The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
This book is a classic that I never knew existed. I came to the book through Bréne Brown's 'The gifts of imperfection' where the book is referenced and she suggest she reads it once a year. It is described as a fable about someone who follows their dreams and it is totally and utterly inspirational.
I listened to the book as an audio book (read by Jeremy Irons) which is fantastic. I don't think a great deal is lost through that medium and is so easy to listen to with Jeremy irons. It is full of lessons of how we should live, how we should make decisions and of what is possible. It is the type of book that when you speak to people who you respect and think are clever and ask if they've read it they laugh out loud at you because you haven't found it sooner saying things like "I was sure you would have been someone that read that ages ago" and make you feel really stupid.
This is definitely a magical find, the first one like this I have found for ages and ages. I have trawled through audio books of late not being able to get into them or not been inspired by them but this is one that totally caught my attention and one that I would recommend thoroughly.
