Dear John (audio version) by Nicholas Sparks (Book Review)

Title: Dear John
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Read by: Holter Graham
Publisher: Hachette Audio

About the Book: "Dear John," the letter read. And with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives changed forever.

When Savannah Lynn Curtis comes into his life, John Tyree knows he is ready to turn over a new leaf. An angry rebel, he head enlisted in the army after high school, not knowing what else to do. Then, during a furlough, he meets Savannah, the girl of his dreams.  The attraction is mutual and quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah vowing to wait for John while he finishes his tour of duty. But neither can foresee that 9/11 is about to change the world.  Like so many proud men and women, John must choose between love and country. Now, when he finally returns to North Carolina, John will discover how love can transofrm us in ways we never could have imagined.

My thoughts:  Again - this is an old one that was finished back in February, so I will do my best to put my thoughts into words.

From the very beginning I was in love with this couple.  It is that I wanted that happy ending in a world full of pain.  Here were two young people who had found each other - and even though they seemed to come from different worlds, together they made sense!  Unfortunately, due to things beyond their control, they were pulled apart -  Some of this because the love they had for each other was so great, that the pain of separation was just as great - and to alleviate that pain, changes happened.  It is another great love story from Nicholas Sparks - and one that captures the voice and the world of this generation.

I saw this movie after I listened to the book - and I am glad I had read the book first.  There were changes made to the story that I didn't agree with - and I really didn't like the actor who played Tim, a friend of Savannah's.  I had a totally different look in my head for this character.  But, I did like the ending of the movie better - so I guess that evened it out!  You must read or listen to this one!

~I received this audiobook for review from Hachette Books.~

Dear John
Publisher/Publication Date: Hachette Audio, Dec 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60024-931-0
8 CD's - 9 hours

Giveaway of The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

The Last Song
by Nicholas Sparks

Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alientated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.

The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them.

Reading Group Guide

Giveaway

I have three copies of this paperback book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) just tell me your favorite movie that is based on a book and leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 12th! Good luck!

The Friday 56: 1-22-2010

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.





She wasn't like them, and he somehow doubted she knew what she was getting into with them. As Scott went on, assuring Cassie that he could easily have handled the three of them, Will found himself straining to overhear the police officer's conversation with the girl's father. (The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, p56)








The Last Song
Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing; REP Mti Edition Feb 4, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-57097-8
432 pages

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks audiobook Giveaway! CLOSED

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
(audiobook)

"Dear John," the letter read. And with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives changed forever.

When Savannah Lynn Curtis comes into his life, John Tyree knows he is ready to turn over a new leaf. An angry rebel, he had enlisted in the army after high school, not knowing what else to do. Then, during a furlough, he meets Savannah, the girl of his dreams. The attraction is mutual and quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah vowing to wait for John while he finishes his tour of duty. But neither can foresee that 9/11 is about to change the world. Like so many proud men and women, John must choose between love and country. Now, when he finally returns to North Carolina, John will discover how love can transform us in ways we never could have imagined.



Listen to an excerpt.

Watch the movie trailer.
(You really must go watch this trailer! The movie comes out Feb 5th and I can't wait to see it!)

Visit the official movie website at DearJohn-Movie.com


Giveaway

I have three copies of this audiobook to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) please tell me your favorite Nicholas Sparks novel. Also leave your email address.

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Jan 21st! Good luck!

ARC Arrival: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

About the book: Seventeen-year-old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, particularly her father. . .until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she and her younger brother spent the summer with him in North Carolina.

Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will be the centerpiece of a local church. Resentful and rebellious, Ronnie rejects all of his attempts to reach out to her and threatens to return to New York before the summer's end. But soon Ronnie meets Will, the town's local heartthrob, and the last person she thought she'd ever be attracted to. As Ronnie slowly lets her guard down, she finds herself falling deeply in love, opening herself up to the greatest happiness--and pain--that she has ever known.

An unforgettable story of love in all its myriad forms--first love, love between parents and children--THE LAST SONG demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts. . .and heal them. (book jacket)

About the author: Nicholas Sparks is one of the world's most beloved storytellers, an author with eight #1 New York Times bestsellers and well over 50 million copies of his books in print worldwide. All his books, including Three Weeks with My Brother, the memoir he wrote with his brother, Micah, have been New York Times and international bestsellers and were translated into more than forty languages. Four of Nicholas Sparks's novels--Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, and Nights in Rodanthe--were also adapted into major motion pictures. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and family. (book jacket)

The Last Song
Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-54756-7
400 pages

Waiting on Wednesday: The Last Song

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:



The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing/Sept 8, 2009

About the book: #1 bestselling author Nicholas Sparks's new novel is at once a compelling family drama and a heartrending tale of young love.

Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alientated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.

The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them. (from Barnes and Noble website)

About the author: Ever since The Notebook made Nicholas Sparks a word-of-mouth publishing sensation in 1996, he has maintained his status as a bestselling author of tragedy-tinged love stories. His spare, simply themed novels star ordinary people overcome by extraordinary emotions, and changed by them.

It's possible that Sparks might have enjoyed his level of popularity by writing these stories strictly from imagination, but in fact his family's struggles play an important role in many of his books, especially the earliest novels. (For exampleThe Notebook, his tale of a great love affair extending into old age, was inspired by his wife's grandparents; Message in a Bottle drew from Sparks' father's life story and A Walk to Remember from his late sister's.) In addition, a three-week trip he and his older sibling Micah undertook in 2003 became the basis for Three Weeks with My Brother, a unique memoir as moving and tenderhearted as any of his fiction.

Sparks is very methodical about his writing, an approach he makes transparent on his web site with several essays, updates on works in progress, and notes on the mechanics of his novels. Unsurprisingly, critics have faulted him for being too formulaic or cliched. Still, Sparks never fails to move his stories along quickly, maximizing emotional impact and featuring strong, down-to-earth characters. His endings also tend to depart from convention a bit, revealing tragedy where the walk into the sunset should be.

Although he is often classified as a Romance writer, Sparks is quick to point out that his books don't really satisfy the requirements of Romance publishers. Instead, he admits to writing love stories, a different genre altogether. Whatever he cares to call them, one thing's for sure: Nicholas Sparks continues to strike gold with his bittersweet novels of love and loss. (from Barnes and Noble website)

The Last Song
Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0446547567
400 pages




What are you waiting for? Waiting on Wednesdays is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.