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Dec 07, 2011

Lady Jayne *~*The Beach Bandida*~* rated it:

4 Stars - Also reviewed at: Lady Jayne's Reading Den

Sweet and romantic, but I liked the movie much more. In fact, I LOVED the movie and watched it before reading this. In the movie, the characters of Noah and Allie had more intensity and passion. It is one of those rare moments, for me, when the movie was better than the book.

There are some great quotes in this book though. These were my favourite:

"I am a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a co More...

5 comments like (38 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2011

Nicole rated it:

I love the movie, but if you think that was sappy, do not pick up this book. I heard Nicholas Sparks had a knack for sap, but I almost drowned in it and felt no spark at all. The book was so frustratingly simple and obvious and laid out. The dialoque droned. I'll come back and add a real quote, but it was something like this:

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" he asked, wondering what she would say.
"Okay," she said, and than asked, "What should we eat?" More...

16 comments like (47 people liked it)

Apr 27, 2011

Bells rated it:

quite possibly the sweetest love story ever. I wept like a baby.

50 comments like (41 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Stacey rated it:

I read this book on a train from Italy to somewhere else in Europe after graduating from college. I was unfortunate enough to be forced to buy it because there were no other English Language novels to choose from.

I know this is a beloved book, by a beloved author, but if I could give it any sort of negative rating, I would. The "Gag me with a spoon" category is almost too kind. My apologies to any one who likes Nicholas Sparks - if you're able to find the genius in his w More...

18 comments like (60 people liked it)

May 03, 2010

Becky added it

This is the worst book I have EVER READ. And the fact that this jerk is so popular continues to astound me. I would give it less than zero stars if I could. My sister tricked me into reading this book, and I wish I could gain that time back into my life so I could read a different book. This book teaches you that ANYONE could write a bestseller. Just be sappy and corny and have one big-ass deus ex machina and you're all set for stardom. As you can tell, I don't read shit that I think I won't lik More...

21 comments like (44 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2011

Laura rated it:

Vanessa bought me this book after I watched Fracture and developed a serious crush on Ryan Gosling. Well, that led me to this movie and, unfortunately, this book. How does this man have a career as a writer?! Who is paying him to write stories with the most obvious choices in plot/dialogue/decisions. Wow. Lowest common denominator.

0 comments like (19 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Dana rated it:

Does such true love really exist? Nicholas Sparks, all I can tell is that your wife Cathy has been lucky to marry you!I cried like a baby.Yes, true love will return to you, maybe not in a very perfect condition, maybe with a fiancee, maybe not with a good heart, but surely it'll return.

3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Aug 08, 2011

Carolyn rated it:

I read this book because my sister loved it. It made me sad. Not because it was a sad story, but because it was so poorly written.

This Sparks character had a fantastic idea for a story, a truly painful and passionate story of love and devotion. But the book? It was like my 14 year old nephew watched this brilliant movie, then tried to write about it on his myspace blog. It was butchered by an appalling lack adjectives and an appalling lack of emotion. Sad.

The fa More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Aug 08, 2011

Arlene rated it:

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks is a story about two teenagers from opposite sides of the track who meet one fateful summer and fall in love for a lifetime. This novel was engaging and steady paced. I was able to read it in one sitting as I was drawn into the lives of Noah and Allie. Nicholas Sparks has created a poignant story about two people who try to recapture the love they once shared despite the passage of time.

Noah Calhoun is a simple boy with simple dreams. He loves poetry, More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

jen rated it:

This is my favorite love story ever. It shows what true soul mates are. (I also loved the movie as much as the book.) If you don't cry when you read this then something is wrong with you. I think that you can love someone like ally did the lawyer, but only true love with your soul mate like with Noah. People who don't like this book have never truely been loved, because if you have it hits home.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

"I am a common man w More...

6 comments like (32 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2010

Muphyn rated it:

Besides the awful writing style (just to mention unimaginative, spiritless and full of clichés), I found the story just a little too contrived and far too predictable. I couldn't get over the premise where Noah and Allie meet when they are teenagers, spend one summer together and meet again after 14 years to realise they are still utterly in love?! What?!

It irritated me to no end that Sparks felt the need to not leave anything unexplained, describing things in excruciating detail, bo More...

24 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2007

Colleen rated it:

As an author, I learned that this romantic, simple style is not my cup of tea. Although I enjoy cheesy comedies (the work of Capra springs to mind), I don't yearn to write them myself. The original love story of this novel was a little too pat and plain-- it was too clear that this was the love of a lifetime. Perhaps I'm jaded, but I really think a lifetime of love is more irritating-- after all, no two people can be absolutely perfect for each other. In fact, that irritation and friction, a More...

0 comments like (16 people liked it)

Apr 27, 2011

April rated it:

I have, in my lifetime, come across so few people that I can honestly say the following about "Straight to a fault". Mr. Sparks steals the cake in this book. Not only does he play up to every hopelessly/sappily romantic notion pop-culture has ever churned out for women over the age of 10, he does this in a sexist/uber macho yet trying to come of as sweet but rough around the edges kind of way. Oh male privilege.... If you want to write from a woman's perspective, you should maybe h More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2010

Kat rated it:

Have you ever come across something so undeniably cute that you feel like you may be crushed by the weight of squee that’s about to explode from you chest.

”cute”

Kind of like when you see this?

That’s what reading The Notebook was like. The romantic tone of The Notebook was both its greatest asset and biggest downfall. Nobody wants to be crushed by squee anymore
than they want to drown in their own tears and The Notebook wants to destroy you. Never doubt that. Whether it More...

