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The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

30 readers recommend it across 21 discussions

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Original Hacker News comments, in the readers’ own words.

striker_axel
The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes from Paulo Coelho These books taught me to take risk and importance of being different. “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” — Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist “Everything tells me that I am about to make a wrong decision, but making mistakes is just part of life. What does the world want of me? Does it want me to take no risks, to go back to where I came from because I didn't have the courage to say "yes" to life?” ― Paulo Coelho, Eleven Minutes

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Arete31415
I had a very The Alchmist experience while I was reading The Alchemist. I was reading the book on the bus and and was so engrossed that I missed my bus stop. Then I decided that since it was a nice day, I'd take a walk around the neighborhood I ended up in. At the guitar store, there was an amazing Martin guitar that I couldn't put down. I still have it 15 years later. Kismet.
TheAlchemist
Surprised it's not mentioned yet -> "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. This book is pure gold, however one has to approach it with a right mindset. It's not the best literature, per se, you will ever read, but if you take a deeper look, it's very simple, yet very profound. It somehow reminds me of the quote from Charlie Munger (Warren Buffett long time associate, and one of the wisest man alive) - "Take a simple idea, and take it seriously"
pariya
"The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield (good read if you want to learn how to quit procrastinating!) "The Greatest Salesman on Earth" by Og Mandino "The Zahir" by Paolo Coelho is about challenging tradition, highly recommend. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie When I was in high school- "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coelho
humanarity
Meditations (Marcus Aurelius) - incredibly clear ideas probably clear-up 80% of issues you have with everyday life The Bible (& The Gnostic Gospels) - I love the idea that Jesus was a real guy who (literally) petrified his childhood playmates because they "vexed" him by dispersing his anti-gravity water :) Atlas Shrugged - no excuses Self and Others - personal pyschology Seth Speaks - a lady channels an interdimensional being The Road Less Travelled - a psychoanalyst's memoirs Letters to a Young Artist - encouragement for going your own way, a series of letters The Alchemist - help you read the signs from the heart of the World for your own path An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, et al (T. Suzuki) - really interesting, non-duality, higher third unification of opposites Hear the Wind Sing (Murakami) - really bizarre and pure, his first one written late nights at kitchen table after working in a bar, before he became famous Rich Dad Poor Dad - solid advice Discrete Maths (Rosen) - interesting and very learnable, a great reference An Imaginary Life (Malouf) - great clarity of writing The Solid Mandala (Patrick White) - amazing observation of people
asad_ch
Any one book? Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan Any one series? The Foundation series, Isaac Asimov Other personal favourites include: The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho The Book of Disquet, Fernando Pessoa The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexander Dumas Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safron Foer Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
cellover
I like understanding where I am located in space and time, that is why I love reading about science & science fiction ; it is indirectly related to religion in the sense that it makes you think about your world, about yourself. Buddhism / Religion / ... : - Siddartha - Hermann Hesse - The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho Science: - A brief history of time - Stephen Hawking (space, time) - The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins (evolution) - Le cerveau intime - Marc Jeannerod (in french only) Science-fiction: - The Road - Cormack Mc Carthy - City - Clifford D. Simack - Time is the simplest thing - Clifford D. Simack - Ringworld - Larry Niven
Sealy
Other books that I've found helpful are the many socioeconomics books out there: Malcolm Gladwell - Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers Tim Harford - The Undercover Economist Nassim Taleb - The Black Swan I enjoyed the Steve Jobs book too, I liked the fact that he believed in what he was working on (no matter how crazy or disruptive) and saw so much beauty in perfection. There's a lot we can learn from his persistence and attitude towards persevering in the face of failure. And for entertainment, I like profound books: The Alchemist, The Little Prince
timmm
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho. King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Moore and Gillette The lean startup Paul Graham how to start a startup Mark Hyman Ultimate Mind Solution Tribal Leadership Wheel of Time Think and Grow Rich Superior Man David Deida The Fountain Head Eckhart Tolle New Earth 50th Law Good to Great Jed Mckenna Earl Nightengale Long Walk to Freedom Outliers Good to Great Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz (Self-image) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey(Being awesome) Wealth of Nations Wayne Dyer The Tao System of the World Origin of Species Brave new world Thank you economy Crush it Built to Last Who Moved my Cheese Stillness Speak Eckhert Tolle Mastery George Leonard Steve Jobs Biography The Last Lecture Steve Pavlina Books Iacocca Striking Thoughts Bruce Lee Carlos Castaneda Ghost in the Wires Richest Man in Babylon Way of the Superior Man Losing My Virginity Think and Grow Rich Delivering Happiness
jing
Here's a few I've really liked that have a broader subject matter than only what you asked for. I figure that if you like to read you'd like these books. --- NON-FICTION --- Darkness Visible A Mathemematician's Apology Omnivore's Dilemma Fermat's Enigma The Code Book Born to Run Judgement of Paris Siddhartha Killing Pablo The Victorian Internet Lone Survivor I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman Papillon Into Thin Air Born on a Blue Day Touching the Void Got Fight The Conquest of Happiness --- FICTION --- Switch Bitch Lost Horizon The Cuckoo's Egg The Simlarillion The Time Traveler's Wife The Alchemist The Count of Monte Cristo A Canticle for Leibowitz Neverwhere My Uncle Oswald Stories of Your Life and Others Invisible Cities Life of Pi Atlas Shrugged --- WALL STREET / FINANCE --- When Genius Failed Liar's Poker Buffett (Lowenstein) Bull! Black-Scholes and Beyond (textbook) Fixed Income Securities (textbook) The Road to Serfdom The Smartest Guys in the Room Fortune's Formula The Fourth Turning Inside the House of Money --- ENTREPRENEURSHIP / COMPUTERS (non-textbook) --- Masters of Doom It's Not About the Bike Dot. Bomb Founders at Work The PayPal Wars…

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danielzarick
Definitely all three of these... Plus recently "Made to Stick" has really changed how I think about ideas and sharing them with others. http://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/140... (http://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/1400064287/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282795235&sr=1-1)
sandipagr
The Alchemist http://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Fable-About-Following-Dream/... (http://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Fable-About-Following-Dream/dp/0062502182) Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry... (http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0688002307/) How to win friends an Influence people http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/14... (http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/1439167346)
shayan
Unfortunately I can't read fiction too much, I feel like what I read must directly help me with what I do, so I feel a lot better reading either technical stuff or business related (I love business). Since we are excluding technical, most of the following are business related, or helps you in dealing with people and solving problems) Netscape Time - Jim Clark (very educational for those interested in startups, good piece of Internet history, interesting insights to the culture of the first Internet companies) How To Win Friends And Influence People - Dale Carnegie (found it through YC recommendations, THANK YOU. one of the best educational books I have ever read, it will teach you how to make friends, be a good leader, get along at home, encourage people, make them follow you and so much more...) Founders at Work - Jessica Livingston (I found it relevant to what I am doing, good lessons, and interesting insights) Getting to Yes - Roger Fisher, William L. Ury (teaches you how to negotiate and how to get the best out of each situation for yourself and the other part, will be useful both at work and personal life, a bit dry)…