The Longest Ride (Booktober)

 

"His voice follows me everywhere on this longest of rides, this thing called life."

 

 

 

Did I initially read this book because I liked the look for the upcoming film at the time? Maybe. Did I end up falling in love with the book just as much as with the movie even though there were, of course, differences between one and the other (as they usually are)? Absolutely. The overreaching story in The Longest Ride connecting two star-crossed pairs across different eras, bound by art and love, remains one of my favourites to this day. Also, another thing it has going for it: Nicholas Sparks actually gave his characters, Luke and Sophia, a happy ending. I know! I'm shocked, too.

Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. A few miles away, college student Sophia Danko's life is about to change when she meets the young, rugged Luke and is thrown into a world far removed from her privileged school life. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart. 

(from Goodreads)

xx

*image not mine

Midnight Sun (Booktober)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians (Booktober)

The Chronicles of Narnia (Booktober)

Atlantis (Booktober)

Origin (Booktober)

Quo Vadis (Booktober)

Death on the Nile (Booktober)

The Little White Horse (Booktober)

The Sign of Four (Booktober)

Harry Potter #2 (Booktober)

Troublemaker (Booktober)

The Lord of the Rings (Booktober)

Talkie Tuesday: Return of Xander Cage

"I live for this shit."

Hello everyone!

I'm on a Vin Diesel binge it would seem, but I remember that moment when I accidentally saw the trailer for the new Xander Cage movie and thought it looked awesome.

I never got the chance to see the first one in theatre, because, duh, it was years ago and at the time I was not necessarily considered as someone who COULD go to the movies with friends (aka, you know when parents step in with their authority ... yeah, that). This time though, it was Vin Diesel on the big screen in something else but Fast Dom!

And it was rewarding.

People are judging by the fact that everything else seemed to be overshadowed by the big names attached to the film, but me, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I mean, come on, I don't watch Fast and Furious for the reality! Same goes for the XXX movies.

So, without further ado, let's go see what Diesel blew up in XXX Return of Xander Cage.

Tome Thursday: See Me

Hello everyone!

Back with a book blog this week, as per usual on Thursdays, and of course, like it happens every once in a while for me, I deviate towards Nicholas Sparks.

Yes, yes, I know.

Why would I do something like that to myself, you ask?

Well, alright, here's the thing: I don't know.

I just generally feel as if my reading experience needs to be completed by reading Sparks novels, although I will admit that I'm not the biggest fan of his newest works, honestly.

I kind of much prefer the books he wrote while he was still married, but considering he had to go through a divorce, I figure I'll cut the guy some slack - but that being said, however, I can still admit to not liking some of his books.

See Me, unfortunately, fell under that category.

Tome Thursday: Two by Two

Hello everyone!

Yet again, I find myself in that inevitable trap that I will sometimes fall into. It's called the Sparks Syndrome.

Yeah, I named it. Aren't I cute?

The point of this Sparks Syndrome is that, every once in a while, despite my better judgment and DEFINITELY despite what I KNOW will turn out true for every one of his books, I will INEVITABLY pick up one of his (one of the newer ones, that is) and read through it, because something compels me to do so.

Maybe it's my obsessive compulsive mind that keeps telling me I have to READ EVERYTHING OR ELSE. RAWR.

Ahem.

Anyway.

So I went and decided that, out of the two newer ones I hadn't yet read (these being See Me and Two by Two) I was going to pick the one with the cute little girl on the cover, meaning, Two by Two.

Saturday Snippet: Mood

I feel a Nicholas Sparks movie binge coming on ...

xx

*image not mine

Tome Thursday: The Choice

Hello everyone!

I'm back with some more Nicholas Sparks fodder!

Because, you know, after I've read a million or so happily ever after books, or even those with a semi-happily ever after, I tend to get a bit weird and I pick up the old faithful again.

Which, in this case, means Mr. Sparks.

Let's be honest with ourselves, you don't reach for a Nicholas Sparks book because you want to read about true love or sexy beach encounters or even a romance in the stars.

You turn to this particular author when you're suffering from some form of chronic happiness and yo therefore need his stories to a) remind you that love hurts; b) to make sure your heart is never whole again for a period of time; and c) to ensure that you always come back for more, because, really, he's just that good.

Yeah, I'm waxing poetry, and I actually do like the guy. He writes incredibly realistic stories and is an amazing narrator, which only serves to keep me hooked. 

Regardless of the heartache.

Saturday Snippet: Bookshelf Tour, part 3

Hello everyone!

Back to the bookshelves again, and this time it's number three - the links for the previous two will be added at the bottom of this post if you want to look back and see what I've already disclosed of the books I own.

As for today's post, I have no clue why this photo turned out with such weird light. I took it at the exact same time as the first four, same time of day, same angle, everyting, but oh well.

