The Alchemist

I don’t want to sell this book short. It is a very well written and potentially quick read. The thick metaphor throughout is also extremely compelling. For me, however, I was never getting enough. The book is a constant journey full of short stories and I would have liked to have been able to savor the resolution at the end of every minor climax and that was not the writing style. I am confident the author had a purpose behind this and I can appreciate their art but its effect on me was to kind of give up on the book. Not that the journey wasn’t interesting, but if I’m going to read through it I want my pay off.

I enjoyed the religious themes and the call to a personal legend. The concept of the book, I believe, is universal and the lessons offered can apply to anyone. I was especially intrigued by the many different statements about love, falling in love, and love’s effect on your personal journey.

I think one of the biggest moments in the book for me was on page 120 (The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho) “You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t true love…”

Appearance, 4/5: The cover has some mystique to it! If I was passing through a store I would pick it up to investigate. Perhaps it's a little misleading since the book is about a shepherd but and a lot of desert action. But compelling nonetheless!

Readability, 3/5: Even though the book is short and there is a constant struggle and journey, it took effort to stay invested since stories were not always deeply developed or resolved.

My Points, 8/10: Because of the message throughout the book I don’t want to knock it too much simply because I didn’t love the writing style. I wouldn’t want someone to not experience this read because I wasn’t as rapt as I could have been.

Total: 15/20

The Alchemist

   The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, relates the story of a young Spanish shepherd named Santiago who has a dream that reveals to him a treasure that he feels inclined to seek. Along his journey Santiago is often delayed by unexpected circumstances and people, but remembers to follow his heart and pay attention to the omens. He ends up finding friends, love, and the secrets to listening to one's own heart on his way to finding his treasure and learning that one's "treasure is where your heart is".
   I found this to be a quick and interesting read. At times, I wished that the story would delve deeper into some of the characters and situations as this would have created a more complete story. I think, though, that the author was singular in purpose and wanted to focus and centralize the plot around the personal journey of one young man.
   The story is mostly told from Santiago's point of view, but sometimes oddly shifts to the point of view of other characters, but only for short periods of time. I didn't really understand the purpose of these shifts, but I also didn't think they detracted from the story.
   There are also undeniable religious themes underlying this story. There are a variety of Christ characters that help guide Santiago along his way and scriptural references, though sometimes subtle, are common throughout.
   Overall I enjoyed this read. I could see myself rereading it as well as recommending it to others.

Appearance, 4/5: I was drawn to the book, but don't really think it really indicated much or had much to do with the storyline.
Readability, 4.5/5: It held my interest and was a quick read. The only negative would be the shifting narration mentioned earlier.
My Points, 10/10: I enjoyed the book, simply put.

Total: 18.5/20

Witness

Usually when we get books for this, we get them from local shops but I'll admit, I got this one online. And when it came in the mail and I leafed through it I was shocked.  'What???' was the only thing I could utter in my mind. I didn't realize I ordered a poem!  But this was a fun read off the usual track!

I like that it was a quick read but you don't get quite as drawn in to the story since there's not much of an exposition or really much building throughout. I was expecting a little more high emotion drama but came to really appreciate the simple take of each character during the moment the reader is exposed to their mind.
I think I came to enjoy reading little Esther Hirsh's take on things the most. Her and Viola Pettibone.  The book also provides a glossary of characters which is kind of fun!

I have to say it was a welcomed experience overall compared to the last one!  It was nothing fantastic; I wouldn't probably remember to suggest it but I definitely put it down fondly.

Appearance: 4.5/5: The cover made me think it would be more thrilling; like a court case. It was still interesting and I enjoyed seeing people. It made it seem more authentic.

Readability: 4/5: This was an easy read. You could understand it and each part was short enough to endure any style of character.

My Points: 8.5/10: It was easy to read. Each character was unique in how they expressed their account. It lacked real depth and pace but you didn't lose interest. I wouldn't say it is critically acclaimed but it was a good read.

Total: 16.5/20

Witness

Witness: A Novel by Karen Hesse

This book is not a traditional narrative. Rather, it is a collection of stories and reflections upon events that are related to the reader from the characters' differing perspectives. The setting is a small, 1924 Vermont town that has recently begun to see an influx of KKK members. The storyline follows a number of community members as they take various roles in dealing with the Klan. While some resist involvement completely, some join its ranks and still others are found somewhere in the middle.

The reading of this book was a breeze. As each character shares only a short stanza of their story at a time, it goes rather quickly. I managed to read this story in its entirety in a sitting of just over an hour. The only thing that slows it down is that the reader must constantly refer back to the character description page at the beginning of the book to keep the characters straight.

Overall, I would consider this book to resemble more a short story than anything else. Although I didn't necessarily find the storyline to be ultra-engaging (a lack of character and/or storyline development keeps the reader from becoming too attached), it is a quick and enjoyable read.

Appearance: 4/5 The cover makes you wonder who these people are and what their role is. I like that.

