Showing posts with label nicholas sparks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nicholas sparks. Show all posts

Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon #3: The Longest Ride

Thursday, August 20, 2015






Handwritten love letters will never get old.
It's still the sweetest gift anyone can ever offer to someone.

Every after reading a book that has a movie adaptation, I usually end up watching the movie right after I stop staring into space pondering.

This isn't the first "based on Nicholas Sparks novel" movie that I have watched and from what I have experienced, when you read the book first, you should be ready for the changes that you will encounter in the movie. That's just the way it is, and I've long since accepted that fact with his novels and movie adaptations.

I was one of those book nerds who always get angry and disappointed when the book is not same with the movie. Wait, I still am, because in my eyes, if they are going to change, not some, but most part of the movie, they should do a better job in making those scenes better. But, hey, I found myself approving the movie adaptations of Mr. Sparks' novels. The changes made the movie better and as memorable as the book itself.

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BOOK REVIEW

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18296133

 Title: The Longest Ride
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published by: Grand Central Publishing, May 6th 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Setting: North Carolina
Format: MM Paperback, 416 pages
My Copy Source: Bought
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Fully Booked [PH] | Amazon | B & N
Rating: 5 Roses

In the tradition of his beloved first novel, The Notebook, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with the remarkable story of two couples whose lives intersect in profound and surprising ways.

Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together - how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local bull-riding event, a Wake Forest College senior's life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death - loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he's keeping doesn't destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.


Man, I don't think I would ever get tired of reading his novels.

The Longest Ride is a tale of two love stories that blossomed at different time and generation. Ira and Ruth's and Luke and Sophia's, both are different yet intertwined by the same love and passion.


IRA and RUTH


Ira and Ruth's love story is sweet yet heart breaking at the same time. Being able to witness their love story from the start until they grew old just made my heart clench. Ira is a very quiet man from the start, but as the story goes on, I found him the sweetest and most romantic man ever.

By this time, our generation has a different way of being romantic, that's why I was swooning every time I flip the page to find that I was again at Ira's POV. My most favorite part was the tradition that they started during their anniversary, where Ira will write Ruth letter that they will read only at Lake Eden. That was freaking sweet!

I feel like stories that took place on a time of war makes great impact to people who reads or watch them, for one, because it's heart breaking and it's different and I don't know, they just cast a light that makes you squint just to see clearly, and besides, for a person who never was in the past to experience things first hand, the past is a wonder; the past is interesting. I also admired women's faith in that time. They never know when their love will come back but they hold on to a picture and the hope that the promise to come back alive will never ever be broken.


LUKE and SOPHIA


I like that there was this palpable attraction between them and it did not take like 4 seconds for them to fall in love, that's great, but I guess I should give in to the fact that kisses were given freely on certain books or whatever so I am not going to rant about the kiss on their second or third meeting? I don't remember but whatever, this thing between Luke and Sophia? Yes, girl, super swoon!

I love that Luke is a total gentleman and a hot cowboy and Sophia is a college chick who is not all fame and fortune and has the brains and the beauty that any man would fall for, that's why jerks like her ex boyfriends should die.

Both lived different worlds and they must struggle to find a way to keep bridging the gap. "Love requires sacrifice", I don't remember if this is from the book or from the movie, but it's all they have to give in order to save their relationship-- sacrifice.

Gee, I love how in the end, the two stories managed to intersect (not in the way I wanted, though). It's a happy ending for both stories, and I love happy endings.

This is a contrast of two different love story that showed the old and the new generation's kind of love but begged to portray us that ways may change but love is still love and yesterday and tomorrow will not really be different because love in all its forms and ways will forever be love in the eyes and hearts of people in love.

I love this book so much that everytime I get to Ira's part I just want to cry because it's like this feeling you get when you see old couple still together. It's a nostalgic feeling and it's so touching, it tugs at your heart in all the right places.

In the end, I really was hoping for a lot of things to happen, and I was impatient for the two stories to intersect, because this for certain, of course, will happen at some point and when it did, I found myself quite disappointed. "That's it? That's just it? Just the letter read by Sophia and then that's it? Ugh, Ira could have been telling his story to Sophia at the end, but no, THAT'S IT! She could also have had a museum of her own with those art collections! Ugggh". Yep, guys, I ranted right after reading it, because I was always plotting an ending to every story. I always want to predict, but damn, it didn't happen. That's why I was so thankful that all of the things that I've waited to happen in the book happened in the movie! Again, I felt no disappointment with the movie adaptation because the changes made it a bit better for me because all my predictions were in the movie.

