KEY TO REBECCA by Ken Follett

I read this book many years ago and really liked it.  But when I read it this time nothing was familiar to me, like I was reading it for the first time (this quirk of mine has advantages and disadvantages).  And it wasn't particularly good.  The ending was downright drippy.  He has written some great books - my favorite so far is Eye of the Needle.  So I give Key to Rebecca a so-so rating.

"THE ALCHEMIST" by Paulo Coelho

There are many things to like about this 167-page story of self-discovery for a boy who yearned to see the world.The author is Brazilian, and I am enthralled with the way he, and many South American, Spanish and Mexican authors tell stories in a way that captivate me. They instill a lovely lyrical quality into the voice of their young narrators, like Anaya's Antonio and Perez-Reverte's Inigo. Here, we meet Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy, who takes us with him on his journey to see the Great Pyramids.