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!