Readability: 4/5 As I said, this book can easily be read in an hour or two. The only hold up is having to flip to the character page.

My Points: 8/10 Overall I liked it, but I wouldn't necessarily put it on my must-read list.

Total Points: 16/20

A Mapmaker's Dream

This story contains a number of elements that I usually enjoy. It intertwines historical fact and fiction, which I generally find exhilarating. It is fairly academic, which I like to think keeps me sharp. It is divided into short chapters, which generally make a story seem to flow more quickly. Somehow, though, this story just never capitalizes on these elements.

Ultimately, the story never really seems to go anywhere. Each chapter is the same as the previous one, without the narrative moving forward. Most of the text is made up of Fra Mauro's reflections on the experiences that are shared with him. These reflections also appear to go nowhere. I found some solace in the fact that Fra Mauro is able to finish his map in the end, although I'm not really sure if he was happy about it or not (it was hard to tell!)

Appearance: 5/5 The appearance of the book is what originally drew me in. The background picture works well. The inside of the dust jacket  really draws the reader in, describing things like Fra Mauro experiencing the "adventure of a lifetime" and such. Unfortunately, the story doesn't fulfill these claims.

Readability: 1/5 It was just downright difficult to power through, despite the short chapters.

My Points: 3/10 Overall I have to give the author James Cowan props for originality. I can't say I've ever read a book quite like this one. Unfortunately I can't say that it was an exceptionally enjoyable experience.

Total Points: 9/20

A Mapmaker's Dream

A Mapmaker's Dream: The Meditations of Fra Mauro, Cartogropher to the Court of Venice by James Cowan.

This is a true story that's fake.  And I had a really hard time grasping that. Basically, the author claims he found Fra Mauro's journals and transcribed it for us to enjoy. Fra Mauro was consumed with a need to create a map that is not altogether geographically perfect but perfectly represents each region per disclosures of personal experience of anyone who shared their experience with him.  Confined by to his cell by vow (and fear of truly living in my opinion), Mauro longs to experience the world but settles for stories.  

This book is filled with every '-icals' and it was slightly exhausting. I thought reading C.S. Lewis was hard on the mind!!  I am confident that there were more sentences than not that contained a word that I didn't recognize or isn't exactly colloquial for me. The pages are filled with the philosophical/theological/geographical ramblings of a monk who needed to just go see the world for himself if he was going to worry so much about reporting it correctly. For a man of God he questioned a lot. He was not content. I think he could have had a deeper and more honest relationship with God if he would have never taken the vow and went around for himself to see what the Lord created.

I had two takeaway quotes. The first from page 80 "you have become addicted to the observations of men. You are not your own man but a composite of others." And later on page 107 "no man should learn the meaning of life from another: he must seek it somewhere else..."

Appearance: 3/5 It looks old which is appealing. On the inside covers there is a map that Fra Mauro created (not the one described in the text) and that was cool!

Readability: 1/5 I don't even remember when I put this thing down but when I picked it back it was on page 75 and I skimmed until chapter 20 to finish it up. It was hard to maintain interest when the text was about events that are not current or relevant, and at one point there was a lot of extra information at the bottom of the page to help the reader understand but it was like work. Too many big words. It made me want to sleep every time.

My Points: 4/10 I like the concept of this book. If it were only the beginning and the end I would think 'huh, that's interesting', but there was so much in between. Even the in between would have been more bearable if it were not for the intense language and lack of any building plot. I suppose that is a journal for ya. But no wonder he couldn't stand to be in that cell!!  He just needed to give it a rest!

Total Points: 8/20 

Pudd'nhead Wilson

Zack did a wonderful job below of describing the fashion in which this story was relayed to the reader. I have not read a lot of Mark Twain but even from this short work I can tell he is a master storyteller. I have to agree that while I enjoyed this book, I also did not struggle to putting it down. At times, especially early to mid-way through the book it was hard to tell where it was going and I felt like I couldn't lend much more interest to it if I did not see some form of payoff coming. I was impressed, though, with how everything tied together in the end and reaffirmed that my time was well spent. It was a good bounce back from the last book we read!

Appearance 4/5 - I was drawn to this book because of the cover and the title. The combination of name plus men on display aroused my curiosity enough to make a purchase. At least the title had something to do with the book.. Can't say the same for the picture but that man in the center looks hilarious.

Readability 3/5 - At the beginning of each chapter there would be some quotes from one of the characters and I really enjoyed that. And there were aspects of the story that I'm glad I invested in and enjoyed. There was another great portion that never really had a direct impact to the plot and, eh, made me feel like it was whatever. Also, the slave dialect slowed my progress.

My Points 7/10 - It just wasn't a personal favorite. I wasn't able to really attach to any specific character because for the most part it was kept at a pretty superficial level. The things I found interesting, like the social system of the time or Pudd'nhead's interest in finger prints were not even highlighted enough for you to invest in. There just weren't a lot of takeaways. I don't regret reading it, I wouldn't discourage others from reading it; I also would probably never reread it.

Total: 14/20