I hear this book is supposed to change your life or something...maybe I have a soul of stone, but I didn't feel any different once I was done. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good either. It was whatever. That's as eloquently as I can put it. 
 Also, this book made me think of one of my least favorite books of all time -- The Secret. One of the things repeated over and over in The Alchemist was that if you want something really really bad, then things will fall in place to help you obtain this "personal legend." This is a bunch of bull. The universe doesn't conspire to help you achieve what you want in life. You work for it, and those that work hard get it. There is a little bit of faith and luck involved, I won't deny that, but the whole "just believe in it and it will happen" stuff annoys me to no end.