Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Alchemist by Paul Coelho

For a limited time, The Alchemist is available for free from iTunes. Open up iTunes, and go to the audiobook page. Coelho's picture should be there with a link to the book. The offer is only good through July 14th (Monday), so you'll have to act fast. I won't be doing a full review of the book because I haven't listened to the audiobook, only read the book a few years ago. The story is about a young shepherd boy who leaves his flock to follow his dreams. While I found the mystical self-help angle of the book to be a bit over-the-top, I enjoyed the story and found myself rooting for the main character. If the not-so-subtle message of achieving your purpose in life doesn't move you either, the book can still be appreciated as a novel. After all, the cynical side of you can always point out that historical alchemists never achieved their goals in life.

Update: Reader Mrs. S points out that this recording may not be available for free outside the U.S. See comments for details.

1 comment:

Clare - The Super Mommy Club said...

As usual looks like the US listeners get a better deal from itunes - I can't even find it on the UK version let alone a free version :(