Buy The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell here!

The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo: 

If you haven’t read The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo yet, you’re missing out. (Also, where have you been?)

On the surface, this short story focuses on a sheep herder who leaves his small life to seek out treasure in faraway lands, meeting trials and people that shape him into the person he was meant to be. It’s a tale of a boy becoming more than he ever thought he could through determination and faith, and one that teaches the importance of never giving up in the struggle for greatness.

Paulo Coehlo published this book in 1988, only selling two copies of it in six months. However, he never gave up on it. Through word of mouth, more and more people started to pick up the book, and it eventually spread to the United States, where its popularity boomed. Coehlo had no way of knowing that his book would attract as much attention as it did (we even did a post on fashion inspired by the book!), but his strength of will carried him forward.

In the brief foreword, Coehlo reflects on his story and the change he sees it making in the world. He remarks that while the tale could be a mirror for his own struggles in life, it is a mirror for anyone else who reads it. The story brings about memories of happiness, of loss, of desperation—it brings about the understanding that under all of our differences, there is something deep and unbreakable that links all of us together.

Buy The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo here!

Wonder Women by Sam Maggs: 

Wonder Women by Sam Maggs provides brief insights into the hidden history of women inventors, spies, scientists, and adventurers, and the women who defied societal expectations to aspire to greatness. 

If you watched and enjoyed Hidden Figures, you’ll love the chance to meet the forgotten heroines that star in these pages. Wonder Women also includes interviews with modern day women in STEM focusing on what their experiences have been like, and how girls today can get involved in those fields.