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His books have been translated into 56 languages, topped bestseller lists throughout the world, and scored him such celebrity fans as Julia Roberts, Bill Clinton, and Madonna; Paulo Coelho give us a list of his favorite books, and what makes them special to him
- The Holy Bible
(religion and spirituality)
"What was the book that most influenced your life?
The Bible, which contains all the stories and all the guidance humankind needs. " - Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
(literature and fiction)
"Shows how a man can write from the heart. A reflection about things that we don't dare to think about. " - A Separate Reality by Carlos Castaneda
(literature and fiction, religion and spirituality)
"The first time I heard about the "the way of the warrior." - Songs of Innocence by William Blake
(literature and fiction, classics)
"You don't need complications to be connected to the miracle of life. " - Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges
(literature and fiction, classics)
"A masterpiece in exercising one's creativity. Magical as the sun and the moon. " - Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado
(literature and fiction)
"The best portrait of Brazil so far. " - The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
(literature and fiction, religion and spirituality)
"An underrated masterpiece on dealing with human conflicts. " - Fables by La Fontaine
(children books, literature and fiction)
"It seems that it is easy to understand humans when we read about animals. " - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(literature and fiction, classics)
"Reflects the richness of the Latin soul (and body). Every time you read this book, you read a different book. " - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake
(literature and fiction)
"Lessons that must be remembered every year." - The Sewing Circles of Herat by Christina Lamb
(history, nonfiction)
"For understanding better the present moment. " - If Only It Were True by Marc Levy
(literature and fiction, romance)
"Probably the best contemporary French writer. " - Plato, not Prozac by Lou Marinoff
(happiness, nonfiction)
"Intelligence and intuition overcomes everything. " - The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny by Robin Sharma
(careers, business books, motivational, self-help, happiness, literature and fiction)
"A captivating story that teaches as it delights."
Source:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
Why should you listen to him?
His books have been translated into 56 languages, topped bestseller lists throughout the world, and scored him such celebrity fans as Julia Roberts, Bill Clinton, and Madonna; yet for Brazilian publishing phenom Paulo Coelho, the road to success has been strewn with a number of obstacles, many of them rooted in his troubled past.
As a youth, Coelho was expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, a professional engineer. When he rebelled, expressing his intentions to become a writer, his parents had him committed to a psychiatric hospital where he was subjected to electro-shock therapy. He left home to join the 1970s countercultural revolution, experimenting with drugs, dabbling in black magic, and getting involved in Brazil's bohemian art and music scene. He teamed with rock musician Raul Seixas for an extremely successful songwriting partnership that changed the face of Brazilian pop -- and put a lot of money in Coelho's pockets. He also joined an anti-capitalist organization called the Alternative Society which attracted the attention of Brazil's military dictatorship. Marked down as a subversive, he was imprisoned and tortured.
Amazingly, Coelho survived these horrific experiences. He left the hippie lifestyle behind, went to work in the record industry, and began to write, but without much success. Then, in the mid-1980s, during a trip to Europe, he met a man, an unnamed mentor he refers to only as "J," who inducted him into Regnum Agnus Mundi, a secret society that blends Catholicism with a sort of New Age mysticism. At J's urging, Coelho journeyed across el Camino de Santiago, the legendary Spanish road traversed by pilgrims since the Middle Ages. He chronicled this life-changing, 500-mile journey -- the culmination of decades of soul-searching -- in The Pilgrimage, published in 1987.
The following year, Coelho wrote The Alchemist, the inspirational fable for which he is best known. The first edition sold so poorly the publisher decided not to reprint it. Undaunted, Coelho moved to a larger publishing house that seemed more interested in his work. When his third novel (1990's Brida) proved successful, the resulting media buzz carried The Alchemist all the way to the top of the charts. Released in the U.S. by HarperCollins in 1993, The Alchemist became a word-of-mouth sensation, turning Coelho into a cult hero.
Since then, he has gone on to create his own distinct literary brand -- an amalgam of allegory and self-help filled with spiritual themes and symbols. In his novels, memoirs, and aphoristic nonfiction, he returns time and again to the concepts of quest and transformation and has often said that writing has helped connect him to his soul. While his books have not always been reviewed favorably and have often become the subject of strong cultural and philosophical debate, there is no doubt that this self-described "pilgrim writer" has struck a chord in readers everywhere. In the 2009 edition of the Guiness Book of World Records, Coelho was named the most translated living author -- with William Shakespeare the most translated of all time!
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
(literature and fiction, religion and spirituality)
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