All in all, this was a great book. In my opinion, something that is more beautifully crafted than The Notebook, if I may say. Something that is also timeless and romantic that contains a lot of qualities that the modern generation yearns for. I fell in love with the book and will continue to fall in love with it as long as I remember both Ira and Ruth's and Luke and Sophia's love story.


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MOVIE REVIEW

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The movie and the book are both great in their own ways even though the movie created something more powerful than the book's portrayal. The book made a great picture of both stories but the movie created a strong link between them that's why I love the movie too. 100% approved movie adaptation. There were a lot of changes but the changes are all for the better viewing experience and I found that I really love the bits that the moviemakers added and subtracted.

I found that this is something I would totally watch over and over again like I did in The Notebook and A Walk to Remember. With gorgeous characters, what could I ask for, right? Especially Luke, o-m-g so H-O-T. I didn't know him before but I'm definitely an admirer right now.

You guys should definitely watch the movie. It is so lovely and I can assure you, I've never heard a negative review about it and I've never read any too(or I just never read one?). All my friends and family all have their thumbs up over this movie, they all wanted me to watch it as soon as possible but I didn't budge. Gotta read first, right? Right.


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The Longest Ride Book Reviews

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*INSTAGRAM BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY*



A photo posted by Melody 🌻 (@theliteraryowl) on




Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon #2: A Walk To Remember

Wednesday, July 29, 2015


This is the book that people will always warn you about.. The book that if you haven't read or heard yet, people will guess that you lived your whole life under a rock... (I've heard of it and I've known it for like forever through the film, yet I had the opportunity to read it only now, so I'm an in-betweener! uhm, maybe I was kind'a living on the skirt of the rock, I've known and heard it for so long but 'tis only now that I've come to read it. Congrats to me!)

A Walk To Remember is the book that transcended generations and is still loved and still highly recommended by a lot of readers.

Join me in my Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon by using the hashtag NSReadAThon and linking your A Walk To Remember Book Review down below and if you have reviewed this before, feel free to link it too. Everyone is welcome to join anytime and you can read any books in between as long as we reach our goal to read all of Nicholas Sparks' novels before the year ends (My initial plan was before my school starts, but they're just too many). Please message/comment me if you are joining. :)

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BOOK & MOVIE REVIEW

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Title: A Walk To Remember
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Sept 1st 2004
Genre: Romance, Drama
Setting: Beaufort, North Carolina (USA)
Format: MM Paperback, 240 pages
My Copy Source: Borrowed from Daniela
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Fully Booked [PH] | B & N | Amazon
Rating: 4 Roses

Every April, when the wind blows from the sea and mingles with the scent of lilacs, Landon Carter remembers his last year at Beaufort High. It was 1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two. He even swore that he had once been in love. Certainly the last person in town he thought he'd fall for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's Baptist minister.


A quiet girl who always carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie seemed content living in a world apart from the other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. No boy had ever asked her out. Landon would never have dreamed of it.


Then a twist of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecoming dance, and Landon Carter's life would never be the same. Being with Jamie would show him the depths of the human heart and lead him to a decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably on the road to manhood...

The book is entirely different from the movie that I've watched several times when I was younger (I remembered crying buckets and I remembered being envious of their love story). I fell in love with the movie first and then I recently opened my heart to the novel where the movie was adapted. I was actually deciding on whether I would use inspired or adapted because the book and the movie have an entirely different story but the same in some ways. The movie was the expanded version of the book and it was like they only got the idea of the book itself and fashioned an entirely different story as to what the book actually told. Right now, you might think that in the present, that kind of step would be frowned upon by many book lovers out there, but I can assure you that any book lover would agree with the way they altered the book to further have an in depth story on screen and let me just say, Bravo! It's not always that a movie adaptation was better than the book and when that happens, it's just fairly remarkable. *slow clap*

The book is a very short and light read that you can finish in just one sitting, maybe 3-5 hours at least. It's a different take on romance, it's not the good girl falling for the bad boy that we've all seen numerous times on some romance stories. It's the other way around, it's the bad boy falling for the good girl. Not that he's an extreme bad boy in the book, but still, I think you see the point.

