The Notebook (1996 original; edició 2004)

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this as an audiobook from my library.

Thoughts: This was okay. It makes you think a lot about life, love and family. It's also one of those books that is a huge tear jerker and will make you want to cry through most of it. I found it mostly just depressing (I think it's supposed to be uplifting and thought-provoking??).

I enjoyed the first part of the story as we watched Noah and Allie meet, then re-meet and fall in love. I was disappointed at how quickly we turned away from these two characters and their history. I thought we were going to spend more time in the past watching our two main characters live their lives. Instead we spend about half of the book in a nursing home watching our main characters die.

Additionally, I found the writing to be a bit too dramatic and repetitive. There is a ton of talking about love and how it can conquer all (in various ways) and it started to feel very repetitive. Despite the book’s short length there were a lot of times where I just wanted the story to move along. The ending is also very ambiguous which left me feeling a bit empty. Really not sure why this book was so popular. There is some food for thought here, but it's not new territory and the story is pretty short and disjointed.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this was okay. It is somewhat thought-provoking and makes you think about love, life and family. However it was also very depressing, disjointed, and spent a lot of time rehashing how love could conquer all. I wasn’t a huge fan and don’t plan on picking up more Sparks’ novels. ( )

This is one of those rare finds where the book was just as good as the movie. Usually one or the other is better. But if you've read the book, please see the movie. If you've seen the movie, please read the book. You'll enjoy both. ( )

Possibly the first book to ever make me tear up. I normally don't touch genre books, but Nicholas Sparks had this thing about his writing that I fell in love with. Sadly, that thing is either gone, or he just can't write anymore. ( )

Not challenging enough. Embarrassing. Didn't get past first chapter. ( )

I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. If you feel anything in my review is a spoiler and is not already hidden in spoiler brackets please let me know. Thank you.

Wow. This book had me in tears by the end. This is the first time I have ever read this book. I kind of knew what to expect though as I had watched the movie already, (who hasn't) but there are a lot of differences between the book and movie. The movie was full of drama and angst, but the book was more of a quiet yet passionate sort of story. Honestly, I love them both.

I'm glad I finished this as night cause I now want to cuddle in close with my husband to feel loved and safe. This book hit home hard for me. I was raised by my grandmother and even called her mom, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when I was a child. Died about 10 years later. It was emotional for me, and also reminded me of my greatest fear. There are a lot of diseases I am afraid of, but none more than Alzheimer's. It is truly a terrifying disease.

The love that they have for each other in this book is incredible. I love how they are so sure of each other and to discover more about there lives after the story of how they got together. It sounds like an amazing relationship built on honesty and respect, and not focused on the attraction aspect of it. Although out in the real world I would have said that relationships that begin with cheating are usually destined to fail. I also feel that realistically 14 years is an insane amount of time to not get over someone. But this is why some books are only based on real-life and have lots of fiction in between to make it interesting.

All in all, I'm so glad I choose to give the book a shot. Makes me want to watch the movie again, but then I'm afraid I'll want to read the book again, and on and on the cycle with continue lol. I noticed there is a sequel to this book that follows one of the daughters and her husband it looks like. I'll be putting that on my to-read list as well. 5 amazing stars for a great romance and a truly emotional story.

How I choose my rating:
1* Hated it. I had to force myself to finish it.
2** Didn't like it. I didn't hate it but not sure why I finished it other than for some closure.
3*** I liked it. I had some issues with it, but as a whole it was good. I probably won't reread ever, but there is a chance I might finish the series. (If part of one) But if not it's not a huge loss.
4**** I really liked this book. Maybe not a work of genius, but highly entertaining. I might reread this, and I will finish the series. (If part of one) I would recommend to those I know hold interest in this book's content.
5***** I loved this book. I found little to no issues with it at all. I will be rereading this and probably more than once. I will finish the series and reread it multiple times. (If part of one) I will recommend this book to EVERYONE!!!! ( )