The Rif Raff Book Club's October reading was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho .

The Alchemist by Michael Coelho

This may be the best read of the year. I loved the universal "life lessons" in the book. To follow your dream and people will always help you when you are in true pursuit of that dream. I'm not sure how much was lost in the translation of the book to English, but I really liked this book. It maybe one of my all time favorites. Simple story with a big message. I would recommend it to readers of all ages.

I got the illustrated version of the book at the library. And that was nice to look at the pictures. I guess one of the messages of the book is to follow your dreams which sounds nice enough But up to a point. The D.C. Sniper followed his dreams and people are now dead. The American Taliban followed his dreams and he'll hopefully end up in jail for the rest of his life. But I guess overall it is good to follow your dreams, not be complacent, and remembering that change is constant and necessary.