When I worked for an events organizing company, my co-worker and I would usually put on a movie and watch it, while we go about our daily task. Yes we can, we can watch movies at work, just as long as we met our deadlines. It was during one of those days that we watched "A Walk To Remember", which is set in North Carolina. It follows the rite of passage of an aimless highschool senior, who falls in love with a guileless young woman whom he and his friends once scorned. The two leads develop a strong and inspirational relationship in which they discover truths that take most people a lifetime to learn. After watching, my co-worker admittedly said she has watched it over a dozen times before and have suggested that I read the book in which is was based on.
So, I saved up for it and bought the book.
A Walk To Remember
And that is when I started to saving up for the other books of Nicholas Sparks.
I guess for better viewer acceptance and appreciation, the movie version is modernly set, unlike that of the book which is in 1958 and some parts of the book were given a different approach.
The Notebook
Although it was his first published book, "The Notebook" was his first best selling piece. Published in October 1996, the back cover summary goes "At thirty-one Noah Calhoun, back in coastal North Carolina after World War II, is haunted by images of the girl he lost more than a decade earlier. At twenty-nine, socialite Allie Nelson is about to marry a wealthy lawyer, but she cannot stop thinking about the boy who long ago stole her heart. Thus begins the story of a love so enduring and deep it can turn tragedy into triumph, and may even have the power to create a miracle." The book is currently only the third novel in recent history to spend over a year as a hardcover best seller. It was inspired by his wife's grandparents who spent over 60 years together.
Although it is a story about two people deeply in love with each other through-out the years, I admire Allie's husband-to-be, Lon Hamilton, realizing he had been too occupied with his work as a lawyer and knows he has lost her to the one she never stopped loving.
Dear John
Taken from the author's website, he summarizes the book as ".. an angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life - until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who has captured his love. But 9/11 changes everything, John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. 'Dear John,' the letter read .. and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married is still his true love - and face the hardest decision of his life.
The movie adaptation of this book provided a different ending, which I would rather not say what it specifically is. Personally speaking, I felt this book more than the two previous ones I've mentioned above maybe cause I love how "love" was depicted in the ending.
So it goes without saying I am a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks and his books.
Though there are far more books of his than what I currently have, I am trying my best to save so I can at least buy one more book and probably, hopefully buy the others over the next few years.
The ones that I do have are as follows, based on the picture above, from top to bottom, left to right: The Rescue, The Guardian, A Bend In The Road, The Last Song (which was made into a movie, starred by Miley Cyrus, first viewed in cinemas in 2010), The Best of Me (also made into a movie, relased in 2014), Safe Haven, The Lucky One, At First Sight, A Walk To Remember, The Notebook and Dear John. Notice that the three in the front are my favorites that I've read so far.
The other books that he has written that I don't have yet are:
1. Message In A Bottle. First movie adaptation, released in 1999, starred by Kevin Costner
2. Nights in Rodanthe. Movie released in 2008, starred Richard Gere and Diane Lane.
3. The Wedding. Published in September 2003.
4. Three Weeks with My Brother. His only non-fiction book so far; published in April 2004
5. The Choice. Published September 2007
6. The Longest Ride. Published in September 2013. Movie released in 2015.
7. See Me. Published October 2015
8. Two By Two. Published October 2016
9. Every Breath. To be released in October 2018.
How about you, care to share your favorite author and the books that author has written and you've read?
I love V C Andrews. she has written loads of books, my favorite series is her orphan series. I own most of them, I think the only one I don't have is Raven.