Have you ever read a book, and upon finishing it, immediately wish that you had read the book at an earlier point in your life? This has happened to me only twice…and I read quite a bit. The first time I felt this pang was after reading ‘Home’ by Witold Rybczynski. This is a book that I feel should be mandatory reading for all architects. It really gets to the root of why and how we humans live in a place. I read this book during the end of my 4th year of college. Once having read the book I knew that it would have been of immense value to me if I had read it at an earlier point in my education. I will write more about Rybczynski’s book another time.
The second time that I read a book and wished that I had read it sooner has just occurred. I just finished Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’. This is a fantastic fable that is about discovering any following one’s personal purpose and destiny. This is the book that we all should have read at the age of 19 or 20. I highly recommend this book to all.