[Gocamino] [saintjames] Re: Another multi-million seller Caminobook

Tue Jun 3 22:50:40 PDT 2008

Hi Rosina and all,

Regarding Paul Coelho.....I looked at his website some time back and was impressed with his foundation,The Paulo Coelho Institute.

It's a non-profit-making institution financed exclusively by the author's royalties, 
to give opportunities to the underprivileged and ostracized members of Brazilian society. 

I think it's wonderful when people can see the needs in their own neighbourhood....

Wendy 

From: gocamino-bounces at oakapple.net [mailto:gocamino-bounces at oakapple.net] On Behalf Of Rosina
Sent: Tuesday, 3 June 2008 3:10 AM
To: saintjames at yahoogroups.com
Cc: GOCAMINO at oakapple.net
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] [saintjames] Re: Another multi-million seller Caminobook

The German author has, in fact, donated most of the book's profits to several charitable organizations, including Camino facilities.
So, in fact, did Shirley McLaine years ago. Much to her surprise and too late, it seems, she learned that donations to non-USA organizations by American citizens are not tax deductible, but are, in fact, taxable gifts!. Eventually she had to pay gift-taxes on the sizable donations she made to the church groups in Roncesvalles, Pamplona, Leon, Burgos, Santiago and others.
I do not know whether Coelho has donated any of the huge profits from his Camino book to anyone.  In 2004 he did appear, for free, in a video to accompany a de-luxe edition picture-book on the Camino published by the Xunta to raise funds. Living in New York City, and in a society imbued in a strained relationship with religion, I was quite taken aback to learn that in Austria the citizens of that country overwhelmingly voted to devote a significant portion of their taxes to the support and maintenance of their churches!
Because of this cultural trait, I suppose, the generosity of the German Camino author has not surprised me. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Glenn <guha2005 at hotmail.com>
To: GOCAMINO at oakapple.net; saintjames at yahoogroups.com; Rosina <blaroli at aol.com>
Cc: acaciopaz at yahoo.com.br
Sent: Mon, 2 Jun 2008 2:45 pm
Subject: [saintjames] Re: [Gocamino] Another multi-million seller Camino book

I visited my relatives in Hamburg in September 2006 and they told me of the 
book. I purchased it there and skimmed through it and did not like it at 
all. I know that there has been this long discussion on who is a pilgrim 
and who is not, but I have to admit that my impression was that Kerkling was 
not like any pilgrim I had met.

The crowds I met on the Camino in 2007 were attributed to that book by 
German pilgrims I got to know along the way. They thought that Kerkling 
should give the profits from that book to the various associations that 
maintain the Camino. It seemed to us that many in the crowds were trying to 
replicate Kerkling's experiences, and they often had support systems, like 
vans or buses, along the way at various points. We noticed the telltale day 
packs and sparkling clean shoes. One problem with this was at the bars that 
were overrun with demanding people. I never saw that in 2005 during the 
same time period.

Kerkling's book seemed like a farce to me of a place and experience that is 
very dear to my heart. The Coelho book, however, led me to the Camino. I 
never heard of it before reading that book. It caused me to do research on 
the Camino and to look into Internet groups for information. I took the 
things that he wrote as metaphors for some of the struggles that I 
identified in my own life.

Glenn

>
> Hello you all,
>
> El Correo Gallego, the Galician newspaper, carries an article today about 
> another multi-million-copies best seller Camino book.
>
> The book is called, in German, "Ich bin dann mal weg" (On my way [to the 
> Camino]), was written by a German humorist, Hape Kerkeling, and it has 
> sold more than three million copies already. Since its publication in May, 
> 2006, the book has been in first or second place in the best-seller 
> nonfiction category lists published by the German newspapers. Its success 
> was totally unexpected since the original issue was only 50,000 copies.
>
> The author of the book is a well-known TV comedian who went to the Camino 
> to try to cope with a serious personal crisis. While he took his 
> pilgrimage seriously he couldn't help portray his efforts and experiences 
> as a pilgrim, and those of other pilgrims, in caricature form in his book.
>
> The book became an immediate success with its readers, although it was 
> panned by literary critics. The chief editor of the magazine "Literaturen", 
> Sigrid Loffler, herself a Camino pilgrim, had written a book about the 
> pilgrimage which even although it was published by the prestigious firm 
> Cees Nooteboom received little notice. Freulein Loffler confesses to being 
> perplexed by the exit of Kerkeling's Camino book adding that: "first 
> Coelho wrote an idiotic book about the Camino and the book was a 
> tremendous success, and now Kerkeling writes an even more idiotic book 
> about the pilgrimage and it is a smash".
>
> Personally, I disliked Coelho's book and did not get beyond the first ten 
> pages or so.... Why it has sold more than fifty million copies in umpteen 
> languages is a total mystery to me.... If the German book is in the same 
> vein I doubt very much that I would bother with it..... nevertheless, when I 
> am in Germany next August (for the Bayreuth Wagner Festival........hurrah!!!) 
> I'll look around to see whether the book has been translated into English 
> or into a more accessible language. Bayreuth, by the way, is a tiny, 
> beautiful Bavarian town, with the most important opera house in the 
> universe, built by Richard Wagner himself, another lovely rococo 
> theatre.... -so beautiful, in fact. that neither the Nazis nor the Allies 
> had the heart to destroy it in WW II..... although they destroyed almost 
> everything else, including Wahnfried!-, a university, and about twenty 
> bookstores! (I understand that the permanent residents of the town number 
> about 5,000).
>
> I'll let you know whether there are any translations.
>
> Hugs!
>
> Rosina
> _______________________________________________
> Gocamino mailing list
> Gocamino at oakapple.net
> http://mailman.oakapple.net/mailman/listinfo/gocamino
> 

__._,_.___ 
Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic 

Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Calendar 

This Group is based in the site: http://www.caminhodesantiago.com - Caminho de Santiago de Compostela - O Portal Peregrino. All of information the pilgrims need. 

MARKETPLACE

You rock! Blockbuster wants to give you a complimentary trial of Blockbuster Total Access. 

Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) 
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional 
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe 

Visit Your Group 

Find Balance

on Yahoo! Groups

manage nutrition,

activity & well-being.

Dog Fanatics

on Yahoo! Groups

Find people who are

crazy about dogs.

All-Bran

Day 10 Club

on Yahoo! Groups

Feel better with fiber.

.

__,_._,___ 
_______________________________________________
Gocamino mailing list
Gocamino at oakapple.net
http://mailman.oakapple.net/mailman/listinfo/gocamino

This e-mail is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose or use the information contained within. If you have received it in error please return it to the sender via reply e-mail and delete any record of it from your system. The information contained within is not the opinion of Edith Cowan University in general and the University accepts no liability for the accuracy of the information provided.

CRICOS IPC 00279B