The Lucky One: A Sense of Destiny

I think The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks would make a good movie because this romance is filled with action and suspense. But I 'm getting ahead of myself here. I've just finished reading Sparks' latest book, which is a real page turner. Each chapter in The Lucky One is titled by the character whose perspective is featured, or by the characters the chapter focuses on, Clayton, Thibault, and Beth. Other characters are also important, Ben, Nana, Victor, Drake, and the dog, Zeus, but they are supporting characters rather than main ones. In this book, a strong sense of destiny leads U.S. Marine Logan Thibault out of Iraq and into the romance of his life in (where else?) North Carolina. Needless to say, it's not without problems, mainly in the form of Beth's ex-husband, Deputy Keith Clayton. Without revealing too much about the book, I'll say that while reading this book, I really wanted Thibault to be honest about everything from the start, to avoid future complications and misunderstandings, but knew it wasn't possible given how "unexplainable" things seemed. You can read more reviews of The Lucky One on Amazon.

I've now read every published book written by Nicholas Sparks, fourteen in all!

The Lucky One

Yesterday mid-morning I made a beeline for Barnes & Noble and there it was, an entire display devoted to the new book by Nicholas Sparks, The Lucky One. I hadn't called the bookstore to check if it was in so I wasn't sure they'd have it--the book was due out on Sept. 30th but I don't know what time of day books are delivered to bookstores--but I ran in and saw it. I hadn't pre-ordered the book but took my chances that it would be available, and it was.

Last night I began reading Sparks' fourteenth and latest book, The Lucky One. I've only read the first two chapters and am still meeting the characters, so I don't have much to "report" about the book just yet. I have some general comments, though. For people who haven't read much by Nicholas Sparks, I advise you not to write him off too quickly. These books are not fluffy romances, but deal with serious issues such as illness and aging, and in The Lucky One, the war in Iraq, and include tragedies of all sorts (expect to cry). The characters struggle to find not only love but strength and some kind of redemption (not usually in a religious sense). The language may be simple (meaning clear, and I think that's very important as writing is, after all, about communicating), but the stories and characters are complex, interesting, and modern, and several of these books are international bestsellers.

More Book Talk

Today I finished Bloomability, another charming book by Sharon Creech, and just in time, too, as The Rescue arrived in my mailbox this afternoon, neatly packaged by an Amazon.com marketplace seller. Tonight I hope to begin The Rescue, the remaining published book by Nicholas Sparks that I haven't yet read (unless I've mistakenly missed one). This one's sure to be a dud. Just kidding, of course! I wanted to see if you were paying attention, and hopefully made you laugh. I don't doubt that The Rescue will be as engrossing as all the rest of Sparks' books. Of course, you may not care for romances, but obviously I do. (Preferences in reading are so personal. I'm curious in this regard, perhaps even nosy, and like to to learn what other people read, and things related to reading, which is why I've had various surveys in this blog. If you've participated in these polls, including the current one, thank you. I appreciate your input and am open to ideas for future surveys, and of course general comments.) In late September, you know I 'll be on the lookout for Sparks' brand new book, The Lucky One.