Talkie Tuesday: The Longest Ride

Hello everyone!

Guess who's back from her vacation?

Well, technically I've been back since yesterday, but yesterday the only thing I was physically capable of doing was eating lunch and falling into bed. Border crossings are HORRIBLE here at this time of year, even though this is all supposed to be European Union territory and should therefore be painless. No such luck, I'm afraid, but at the very least I'm not rested enough - and my computer has updated enough - that I can get back into business! 

So before I left, my last blog post was about the Nicholas Sparks book, The Longest Ride, and I said in that post that I actually learned about it and got pulled into it by seeing the movie trailer. Before leaving, I made certain I had the movie with me so that I could watch and review it for you later on (aka right now as I'm typing this!).

And let me just say, it did not disappoint.

Tome Thursday: The Longest Ride

Hello everyone!

So I've sort of had to pace myself with this book as I was reading it, because one thing is certain, I would have probably devoured it in one whole night if I gave myself the chance.

Now, normally, when it comes to Nicholas Sparks books, I'm sort of apprehensive; mostly, because for all the salt this man has as a writer, he usually ends up killing someone off and making my tear ducts work out double time. So even though I picked this book up at the bookstore (regardless of the fact that I already have an electronic version OR that there's a nice image of Scott Eastwood on the cover, ahem) I wasn't entirely sure I wouldn't need a whole box of Kleenex the way I would usually do when it boils down to it.

The Longest Ride, being the latest of the writer's books, intrigued me, I have to say, mostly because of the trailer I saw for the movie. I have yet to see the finished product but I have every faith that it might be just as magical as the book was. Because, at the end of the day, the amount of enjoyment I got out of this was probably the most I got in a long, long time.

Tome Thursday: Tiger's Curse

Hello everyone!

So every once in a while, I like to move away from what my usually-prefered books are (those would be history, mystery, vampires, and potentially thrillers, but it depends on the author really), and go for something I'm going to cry my eyes out over (I'm looking at you, Sparks), or something I don't have to hammer my brain into submission for (As in, Julie Garwood and her unusually modern heroines sometime in the 17th century, probably in Scotland, too). 

And then sometimes, I end up with something that bizzarely reminds me of Twilight.

Okay, maybe not so bad, but I think you'll get the idea.

I think I saw Colleen Houck's books in a bookstore while shopping once, but I can't be sure, although I DO know I definitely got an email about a translation that was recently published here. The tiger on the cover was what did it for me (I have a thing for tigers, or at least recently I do), and so I ended up looking up her Tiger Saga, which consists of five novels (of which the last has yet to be written) and a prequel novella: Tiger's Promise, Tiger's Curse, Tiger's Quest, Tiger's Voyage, Tiger's Destiny, Tiger's Dream. It was said to have tigers, Indian culture, romance, and the books aren't too long.

Talkie Tuesday: The Best of Me

Hello everyone!

So, hi, this is your friendly neighbourhood blogger, and from time to time she feels like destroying herself with Nicholas Sparks. Yup, that's about right. See, we all know that Mr. Sparks is a master of writing tragedy into his romance novels (let's just look at The Notebook or Message in a Bottle, shall we?), and I honestly don't know why I even read his books and/or watch his movie adaptations, but there you have it, apparently I need to kill myself emotionally from time to time. I think people might call me certifiable for this - I know my sister probably does, but what can you do? 

For some reason, that's just something I feel like doing, and most recently, I've been tracking his newer works; I'm gearing up to read The Longest Ride before it hits theatres as a movie adaptation, but first, I went for The Best of Me. Sad fact: the movie should have originally featured Paul Walker in the main male role, but unfortunately, the role had to be recast after the actor's passing, and it went to James Marsden (which, all in all, wasn't such a bad choice, because he's quite good to look at too! Ahem).

Tome Thursday: The Rescue

Hello everyone!

So as you know, my books of choice are usually connected with either mystery, something historical, or at the moment the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (is anyone else excited for Black Dagger Legacy? Raise your hands!). I'm actually reading a number of books at the moment, namely one by Diana Gabaldon (from her Lord John series, I might do a review on it next week), the book written by Derek Hough, a book about Boudicca ... yes, I have issues. This is what happens when you have an e-reader which allows you to book jump a whole lot! But generally speaking I usually go through one or two books before starting anything new and such.

And from time to time, I also need a break from all the harrowing stuff I read, and then I decide to pick up Danielle Steel, Susan E. Phillips, or Nicholas Sparks.

Yes, Sparks.

Of course I don't pick this last choice often - mainly because his books (and movies) ALWAYS make me cry! But when I do, I just suck it up. My latest choice was 'The Rescue'.