Review of The Alchemist plus a book by Daniel Duane

I just finished reading the Alchemist by Paul Coelho and I can see why it got on the top 100 list of books to read. It is a very spiritual book, I felt. Initially, I was not sure where the book was headed, but I love the concept. Being one with the earth and all the creatures in it. This is so many bible stories wrapped into one. Adam and Eve were one with the earth, one with God and yet they strayed and were cast out. We have Moses in the desert traveling with God's staff to turn back the elements. There is a link to Jesus, when the Alchemist tells the story to the young man. There are also hints of Jane Eyre, when he hears Fatima calling to him across the winds.

I quess is my only critique would be the end, I realized why he did it the way he did but the romantic in me wanted Fatima to be with him in the discovery.

A very enjoyable book of self discovery and realizing your dreams may just take you back to the beginning. It was a book that I needed, I want to listen to my heart and hear what it tells me.

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I also finished a book called Cook Like A Man, A Memoir of Cookbook Obsession, by Daniel Duane. It was not my favorite book, but I guess I should have learned from the title that this was about an obsession. If it were I book my husband was writing it would be "How to play Chess like a Man, a Memoir of a Chess book Obsession."
The book was a litle jumbled at the beginning, I felt like I was going forward with a story and then we went backwards or a felt we went backwards. I could relate to the cookbook obsession, because I have a closet full, some have never had a recipe tried. But I like to collect them and then go through them and mix and match recipes, depending on the ingredients I have handy and flavor profiles that look tasty in the book. I can honestly say that this should be an Obsession with one particular cookbook, that of Alice Waters.
I felt sorry for his wife because of the mess he created and did not clean. My husband cooks but is very fastidious with the cleaning process. He gets up set when he comes in and I have started cooking and there is a mess around me. Now I try to cook before he gets in the door, so that my prep area is clean. But I would never have several days pots and pans in the kitchen not cleaned, that just makes a meal unappetizing. I am not sure many chef's would promote a messy kitchen.
It was an okay book, and there is a transition but I guess having come off of Marcus Samuellsons' and the book above, both were more cleanly written. But I guess if you have a messy kitchen, maybe you have a messy book.**