Nicholas Sparks – book Author or Screenwriter?

With the number of his books that have been turned into movies (A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John –released Feb. 2010, The Last Song – due in late 2010, and The Lucky One-in production), it really is hard to know how to answer that question. However, if you take the time to read his novels, the answer will be quite clear. He is absolutely a novelist. He creates such great stories that they can be taken and reformed by screenwriters and still be incredibly moving. In a sense, he is a literary architect that has designed the perfect infrastructure, so regardless of the direction the interior designer choose to go, the building (or novel) will still be gorgeous.


However, in all cases but one, I have rather enjoyed his books to their motion picture counterparts. I have read Dear John, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember and The Rescue. The “one” that I referred to above is The Notebook. I actually liked the movie better then the book. But in defense of reading purists (those who maintain that book is always better then the movie), the motion picture version has been one of my top 5 favorite movies since it came out several years ago, so the book had a huge obstacle to overcome. So far my favorite of Sparks’ novels was Dear John. It is an incredible story of learning about the true meaning of love. Just a word of advice, if any of his books or movies have made you break down in tears, this one is no different – be sure to have a full box of Kleenex and a full afternoon to read it cover to cover because you will not want to put it down.


Sparks has a magical ability to write incredibly passionate and emotional love stories that do not just turn to mush on the page. He is realistic in his storylines. He doesn’t write what we all wish would happen but rather what life would more likely produce. His endings are not always happy in the sense of “and they lived happily ever after” but rather in the sense that everyone was a changed and better person in the end. His stories take you through every emotion that one really encounters over the course of a love story. He can be heartwarming and heartbreaking, but it is all always appropriate to the plot.


You can learn more about Nicholas Sparks and his future projects at: www.nicholassparks.com


So what’s your favorite Nicholas Sparks Novel, and Why? **please remember to put SPOILER ALERT prior to your comment if your comment will give something away**