If you can’t love me this deeply I don’t want it!

Update, this book used the word tea atleast seven times in a 230 page book. I am under the impression that Noah loves sweet tea way more than he loves Allie !! JK JK but it is a close second this book will always give me the feels but it did not make me cry the way the movie did which always throws me for a loop because NS can pull at everyone’s heartstrings !!

Happy reading everyone

مذكرات حب

وأما من يرى أن روايات الحب لا بدّ أن تكون مُلئى
بكل ما يُندي الجبين ويخدش الحياء،
فليقرأ هذه الرواية

هذه الرواية قمّة فى النقاء والرقىّ
ومن النوع الذي لا يخشى الأب وجودها فى منزله

ذلك الحب الذى جمعهما والذى استمر -خاصة الذى استمر- لهو معجزة فى هذا الزمان
يتوقف اللسان عن الكلام أمام روعة البيان

The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks, is one of those stories where a simple love story carries an emotional punch above the ordinary. So many people can identify with this story and surprisingly, to me at least, men are impacted by this story also. Highly recommended, even if you've seen the movie.

I read this book some time ago and it was a truly brilliant story.
It's the sort of book that has you reaching for the tissues and going without sleep because you want to read just another page before you go to sleep.
Highly recommended.

Voy a decir que elijo mil veces la película que el libro. Ya me puedo permitir esa opinión, y también decir que me desilusiono un poco, porque la película me gusta bastante y el libro está bien simple y flojo. El romance empalagoso; y no hablo del buen empalago. Esta demasiado sobrevalorado, inclusive entre sus mismas páginas. Noah se volvió insoportable sorry, insufrible por su Allie. ¡Oye! ¡Le exageraste, Nicholas! Proclaman de un amor eterno, capaz de cambiar vidas, ¡Oh! Lo extraordinario de estar enamorado… Todos, absolutamente todos están encantados, maravillados, sorprendidos de que exista un amor así. ¡Es un milagro!

Es tonto e innecesario.

La mayor parte del tiempo ya leía por acabarlo pronto y se volvió un esfuerzo sobrehumano. No es nada emocionante. Y la guerra queda en un segundo plano, lo cual me pareció materialista, si está ambientada en pleno siglo XX, debieron resaltar un poco eso. Y dejarse de tanto monologo interno: Allie, Allie, Allie. Mas diálogos y menos paginas no estarían de más.

Uh, segunda historia de Nicholas Sparks que leo. Y me quedo por decir que prefiero Dear John.

Ahora sí: ¿Es en serio, Hollywood? ¿Es necesario adaptar todas las historias de este hombre?

Either my Nicholas Sparks times are over or this book is just not to my liking in general. It's a touching story but it didn't quite catch me. Not at all, actually. Nicholas Sparks' books all blur together in my head to one big sappy and somewhat unlikely love story that is so eye-rolling I'd rather watch newly in love couples making out on the underground train.

Love love love this book from the first page to the last. Every page my heart was beating for Noah and Allie. Their separation had a force that leaped off the page compelling me to beg for them to reunite. I didn't want to believe Allie was going to marry another man that she didn't really love. But this love story finds a way, nothing will stop true love. Highly recommend this for anyone that has ever yearned for true love. Very great read.

[ AUDIOBOOK ]
Historia: 2/5.
Audio: 3/5.
Narrado por Rubén Moya.

Por principio de cuentas, jamás he visto la película ni planeo hacerlo. Lo único que me guio a escuchar este audiobook fue la voz del narrador pues es un conocido actor de doblaje, sin embargo, aunque su voz es muy melódica en otros trabajos, creo que aquí se quedó corto.

En fin, este romance ha sido hypeado a más no poder y una vez conocida la historia, no dejo de preguntarme porqué. No encontré diferencia entre las voces de Ally y Noah, aunado al hecho de que, en realidad, ella no tiene personalidad en absoluto. Noah ha estado enamorado de una mujer cuyo estatus no cuadra con el propio. Él es un poeta, enamorado de la vida y un hombre que, ciertamente, tiene corazón de ángel.

