Paul Coelho Lauds Boy-Seller Of His Pirated Books

When he was walking the streets of New Delhi, author Paulo Coelho saw a teenager in New Delhi selling copies of his books. Far from getting livid with the boy for selling "pirated" copies in the streets, Coelho shared the story on his Facebook page, and congratulated the child for his resourcefulness.

The Brazilian novelist best known for his 1988 title, 'The Alchemist', heard only yesterday that the little boy was selling his books. However, he did not take any legal action against the boy, nor did he ask that the books should be taken away from him. On the other hand, he put up a photograph on Facebook of the child not only selling the books by Coelho, but also other authors including John Green and Malala Yousafzai, according to inquisitor.

Coelho wrote the following in his page:

"The smallest bookstore in the world, the arms of a teenager, has two of my titles. Thank you for the photo taken in Delhi, India, Jessica Senra.

(NOTE: I know that people call this "pirate" editions. But for me this is an honor, and an honest way for this young man to make money.)"

While he is not the first author to turn a blind eye to pirating, he expressed his disapproval in a recent blog post, talking about joy in knowing that his books are touching people across cultures. "When I realized my books were being read around the world - currently over 180 millions copies have been sold, and each book is read by an average of three people - I felt if I can share stories that touch the hearts of so many different people, then I can in some way collaborate to make improvements in this world. Each of those readers has a different background, from Iran, Israel, Iraq, Kurdistan, South Africa...but there is still a cultural bridge."

The teenager was selling a bookload---Paulo Coelho's 'Adultery', Chetan Bhagat's 'Half Girlfriend', John Green's 'The Fault In Our Stars', 'I Am Malala', and others, including a wide spectrum of cultures and diverse issues. Even as Coelho shares his stores across cultural divides, the boy has a good collection of stories.

Many of the readers give him credit for giving them access to good reading: "This guy's are really helpful, we can't go to bookstores all the time to buy books, they are the easy stores," said one reader, while another said: "I bought 'The Alchemist' from pirate.. and this post reminds me of buying that book out of my savings in footpath."

Readers like Paul Coelho too, and many of them express their satisfaction that he appreciated the boy.