Finished: The Alchemist (Coelho) First book of 2018! I can't believe I'm starting my seventh year of my reading bender. :-) The Alchemist is the story of Santiago, a shepherd boy from Spain who decides to follow the path that a recurrent dream leads him on to find treasure near the Pyramids in Egypt. Little does he know, as he sells his sheep and sets off on his journey, that he will meet people who have a profound influence on his life...the man who is a king, the crystal shop keeper, an Englishman searching for his own treasure, a gypsy woman, a lovely girl fetching water at the oasis well, and the alchemist, himself. What Santiago learns from all these people, and from his own experiences, is that what he is really searching for is the soul of the world through nature and through the universal language of love. He comes to realize that God created everything, and so all things are equal. He goes through many tribulations, but also has many positive experiences while listening closely to his own heart and the world around him. Eventually he learns that trusting his heart will lead him to the treasure, which does actually exist. Once he finds the actual treasure, he has found so much more in the world around him, and he heads back to the oasis to find his love, the girl who is waiting for him there. It's a good book...a little preachy, and not very complicated...but good. I think as this new year begins, I'm going to make my recaps much shorter. It's more enjoyable for me that way...to read a book and savor it and then just write a little bit about it before moving on. Happy 2018!