The book was told by Landon when he looked back on the day he found his true love. It was great to see the story from his perspective because it gave us the chance to see how he really felt. He was not an extreme bad boy but he doesn't hang out with the "goodies", he hangs out with the jocks even though he wasn't a jock himself. Landon, in the book, was the guy determined to get into a good college that's why he found himself the student body president and the lead role in the play where Jamie also starred in.

I guess watching the film made me a bit disappointed about the book in certain ways because the book was really short and there are scenes in the movie that was really remarkable so let me just enumerate them.
  • Landon being the extreme bad boy in the movie to the point that someone nearly died because of him and his friends.
  • The BUCKET LIST! Oh my, it was the sweetest thing ever and it wasn't in the book. Being on two places at the same time, getting a tattoo, and building a telescope? Wow, it was the sweetest thing ever!
  • The songs! Yep, that made it better! ;D
  • Shane West and Mandy Moore, yep, can't argue with that.
The book was good in its own way, it still captured the emotion of losing someone you love. It showed love in its purest form and even if they are young, it showed the power of real love and how it can transform you. This book has shown its readers how the magic of love and faith changes our perspective of life and even in the smallest way possible makes a miracle even when we haven't seen it yet.


Lastly, I just want to get this out, Jamie reminded me of Stargirl (Check out my review)! They are so similar but unique in their own ways. These characters just want to make you change for the better.

Both the movie and the book made their way to our hearts in their own way and both are highly recommended! But please, do read it first before watching the movie so as not to get a wee bit disappointed because I can't tell you how much the movie is deeper than the book but also in many ways, the book also has its own story to tell.

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A Walk To Remember Book Reviews

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INSTAGRAM BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY

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A photo posted by Arlene Domingo (@arlenexd) on


A photo posted by 💝💝💝 Huyền Q 🎀🎀🎀💋 (@huyenq76c) on


A photo posted by Viji$#@ :) (@vijis_89) on

Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon #1: The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

Saturday, July 18, 2015





Can I just say that this is my third book by Nicholas Sparks? I know, I know, I am sorry I am missing a lot. I've read Safe Haven and The Lucky One and I really don't remember a lot from my experience mostly because I was way younger when I read it and I don't think my level of maturity allowed me to really appreciate it so I haven't really retained a lot. Let us just say that I am starting blank, okay? Erase Safe Haven and The Lucky One...

*erasing...*

Oh my gosh guyss.. This is my very first Nicholas Sparks novel and I enjoyed The Choiceso much that I am planning to read all of his books before school starts this August. Anyone wants to join me for A Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon? It's okay to read anything in between because I do that to somehow get past my book hang over and you guys can join me anytime you like.

Join me in my Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon by using the hashtag NSReadAThon and linking your The Choice Book Review down below and if you have reviewed this before, feel free to link it too. Everyone is welcome to join anytime and you can read any books in between as long as we reach our goal to read all of Nicholas Sparks' novels before the year ends (My initial plan was before my school starts, but they're just too many). Please message/comment me if you are joining. :)

NEWS FLASH

I just want to take this off my chest right now because TRAVIS PARKER and I just got married!!! Yep, you heard that right, I just wed my very first book hubbie ever! I used to have a lot of book boyfies before and it's my first time to have a book hubbie and his name is Travis from The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. *wink wink*

First off, now that I have told you the big news about my new husband, I'll go on and tell you my thoughts about my latest read. ;)

Oh, and by the way, they're turning this into a movie this 2016!! I'm so excited!!

BOOK REVIEW


Title: The Choice
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published by: Grand Central Publishing on 19th of August 2008
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction
Setting: North Carolina
Format: Mass Market Papperback
My Copy Source: Borrowed from Daniela
Purchase: Fully Booked [PH] | B & N | Amazon
Rating: 4 Roses

Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life -- boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies -- he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him...and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn't help. Despite himself, Travis can't stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?
One of my bookish friends, Daniela, recommended this book to me right after she finished it. It's been so long since I last read a novel from Nicholas Sparks and besides, I just finished reading Sundays at Tiffany's that time so why not, right?

