Fate Isn't It?

"......really important meetings are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other."

-Eleven Minutes, Paulo Coelho

Meeting Chance....

"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 where I came from because I didn't have the courage to say yes to life?"

- Eleven Minutes, Paulo Coelho

From The Pilgrimage To Miss Jones....

I just finished reading The Pilgrimage. Sorry! But it wasn't as good as the other Paulo Coelho's books I've read. It is more spiritual in a secret society context i.e. Knight Templar and The 'Tradition' stuffs. However, as with his other books, the author never failed to impress me with his understanding for a better life.

I so wanted to start on Jemima J but as it is now past midnight and it's workday tomorrow, I think its best to start reading it fresh in the morning. Or whenever I'm free haha! Besides, I need to recuperate and relax a bit. My mind is still overwhelmed by The Pilgrimage. I don't want to end up thinking that it was Jemima who embarked on a journey along the road to Santiago in search of her sword. Heh!

To dear readers of this blog, be it regulars or accidental gogglers or blog hoppers, feel free to recommend any good books as I'm running out of titles to read. Though I still have 8 books to read. Anyways, I'm not into sci-fi fiction, thriller or murder crime. Favoured genres are those of my reading lists. Historical romance is a big NO NO NO! Thank you.

Sometimes we need to slow down and appreciate what we have around us.......

Walking The Full Stretch....

"Of all the ways we have found to hurt ourselves, the worst has been through love. We are always suffering because of someone who doesn't love us, or someone who has left us, or someone who won't leave us...."

Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage

The Alchemist of Words

I so love Paulo Coelho and his books. He defines life brilliantly. He observation and perception on life and everything related to it is so spot on. His ideas are simple, yet pure and honest. People like him helps us to make the better of our lives.


The latest post in his site was about the story of Apollo and Daphne:

The god Apollo pursues the nymph Daphne into the woods. He is in love with her, but Daphne - who is always being courted by everyone - can no longer bear her own splendour and calls on the gods to help her, saying: 'Destroy this beauty that never allows me any peace.' The gods hear Daphne's plea and transform her into a tree. Apollo cannot find her, for she is now merely part of the vegetation. Daphne behaved in a way that is familiar to us all: we often destroy our own talents because we do not know what to do with them. The mediocrity of being 'just another person' is more comfortable than the struggle to reveal everything we are capable of, using the gifts that God gave us.


In response to the question: In Veronica Decides to Die, you have portrayed a young girl who tries to commit suicide... , he wrote:

No, it's not a book about suicide. It is about the necessity to accept our differences, instead of trying to fulfill other people's destiny (like the destiny that our parents choose for us, for example). When, as a young man, I insisted on being a writer, my family sent me to a mental institution-not only once, but three times. Veronica is based on this experience. We must stop following the 'Manual of Good Behavior', this non-written book that guides our life, and dare a little bit more. Veronica is bored, because she realizes that today is the same as yesterday, and it will be the same tomorrow.

By the way, talking about my experience in the asylum: there are some battles that kill you, and some that make you stronger. For me, it was the latter. I never saw myself as a victim of circumstances, but as an adventurer who must, from time to time, cross troubled waters.

For more insightful view of Mr Coelho go to Paulo Coelho Blog

Paulo's Best

I finally have it. Will start reading as soon as I'm done with Crazy as Chocolate.