The Choice (Nicholas Sparks)

Wow.  I just thought I would first take a moment to say that YES, I'm still alive.  Since June 2013, I'm sorry to say that unfortunately, reading was not at the top of my priority list. 

I spent last summer working in an office, playing baseball, coaching little kiddy soccer and going for long walks on the Boardwalk.  Since the fall, I have been trying to keep up with the every day planning and marking of a full time contract teaching courses I'd never taught before at a local high school and trying to maintain some kind of a social life. 

During Christmas, I tried to make it through a book (Divergent!), but the busy holiday schedule just wouldn't let me and then came exams, report cards.... *sigh*  Excuses, excuses... 

Long story to say that recently, I was able to take a short break from it all and go to the lovely Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  While I was there, I started a nice beach read - "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks.  Though I wasn't able to finish it on my trip, this morning I took an hour after I woke up way-too-early-for-a-weekend and finished it off. 

"The Choice" is about the stories of Travis and Gabby, and, as you can probably guess just based on who the author is, about love.  Travis is a veterinarian who is living in a small town, who never seems to be too serious about his girlfriends.  Enter Gabby, a new neighbour, who is in a long-term relationship already, but who is often alone when said-boyfriend is travalling for work.  After a weird first few meetings, Travis and Gabby start to hit it off as friends and start to discover that maybe they would consider wanting more from their friendship-relationship-whatever-it-is. 

As it's stated on his website, the book is truly about "How far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?"

I loved reading about the early stages of Travis and Gabby's friendship and their chance encounters in the small town.  I found it was very true to what people often go through when first meeting someone and want to discreetly spend more time with that person.  By part two of the book, I wasn't so sure that I wanted to continue reading about their story since the book took quite a turn - don't want to give away any spoilers other than that.  By the end of Part Two, I didn't even know if I wanted to read the Epilogue because I was feeling so much hate towards a decision that was made.  However, I really did feel some good closure by the end of the book. 

I would recommend this book to those who love an occasional Nicholas Sparks book and to those who want to read another love story.  This book was perfect for the beach read I was looking for during my trip!

Safe Haven (Nicholas Sparks)

I spent the beginning of my long weekend completely consumed in my most recent read, "Safe Haven" by Nicholas Sparks.  I'd seen the movie when it came out in theatres, so I was doing this one backwards (with the book before movie or movie before book debate!)  (I'm also a bit late on this post - my apologies!)

Let's start with the book.  It's the story of Katie, a girl who moves to a small town to get away from her past life.  In her old life, she was in an abusive relationship until she finally gathered the strength to leave.  Her husband, also a police officer, is doing everything he can do to find her now that she has disappeared.  In her new life, she meets attractive and friendly Alex, who is a single father to two kids.  They hit it off but she is still reluctant to start anything new because of her past. 

 

Now remember, I'm a sucker for love stories.  I loved the book - it's such a cute love story and the characters are so easy to get attached to.  Going back and forth between Katie's story and her husband's search for her kept the book suspenseful for the readers.  I motored through it, and, like I said, spent my entire sunny Saturday sitting outside with this book. 

 

Now, flash over to the movie.  I saw the movie first in this case and loved it.  Another great Nicholas Sparks book turned movie.  After reading the book, though, I wonder to myself why they had to change some of the things from the book while making the movie.  I know that movies often have to seem more "Hollywood", so they add and change things to make the story more "big screen" friendly and suspenseful.  I did feel like the story in the book would have been equally as good on the big screen.  (But what do I know about film-making, right?!)  All in all, the themes are basically the same and I would have to say that although they are slightly different, I liked both separately and tried not to compare them to each other too much. 

 

If you're the love story type like me, or if you're a fan of Nicholas Sparks, this one won't disappoint.  It's a good summer read and I'm quite happy that my relaxing weekend was spent with this one. 

My Top 2012 Picks

I'm a couple weeks late on this post, but here are some of my favourite reads of 2012.

When I look back at my 2012 list of books, there aren't all that many "Must-Reads" ... It seem that in 2012, I didn't spend my time reading literary masterpieces or classic novels - it was a year I spent reading recommended books, top books on the chart, recent releases or simple stuff to pass the time!  It's not about reading what people think you should read, but reading what you're in the mood for!

Instead of listing my top 5 books of 2012 (like I did for 2011), I've decided to pick a few categories and list my top pick for those categories.




Funniest True (or Mostly True) Books

Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres

I read this book early in 2012 and remember reading it so quickly.  It was a hilarious read about nothing in particular.  It had me laughing out loud and telling everyone to read it if they needed a little "pick-me-up" in their day.  It's a book that I will honestly read again someday.  Buy this book here.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson

 

A little more, shall we say, "adult" (or "inappropriate") than the other winner in the "Funniest True (or Mostly True) Book" category, this was a top pick for me this year.  Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) is a hilarious blogger who writes about anything and everything that happens to her.  Her stories are exaggerated (or not, you make that call) and funny.  She takes ordinary (and some not-so-ordinary) situations and turns them into awkward and extremely memorable stories.  I read through this book at a crazy speed and really want to listen to the audiobook of "Let's Pretend This Never Happened", for the sole reason of hearing Jenny Lawson's expressions as she tells some of her stories.  Buy this book here.

