Paulo Coelho Plurks

I may not be a fan of The Alchemist because I find the book quite preachy, but I adore Paulo Coelho’s other works, like Eleven Minutes and Veronika Decides To Die. I have some of his other books also. This is why when I learned that he has a plurk, I immediately added myself as a fan of his page. He twits also but he posts the same things. I found it cool that an author internationally famous as he is would use these mediums to reach his fans from all over the world.

It is a delight to know Paulo Coelho remains so grounded despite his fame (and riches). He takes simple joys in taking pictures of his latest book, The Winner Stands Alone, displayed in stacks in different bookstores of countries he visits. Fans would follow his lead and take pictures of it in their own local stores also, and Coelho will happily post it in his plurk site. Isn’t that amusing? I mean, I imagine that a veteran author like he is should already be used to seeing his books in the shelves while constantly making it in the bestseller list.

At the recently concluded Cannes Festival which Coelho attended, he shared to his fans trivial things about the event, the heavy traffic going to the venue, or the sandwich he was eating at the moment.

But most importantly, I’m humbled at his earnestness. The mystery behind the crashing of Air France AF-447 gave him sleepless nights. He scorned authorities pointing fingers with hardly any of them owing up to the tragic incident.

And now, just recently, he shared that the doctor who tried to revive Neda (the girl shot to her death amidst election protests in Iran) is actually one of his best friends. He disclosed his email correspondences with this doctor that left me chilling while reading it. That is as real as it can get! I can only imagine the feeling of living in uncertainty and telling your friend to take care of his family in case anything bad happens. Geez. This is not a movie anymore, but real life turbulence in Middle East Asia.

I hope to encounter more authors online who not only write with passion but live with passion as well.