Even from the start, I was already curious. The prologue didn't gave much away and that was the thing that made me more curious. The thing I love about this book is, it's a weekend walk through their story and you won't ever feel that the story is in a hurry to end. It's a lie-down-on-a-recliner-overlooking-a-lake-with-the-sun's-rays-hitting-every-inch-of-your-skin type of story. It's laid back but it is very entertaining, what with every conversation filled with humorous dialogues.

I love Travis, Gabbie and Travis' sister, Stephanie!

Travis is the person that I would want to invite to have lunch and dinner with me, hell I would invite him to talk to me forever! This person is definitely one that I would want to converse with every minute, he has an amazing personality and the sense of humor is just, ugh, he actually caught my heart with his sense of humor. Not only that, he is a very good husband! He's so sweet and he just knows what a woman wants and he's just  *swooooons*. I cannot tell you how much I love him, though.

Gabbie and Stephanie are just the girlfriends that you want in your life and I enjoyed their company in this book so much.

*BIT OF A SPOILER*

PART ONE

I enjoyed every bit of their moments here in the first part. There is never a dull moment with Travis and Gabbie, even though it's a bit strange because while I am seriously getting tired of all the YA novels that starts with boy meets girl then eyes will sparkle and there are hearts all over, I enjoyed the book despite of that. (Seriously guys, I'm getting tired of those stories that has the girl and boy met for a fraction of a second, and then they're suddenly in love. UGH Come on, give it a depth! Get to know each other before you draw hearts all over your eyes. It's okay to drool though. *wink*)

Okay, okay, despite this new idea of being tiresome to some novel's insta-love "cliche-ness", I found myself defending this book. Yes, I hated that they fell in love in a course of 48 hours and it sucks you know? Strong attraction, yes, that is understandable, but to be in love with him, and broke it off with your current boyfriend just seems harsh. I guess she could have call it off with Kevin (the current boyfriend at that time) and then dated Travis for a certain amount of time before heading off to a freaking wedding! Anyway, the book didn't elaborate much about the Kevin matter so I really assumed that that is what happened.

Oops, I did not defended it at all. So the thing is, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the weekend they had. It's not at all lovey-dovey that's why Travis and Gabbie was able to scratch the surface of each other. It doesn't seem rush, it just seems like a pretty normal but long 48 hours for them. I didn't want the idea of insta-love, but in this book, all you can do is just go with it because it's not like they made it a point to paint it across their faces that they were in love that's why even though it's too fast, all you can just do is enjoy Travis' company. *squeeeals*

In conclusion, I hate the ending of the part one, but I enjoyed everything from the start and in between.

PART TWO

This will be short because I was bored to death in the second part. I didn't like anything at all about it and I just  flew my way through it just to finish it because I know that in the end, Gabbie will wake up when all hope seems lost. It was great that Travis didn't give up on her and it was lovely to see Travis be the husband material that every girl hopes for even though he only exists in the fictional world.

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Oh my gosh, I encountered it again! How when we stare at the stars, we're staring backwards in time. I first encountered it from Lifespan of Starlight and here it is again. I loved that I knew all about it right now because to look at the stars that way just seems lovely.

See below for the pictures of the two books from my bookstagram.

*The Choice Book Review*








*INSTAGRAM BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY*




A Escolha - Nicholas Sparks #leituraatual "Travis Parker possui tudo o que um homem poderia ter: a profissão que desejava, amigos leais, e uma linda casa beira-mar na pequena cidade de Beaufort, Carolina do Norte. Com uma vida boa, seus relacionamentos amorosos são apenas passageiros e para ele, isso é o suficiente. Até o dia em que sua nova vizinha, Gabby, aparece na porta. Apesar de suas tentativas de ser gentil, a ruiva atraente parece ter raiva dele. Ainda sim, Travis não consegue evitar se engraçar com Gabby e seus esforços persistentes o levam a uma jornada que ninguém poderia prever. Abrangendo os anos agitados do primeiro amor, casamento e família, A Escolha nos faz confrontar a questão mais cruel de todas: Até onde você iria manter o amor de sua vida?" #AEscolha #nicholassparks #Thechoice #instabook #instalivros #instaleitores #books #booklover #bookaholic #bookaddict #bookstagram #libro #minhabiblioteca #minhaestante #livro #leitura #skoob #bookporn #lendo #goodreads #currentlyreading #leitora
A photo posted by Marcia Ferreira (@marcia_csf) on


A photo posted by Sara Gouyez (@saragouyez91) on

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