Third Girl by Agatha Christie

I was desperate to increase my "Book count" for this year and it had been some time since I lread Christie. So a long journey from Bangalore  to Delhi was a nice excuse.

 The story is about three girls sharing a flat, one an efficient secretary, second an artist and the third girl barge into Poirot's drawing room saying she "might" have committed a murder and disappears. Now it is upto Poirot to find more about this third girl. Has she committed any murder? If yes, who is the victim? And more importantly, where is she now?

Another important presence in the book is that of Ariadne Oliver, Christie's alter-ego. But the story is a bit dull as there is no known crime committed until late in the story. Even the end looks a bit unrealistic.

Not one of Christie's worst, not one of her best either. 2.5 out of 5.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This was one book I looked forwarded to reading. May be due to the high amount of expectations involved, I was slightly disappointed in the beginning of the book. And the book is indeed disappointing, till you understand the underlying spirit of the parable.

The book is about the journey of a shepherd, Santiago. After receiving a prophetic message in his dream, Santiago sets out on a journey to an unknown land in search of a "treasure".A journey which starts from Spain and ends in the pyramids of Egypt, and on this journey nothing is going to help him more than "following his dream". And he is to meet many people, including the Alchemist, who will lead him nearer to his treasure. Does he get the treasure? Yes, He does, in a place where he least expected to find it.

The book is inspirational and is full of inspirational quotes. Did I enjoy the book? Well, Yes. I do not believe in "reading the omens" or "following your heart" but still I liked the book. Rather than seeing it as something that motivates me to "realise my dream", I would see it as a nice and sweet fable. Mr Coelho has not motivated me enough to "listen to my heart" but I have a strong feeling that I haven't really "read" this book; there is much more to be read between those lines. Maybe one day I will come back to this book and read it again. But one thing is definite: I will read any other other book by Paulo Coelho that comes my way.

Good but will not make to the list of my most favorite books. 3 out of 5.