Favourite Love Story

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

I'm a sucker for love stories and this love story was a beautiful one.  These two individuals went through so much individually before they tried to make it work out with each other.  Nicholas Sparks tells the story in a way that gives you enough information to see what is going on while keeping you guessing about how everything is going to unfold. I didn't want to put the book down once I started it (and I may have watched the movie "The Lucky One" a few times already...).  Buy this book here.


Most Talked About Series

"Fifty Shades of Grey" series by E.L. James

What would a 2012 list be without this series mentioned?  While it wasn't my favourite series, it was very talked about and popular in 2012.  I asked myself numerous times, "Why am I still reading this?"  Yet I continued to read it.  While I don't think it's any literary masterpiece, I remember my dad saying to me once, "You may say that it's not good writing.  But if the author can get you to ignore everything else that you have to do in your life right now and pick up that book instead, then it's got something."  So, E.L. James, although I'm embarrassed to say it, you get a pick on my 2012 list because I made it through the series in 2012 and so did so many other people.  Buy this series here.

Best Young Adult Book

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Dealing with difficult issues such as bullying, hate crimes, depression, and rape, Shine is a must-read for teens.  It was a book that was a bit difficult to read because of the content, but I think it deals with issues that need more awareness.  While I felt that the way some of these issues were dealt with in the book was unrealistic or different than the larger communities that many of us are used to, the issues are important and the content itself is worth a read.  Buy this book here.

Most Magical Book

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I've talked to a few people who just couldn't get into this book, but I loved it.  I thought The Night Circus was well written and told a story in a different, magical way.  If you're up for using your imagination and getting into a book that will make you think, give this one a try.  Buy this book here.

The Lucky One (Nicholas Sparks)

I loved this book.  I know some people are not into Nicholas Sparks and his style of writing, but I couldn't put this book down. 

"The Lucky One" is basically the love story between Logan and Beth.  Logan was a marine and while he was in Kuwait, he found a picture of this beautiful girl, which from that point on, his friend Victor claims is his "good luck charm."  Logan survives many dangerous moments, which they both believe is because of the photo.  In an attempt to "balance" everything, Logan goes in search of this beautiful woman when he is back home in the United States.  He finds Beth and starts working for her family.  He decides it's better to not tell Beth about the photo he finds.  As he becomes closer to the family (and to Beth), both of their pasts start to come forward.  Add to this the fact that Beth's ex-husband, Keith, is a police officer in the town (and kind of a bully) and it makes a really interesting story!

Each chapter focuses on the thoughts of a different character.  It was nice to see what was going on in everyone's heads and I found that it all fit together really nicely.  Nicholas Sparks does a great job developing the characters and reveals specific pieces of information at really good times throughout the book. 

Like I said, I couldn't put the book down once I started it.  It was an easy read and it really kept me interested throughout.  (I came home after the 9:15 p.m. Hunger Games movie and read this book until the wee hours of the morning!)  There was just something about the relationships between Logan and Beth, and Logan and Ben, and Keith and Beth, that kept me intrigued.

My book had the steamy picture of Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling, who are the stars of the upcoming movie.  (I love Zac Efron from way back in his "High School Musical" days... Don't judge!)  After watching the preview again, I notice that there already seem to be a few things that are different from the book.  (But I'm sure it will still be good!)

The Lucky One hits the big screen on April 20th.  I hope I enjoy the movie as much as I enjoyed the book!

The Last Song (Nicholas Sparks)

Yes, I know... I read this.  There were three reasons why The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks was on my book shelf and on my reading list this past spring. 

1. I'm a fan of romantic comedies and those "fall head over heels" movies so yes, I have seen the movie.  And I liked it.  (Fun fact from Nicholas Sparks' website: He wrote the screenplay before he wrote the novel.  Miley Cyrus, who plays Ronnie in the movie, loved the movie A Walk to Remember and wanted to do a similar movie.  The Last Song was created.)

2. I found this book at HomeSense for $1.80.  After liking the movie, how could I leave that cheap-o book at the store?

3. Last year, I was living in the middle of nowhere (where I knew almost no one) on a teaching job.  I needed stuff to do, so I had started to read a lot more.  Since it was report card time, I needed a book that wouldn't consume every minute of my time.  I figured that a book based on a movie that I'd already seen would be a good idea! 

The plot? Ronnie and her brother go visit their father one summer in North Carolina. Ronnie isn't impressed because, since the divorce of her parents, she hasn't been able to look at her father the same. Ronnie makes some unexpected friends in North Carolina and then secrets start unfolding that make Ronnie question her current relationships with her friends and her family.

What's my verdict on the book?  It was so similar to the movie that I felt like I was re-watching it as I read the book.  I liked that the book was easy to read and, because of the timing, it was the perfect book for me. If you're in the mood for a love story and a bit of family drama, find a copy of this book.