Book Review of The Alchemist

I recently read the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I enjoyed reading it. The story is about a boy who dreams of a treasure. When he goes in search of it, he meets an alchemist who teaches him alchemy and guides him in life. I liked the character of the boy because:

• He was very brave and courageous.
• He would believe in the impossible.
• He was unworldly and was ready to sacrifice his treasure for a simple and quiet life.
• He was hard-working and worked in a crystal shop to earn back his stolen money.
• He had a sharp brain and was a quick learner.

I admired the character of the alchemist because:

• He was very witty and sharp
• Though he possessed the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, he was not ready to share it with anyone. This shows that he wanted the people to make their own efforts to earn their own rewards.
• He was a great thinker and an excellent teacher.

The things I thought should not have been done:

In my opinion the alchemist should not have misguided the boy and led him in the wrong direction. He could have saved the boy a lot of pain.

The times I laughed out loud:

Though the book is not exactly humorous, I laughed out loud in a few parts.

Places where I related to the story:

I related to the story when the boy was digging and realized that he was digging in the wrong place. I have experienced the same feeling many times. When I have almost finished any task and realize that it is wrong I feel disappointed and angry at myself. I think that the boy would have felt the same way.

I would recommend this book to people over age 12 because some o fthe sentences are difficult to understand. I give it 4 stars.

My Intolerance of bad Spelling in Pune and elsewhere

Whenever I see bad spelling anywhere in Pune, I get very angry. People say that Pune is a place for learned and educated people. Then they go and write weird spelling. The most common mistake: the spelling of the word ''Chinese''. I get so irritated when I see it spelled as 'Chinees', or 'Cheenis', or even 'Chans'. And all of this in CAPITALS with calligraphy and fancy letters and pictures of dragons. And I suggest that you all visit the website below to improve your spelling and vocabulary.

http://www.freerice.com/

Another thing that really bugs me is the bad punctuation. Seriously, every time I see those apostrophes in VCD's and DVD's I get a heart attack! And if you go in the shop and tell the people that there is a wrong spelling or misplaced apostrophe in their sign, they will say the usual,"Tula kay karaychay? Tujha tujha kam kar ani amhala sangu nakos!" (What do you want to do? Mind your own business and don't tell us what to do!)
I am a true Lynne Truss fan. (If you don't know who she is then shame on you!)I believe in taking a violent approach about such things. In school if a boy says 'sitted' instead of 'sat' then I have to restrain from hitting him. So beware of the Punctuation Monster, aka Aboli!

My Trip to Sinhagad

Today I went trekking on Sinhagad, a famous fort on top of a mountain. This was my third trip there. We woke up at 5:30 in the morning and left at around 7:00. My uncle, mother, father and I went ahead and climbed it. Then our driver went back home, picked up the rest of the family, and came straight up on top. By then we had climbed till the top. Then we went inside the fort, did a little sightseeing, and ate lunch. Then we left and reached home at about 4:30.
The climb was really challenging, but I enjoyed it. And the view was fantastic! We could see the whole valley and the town in it. It was beautiful. I saw the spot where I got stuck the last time I went there. It was really nice seeing the place where I was struggling to climb up. But the climb was worth it, because I got a great lunch to make up for it!Hot bhakaris, pitla, red and green thecha, bharla vanga and hot kanda bhaji. Yum! And when we came home, I ran straight for the shower. Now my legs are aching, but I don't mind. I had a really good time and enjoyed myself fully!

Life at school

I really enjoy school. Except for studying. I love English, Science and Hindi. My teachers are really great but I'm constantly getting scolded about my talking. I can't help it man! I'm always gossiping about some or the other scandal that took place in school. For example, so-and-so breaking up with his girlfriend, or someone proposing to another. It's really funny! And I have never been a part of one of these, so I find them really amusing. My best friends and I sit really near each other so we're always chattering away.

Aboli

A bit about me and my life so far

My name is Aboli. I'm 12 years old. I used to live in USA but now I've come back to India. I really hate Math, karela and not being able to do what I want. My mom nags me so much about my marks and my overall performance. She's told me to do something creative and different in my holidays so I've started this blog. I don't expect her to be satisfied anyways but ha ha....

I love reading. I've read the whole Harry Potter series so far and I've read each of the books at least 10 times. (by the way this is one of the biggest reasons she nags me!!!)

My dad is really nice and supportive but when he gets angry...... Hoo boy!

He buys me all sorts of books and stuff.

My marks in maths are abysmally low (is that the right spelling?) and I've spent half of most of my evenings this year getting a nice lecture on how I must improve my performance and blah blah blah.................

Blah blah blah blah still going on blah blah blah................

Gotta split!