Every month the wife and I pick a book and read it together. We actually started this just a few months ago and it has been really great. She is away in Iraq and it seemed like all we ever talked about was what the kids were up to, what our family was up to, how work had been, so on and so forth. We needed something else that we could share with one another. We needed a different connection with each other. We needed something that we both knew we were doing. Even if we weren’t doing it at exactly the same time, it was something we were doing together. Through this process I was introduced to her favorite author. An author I never would have picked up on my own.
I have since learned why Nicholas Sparks is praised the way he is about his writing. He is extremely easy to read. He has a straight forward writing style that paints a beautiful picture and tugs at the heart strings like I never thought a book could do. If I had one gripe about Sparks it would be that sometimes I just want him to spill it. He will leave you hanging on a solution to a problem within the story line and he will do this for sometimes chapters upon chapters. This is all part of what makes his writing style so wonderful though. In other words it drives you crazy when you want to know what it is he needs to tell you, but when he tells you it is perfect. It’s at a time when you can’t possibly wait any longer. My wife will actually skip ahead and skim to find the solution, then catch up. Although I want to do that, I don’t. There’s nothing wrong with the fact that she does it though. She is just impatient, but don’t tell her I told you that.
The past two books that we have read have been Sparks novels. They have been Dear John
, which he published in October of 2006; and The Choice
, which was published in September 2007. Both of these books have impressed me to no end. Like I said, this is not an author that I would have ever picked up on my own and I am so glad that my wife and I started this. He is a wonderful writer, but I’ve stated all that, so we will get to meat of the discussion of these two books.
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
Dear John tells the story of John and Savannah. John is a rebel and drops out of school, lost and alone, he joins the army. Savannah builds houses for Habitat for Humanity every summer and is a student studying to work with autistic kids. It is during one of these summer builds, when John is home on leave, that these two people from very different worlds meet. They are instantly attracted to one another but John is on leave and must return to Germany in two weeks. They are both anxious to be together and Savannah promises to wait for John until his tour is up. Then 9/11 happens and that changes everything. John enlists for another two years and this separation leads to Savannah falling in love with another man. When John returns from Iraq he must come to terms with the fact that the woman he loves is now married to another man. He is faced with decision that will change his life and the life of Savannah forever.
Seeing as how this was my first Sparks novel, I was really quite amazed with it. I really enjoyed reading it, Sparks surprises even the most avid readers of his novels, my wife. I would highly recommend reading this book to anyone remotely interested in a tear jerking romance that is quick and easy to read. His style just flows so well that you find yourself wrapped up in his books and before you know it, it’s over.
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
The Choice tells the story of Travis and Gabby. Travis is living the high life. He is everything a bachelor wants to be. He has a house, two boats, a motorcycle, kayaks, jet skis, great friends, and faithful dog by his side. Then Gabby moves in next door. Travis finds himself trying to be the best neighbor that he can be and she seems to want to have nothing to do with him. He still can’t seem to help trying to get to know her better. He finds that there is something about her that he never expected and his enduring spirit pays off and they fall in love. The Choice then confronts us with the most heart wrenching question of all; how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?
I took that last bit right from the back of the book. I wrestled, honestly, with any other way to put it and I just couldn’t come up with anything. This book again was quite amazing. My wife and I found ourselves weeping, almost uncontrollably, (me anyway, yes I’m a weeper) while reading this book. It truly is a wonderful read and again if you have any desire to read something that will touch you in a way that you never thought you could be touched, then read this book. I will only say this about this book. Although it is still easy to read and his style still flows effortlessly off the page and into your heart, this book needs time. If you’ve read Sparks before this book will surprise you more then any other. My wife and I both were very pleased with this novel. It was just a matter of hours ago actually that she called me crying and we discussed the ending of the book. I actually finished before her and that never happens. Needless to say it was so hard not to tell her this morning as I was headed to work and she was headed to lunch how it ended.
If these kinds of books are what you are into then you should pick up one or both of them; even if you just want to try something different. I was quite skeptical when I started but quickly found that I too have become quite the fan of Sparks. Even though we will pick a different author for May, I have no doubts that his latest, The Lucky One, is shining brightly on the horizon for us.