24 comments like (22 people liked it)

Sep 22, 2011

Book Chick City rated it:

The Notebook is a difficult book to review. I have seen the film, which I absolutely loved, and which is now one of my all time favourite romance flicks. As I read the book I could only imagine the characters as they were in the film. Fortunately for me, this was fine as I think the actors are great, and now I have also read the book, a perfect match for Allie and Noah.

I also had difficulty with reading the actual story that was told within the pages. I kept filling in the blanks wit More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 10, 2008

Abby rated it:

So, I didn't love this book, even though every other girl on planet earth does. Here's the deal: it's an old guy at the end of his life, showing how undyingly committed and in love he is with his elderly wife, who is dying of Alzheimer's. Sweet, right? Except here is how he shows his love: every day, he reads her the story of their love. It involves hooking up as teenagers, then being apart without communication for years and years, yet yearning for one another while sleeping around with other p More...

2 comments like (16 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Tara rated it:

Favorite Quotes

I suppose [my life] has most resembled a blue chip stock: fairly stable, more ups than downs, and gradually trending upward over time. A good buy, a lucky buy, and I've learned that not everyone can say that about his life.

"A living poem" had always been the words that came to mind when he tried to describe her to others.

Our lives can't be measured by our final years, of this I am sure.

We sit silently and watch the world ar More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Sep 14, 2007

AJ rated it:

by far, one of my favorite books.

call me a sucker. i can totally relate to the concept of true love and a soulmate. i don't think you get many chances at finding that one person, and when you do, you know it.

never let go of the one that you know BELONGS with you. on your mind every second of every day.

"forever with you, forever in me, ever the same" (rob thomas- ever the same).

4 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jan 17, 2008

Tifnie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 01, 2007

Dawn Michelle rated it:

I truly loved this book. The story and how it is told just sucks you in from the minute you start reading. I am amazed over and over again just how much I love this book.
I no longer own this book. I lent it to a "friend" and never got it back. And I am having a hard time trying to find a replacement copy. ARGH.
This is the story of Noah and Allie. They meet as teens, but are torn apart by circumstances. As the book progresses so do their lives until the moment that Allie rea More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2009

Lucinda rated it:

Sappy, cheesy, and several similar other words used to describe this story are right on. That said, it is a beautiful story about two people who are at the end of their lives, and one has Alzheimer's. It may cause tears. Not my kind of story, but for those who like sappy, perfect romantic lit, this is probably a great book.
I will not read another book from Nicholas Sparks.

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2011

Joyzi rated it:

This book made me believe that true love is possible. I also like the movie adaptation of this book. I first read it and then when I watch the movie I was very satisfied with it. The movie was even better than the book.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2011

Adrienne rated it:

I've given this 5 stars because it moved me, the happy parts and the sad parts bought tears to my eyes. Everyone should have a man like Noah Calhoun in their life

8 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2012

Elizabeth rated it:

“What? You haven’t read that book! That’s like the best book ever!” That was the response I got every time I mentioned I hadn’t read the Notebook. After hearing all these wonderful reviews and comments, I had to read it for myself. That’s what I exactly did. I locked myself away in my room and became immersed in the world of Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks is a heart wrenching yet heartwarming love story I’ve ever read. It leaves you drowning More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 18, 2011

Hayley rated it:

"The Notebook” is a heartwarming, tender story about the power of love, and how it can overcome anything. A man sitting with a worn out notebook on his lap, and a woman about to go on with her morning ritual, unaware of her surroundings or what is happening. Then, he starts to read to her and she begins to remember. This novel is a story of the power and strength of love, and I think it was very remarkable.

The story begins with Noah Calhoun, a man returning home from World War More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2011

Jyoti rated it:

'The Notebook' by Nicholas Sparks is a simple yet heart rendering love story. It will make you smile and cry often. It is about the belief that true love never dies or dims, it remains with you through the thick and thins of life. I will definitely recommend reading it.

The story starts with eighty years Noah Calhoun reading out his 'Notebook' to a lady who does not remember him, in a nursing home. It is the story of his life, his love story. He does it every day, in the hope that it More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2009

Nomanisan rated it:

Spoiler alert...
One night, browsing tv for something reasonable to watch, we happened upon THE NOTEBOOK. I loved the setting, the characters, the unfolding story, and the structure; I was really enjoying it; Rick--worn out--went to bed. At the point when Allie--having remembered and begun dancing with Noah--loses it once more and begins to scream, I started crying, all by myself in a dark room with a tv, and I cried through the rest of the movie.
When I saw THE NOTEBOOK in a thrif More...

3 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2008

Victoria rated it:

The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks
pg. 213, New York, NY
Time Warner Books, Inc. $5.99
ISBN 0-446-60523-9

Allison Hamilton, now 29 years old, can’t seem to shake away her first love, Noah Calhoun. Torn between her fiancé Lon and her soul mate Noah, Allie must make a decision that won’t be easy and faces the danger of breaking one of these man’s hearts. Nicholas Sparks writes a jaw-dropping, passionate romance novel that will have you wanting more. If you aren More...

5 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2009

Susan rated it:

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, is a beautifully simple story of the love two people share. In the days before the "Great Depression," two teenagers in New Bern North Carolina meet. Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson catch a little southern summer magic and fall in love. Unfortunately, they are doomed to be parted, and at the end of the summer, Allie's disapproving parents take her away from Noah. For the next 14 years, Noah and Allie lead their separate lives, never forgetting the enchant More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 29, 2008

LeiAnn rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (3 people liked it)