the war as part of FDR's "Dear Mr. President" episodes, among other series for the still new and exciting radio. Others were recorded after the war, sometimes even decades later, for a variety of oral history projects.

Listening to this series makes me grateful to have heard my paternal grandmother's role and life during the war, and also makes me wish I could've heard my other grandparent's experiences as well, or as much as they'd be able to tell me. Both of my grandfathers served in the military - one in the Navy and one in the Army - and they both passed before I was old enough to realize the importance of passing stories on to the next generation.

**

Review: The Home Front: Life in America During World War II by Audible Originals
Audible Audio (Audible Originals), 8 hours and 13 minutes
Published Sept. 7th, 2017 by Audible Original
Dates Read: November 11 - November 21, 2018