Nicholas Sparks

You know that moment when you have just finished a book and you feel happy because you have finished it?

Oh what can I read next? You ask yourself. You can feel the excitement browsing through the library website or your kindle wish list. But I don’t want to read anything else, I was really enjoying that book and now it’s ended 😪😪😪😪

These thoughts did cross my mind when I finished reading The Best of Me, but now I have finished The Longest Ride I am definitely experiencing those thoughts. What am I going to read? I feel totally lost now I am not reading the stories of Ira, Sophia and Luke.

The Longest Ride is another Nicholas Sparks book, his 17th novel. I haven’t read a lot of his books but I think it would have to be my favourite so far. I thought it would take a lot to beat The Notebook, but to me this one does.

I knew there was a film version coming out so I was keen to read the book first. The book tells the stories of three characters and how their lives are entwined. There is Ira Levinson, a 91 year old widower who is trapped after crashing his car. While he waits to be rescued, he sees his wife Ruth at different stages of their life together and they share the tales of how they met, his time in the war and building their art collection.

Sophia Danko is another character in the book. She is a student at College and meets Luke Collins, a cowboy, bull-rider. Their story is how they meet, how their relationship develops and things they learn about one another. (Of course I don’t want to share too much, in case you want to read it yourself).

I was a little skeptical about reading a book that featured a cowboy and bull-riding, I was half worried I would find it boring! But I could not be more wrong. Sure the book, discusses life on a ranch and bull-riding but it was all interesting and part of the story. It was a great book to be reading during my recent hospital visit, easy reading and quite a page turner. I even found myself saying “Just one more chapter and then I’ll have a nap”, that chapter than turned into two!

I’m looking forward to seeing the movie, but after watching the trailer, I can see it is going to be quite different to the book. As most of us know the film version of books can vary. I usually find when I’m prepared for this I usually enjoy watching the big screen adaptation. Scott Eastwood portrays Luke and Britt Robertson plays Sophia. With Jack Huston as young Ira and Alan Alda as older Ira.

So, what book am I going to read next? Well a few months ago I started Gone Girl (yes another book made into a film) I wasn’t in the right head space for it then. I have picked it up again and I’m enjoying it so far. I have heard good things about the book and the film.

If anyone has any book suggestions, please share I would love to know what others are reading.

(Plus, if I could I would dance around because I figured out how to post Youtube videos to my post!)

I thought I would try my hand at a book review. I recently finished ‘The Best of Me’ by Nicholas Sparks. In case you haven’t heard of this chap, he wrote the ‘The Notebook’. I don’t often do much reading during the day but I do enjoy reading a chapter or 2 before going to sleep. I’ve read a few books by this author, The Notebook, The Guardian and Safe Haven and I’ve never been disappointed.

I find his books really easy to read, and doesn’t take long to you feel you know the characters. I often find at the end of a busy day with the kids or working, reading helps me to unwind. And the break from either the phone or TV screen! His books are what I consider ‘light reading’ so it doesn’t take me long to get into a book and since I usually only read a some amount at a time I find his books fit the criteria.

Here’s a little blurb about the book. Dawson Cole and Amanda Collier are the 2 main central characters. They were the typical high school sweethearts who had to part……. Dawson spends a brief time in jail and works on oil rigs and Amanda moves away, marries and has children. 25,years later they are brought back together in their home town, for the funeral of Tuck. A man who was there for them at times they needed it the most. Tuck has left instructions that Dawson and Amanda must carry out for him, and by doing this learn some things about themselves. Can they be together now they have found each other again? This is a love story, I’m not to say it isn’t. But I don’t think it’s too soppy, it has some other characters intertwining into the story. I don’t want to say too much as I don’t want to spoil the book for you in case you do choose to read it.

I think if you have read any other books by this author or seen any of the many film adaptations of his books, this is another one you will enjoy.

Next I want to see the film version of this book, Dawson is played by James Marsters and Amanda by Michelle Monaghan. It came out in 2014, I don’t actually remember it coming out at the cinema, but I will be definitely watching it on DVD.

Next on my Nicholas Sparks list is ‘The Longest Ride’.