Life Changing and Regret Reading!

BOOK THAT CHANGED MY LIFE / PERSPECTIVE
1. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The basic storyline is that of a shepherd in Andalucia (Southern Spain) who decides to give up everything and go in search of his destiny in the desert of North Africa. There is a real twist in the end which is fabulous. I didn't say this one for the "Enlightenment" category simply because I figured everybody else would say it. So I will use it for the "Perspective" changing category (as it didn't exactly change my life!). A very interesting take on the role that "fate" plays in our lives. I like his idea that "the world will open up to you" and make your dreams possible as long as you are brave and follow your heart. The number of times I thought "Oh my God that is so true!" is ridiculous. I first heard about this book from a fellow traveller when I was in China just over 5 years ago. As the person who recommended it to me was a bit pretentious, I didn't think anything else of it at the time. Then one day I came across it in the bookstore and remembered him saying how fantastic it was, so thought why not give it a go. And I am so glad I did. A short book and an easy read, you wouldn't think that it could hold so much wisdom. I personally think Paulo Coelho is on an ego-trip in every other book he's written (the main male characters are pretty much always based closely on himself who he likes to portray as a bit of a guru) since he became famous for the Alchemist, but that doesn't take away from the brilliance of this book.

BOOK I WISH I'D NEVER READ!
2. An Autobiography: The story of my experiments with truth. (M. K. Gandhi)
Mahatma Gandhi was a major political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement. But his influence was not just felt in India but also in South Africa and the world over. According to Wikipedia.org, "Gandhi first employed his ideas of civil disobedience in the Indian struggle for civil rights in South Africa. Upon his return to India, Gandhi helped lead poor farmers and labourers to protest oppressive taxation and widespread discrimination. Leading the Indian National Congress, Gandhi worked for the alleviation of poverty, the liberation of women, brotherhood amongst diverse communities, an end to untouchability and caste discrimination and for the economic self-sufficiency of the nation."

In short, Gandhi was a hero. The problem is, he was also human. This is the reason why I wish I had never read his autobiography, as I often got angry and upset at his human failings simply because I had such high expectations of him. As "My Experiments with the Truth" never started out as a proper "autobiography" - it is a compilation of articles he wrote for his own newspaper column in an Indian paper - it is probably the most truthful account of a person's life ever published. This is because it wasn't written retrospectively - that is, with the value of hindsight (and editing!). Thus many a time he would contradict what he said in an earlier entry which meant that on many occasions he appeared quite hypocritical. But of course, people's personal views and opinions change over time after lessons are learned (often the hard way) and this is something that should be taken into account when reading his autobiography.