Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Guardian

Raise your hand if you have ever been a fan of Nicholas Sparks.

Keep your hand up if you read his first four books.

Now lower your hands if you lost interest after a while.

Half of you just lowered your hands didn't you?

See the problem with Nicholas Sparks is that his story lines are all fairly predictable after awhile. He's like the Louis L'Amour of love stories....

(Not that I've ever read Louis L'Amour because that would make me a total cowboy nerd. ::looks around surreptitiously::)

The GuardianWell, for all the possible faults of Nicholas Sparks newer books I would still recommend 'The Guardian.' Sparks really did a good job branching out a little with this story and what resulted was a book I couldn't put down.

It's the story of a widowed woman who is slowly trying to rebuild her life. A year after her husband dies she decides to take a stab at dating, but soon finds out that dating is more complicated than she remembered. There's her husband's best friend who's madly in love with her and then there's that other guy... the one who's stalking her.

But this post isn't about the crazy stalker guy (which makes for a pretty suspenseful plot line) this is about the best friend, Mike.

Mike is awesome. Mike is one of those great guy characters in a book that makes you want to dive right in and take over the girl's life.

Elton John's song 'The One' seems to sum up how Mike feels about Julie:

The OneAnd all I ever needed was the one
Like freedom fields where wild horses run
When stars collide like you and I
No shadows block the sun
You're all I've ever needed
Baby you're the one


I wanted to give you all a snippet of the book but it turns out I loaned it to a friend and haven't gotten it back yet so you'll have to take my word for it when I say that it's a good book.

Do you have any songs that remind you of a Nicholas Sparks book? Email us and we'll feature it for you.

-Cannwin

PS If you want a really good Nicholas Sparks book may I suggest his memoir "Three Weeks with My Brother." In my opinion his best work. Oh, and if anyone ever asks, I never suggested to my husband that 'our' song was one performed by the Dixie Chicks.


Books/Authors: The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
                         Louis L'Amour
Music:              The One by Elton John

4 comments:

Jennifer said...

It is all Grandpa's fault that I like Louis L'Amour so much. So there. Pbbtthhh!! ;)

Cari Hislop said...

My grandpa was always reading L'Amour as well, but I never read one. I miss him...gosh, I'm actually tempted to buy one and read it! I scare myself.

I just read a great book this week.
The Diary of a Farmer's Wife 1796-1797

It's hilarious! Reading it I have had to accept that in the old vernacular I am a 'lazy slut' but I do try to keep my house clean. Sort of! Thankfully I'd just cleaned my house for the six month rental check a few days before I read it, so at least I could sigh with relief. But if you need a laugh (her wisdom about men...priceless!) or a reminder of how much easier life is...I highly recommend it.

PS it includes lot of old fashioned recipes! ;)

The song that comes to mind...The bumblebee song (I forget the composer)

Jennifer said...

I love it, Cari - Flight of the Bumblebee is absolutely perfect to convey a sense of frenzied busyness!

Mickie said...

I just stumbled upon your blog when I googled something about The Backyardigans for my daughter, and I have to comment on your Nicholas Sparks entry. I JUST wrote an entry about his books as well and thought you might enjoy it. I totally agree about losing interest. I love his writing, but his stories have become so predictable. Here's my entry about him, just in case you're interested. I enjoyed your blog. Thanks!

http://buttwiper.blogspot.com/2010/05/and-then-she-dies.html

Mickie

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