A lo largo de los capítulos, el autor desborda de amor con sus palabras, pero no lo muestra como tal. Se encarga de decirnos que ambos se aman apasionadamente y que se pertenecen el uno al otro, pese a ello, en ningún momento conecté con ellos. Vaya, apenas y sentí empatía por su caso.

A mi gusto le hace falta profundidad, ya que la forma en que está escrito no es nada del otro mundo. Eso sí, debo de aceptar que hay un par de frases que son muy bonitas y quizá esta sea la razón por la que el mundo se ha vuelto loco con el libro. No es así mi caso.

De hecho, resulta muy risible la forma en que traduce el deseo y lo describe como amor. Creo que al autor no le vendría mal leerse un par de libros de erótica para que entonces sí sepa de lo que se trata un romance apasionado en el que dos cuerpos embonan perfectamente.

En fin, estoy segura de que jamás leeré algo de Nicholas Sparks porque soy muy exigente con mis romances y algo escrito de manera pobre, plagado de personajes vacuos, jamás llegará a satisfacerme. Me queda claro que la mayoría de gente se deja llevar por un romanticismo sin sentido sólo porque el tipo o la tipa están más guapos a no poder.

Y sí, este es otro romance pedorro, pero para señoras. Qué horror.

The main reason I rated this book 4/5 is that I could relate with the main character pretty well. My love story is somehow alike to this one, up to some point, of course, and I have to admit that it brought some tears to my eyes.

I almost never like the movie better than the book. The film The Notebook is one of my guilty pleasure movies. I typically won't admit how much I like it, because I don't usually do the sappy, romantic chick-flick thing. But secretly, I kinda love it.

For a while, this book has been in my pile of books that I own, and that I want to read, but have never gotten around to it. Well, I finally read it last night. I read it in one go.

What. The fuck.

How did this thing become popular?

I normally will never compare a movie to a book like this, but goddammit, the things that were good about the movie serve here to accentuate the reasons the book is awful.

Book Noah loves Book Allie, and sees her as the feminine ideal: smart, beautiful, witty, talented (the book tells us that plenty of times, but doesn't do much to show it). They fall in love (again, we are told that, but it was a total LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT thing, god forbid we include some character development) She comes back into his life, and he rolls over for her like a submissive dog. Yes, come to my home and drink my beer and cheat on your fiance, and I won't ask any questions because YOU ARE MY TRUE LOVE AND I LOVE YOU FOREVER NO MATTER WHAT. Then after a night of passionate lovemaking (and a strangely understanding visit from the mother we are told is so staunchly classist and controlling), she says, "Oh yeah, that whole fiance thing...have to go, sorry." And Noah is all, "I LOVE YOU FOREVER, WHATEVER YOU DO IS OKAY WITH ME." REALLY? Have some balls, man. Yeah, he is sensitive and hardworking and thoughtful and romantic. And BORING.

Pretty much, the book removes all the passion that made the movie worth watching, and replaced it with quiet understanding and patient love. The passionate, iconic kissing-in-the-rain scene? Absent from the book. Hanging from the ferris wheel, lying in the street, jumping in the lake? Absent from the book. Allie's trip with her mother to the lumber yard, where she tells Allie about her own failed romance? Absent from the book. Noah's impassioned argument where he tells her what a pain in the ass she is, but he wants her anyway, and blah blah blah Don't take the easy way out? Absent. From the book. It's like climbing into bed with someone, expecting amazing sex, but just getting a weak back rub and some neck kisses instead. Sweet, but no fun at all. The whole time I was reading, I kept thinking, how did the movie get such great scenes out of this?

Oh, and at the end? Where, in the movie, Allie asks Noah if their love can take them away together? The scene that would have made Vlad the Impaler cry little girly tears? Instead, Allie remembers Noah when he comes to her room at night and kisses her. And the book ends with her undoing the buttons on his shirt. Because they are about to have freaky old people sex. Because of course that will be fun for an eighty year old man with crippling arthritis, recovering from a stroke. REALLY? Sappy romance through the whole thing, and then you GO AND CHEAPEN THE WHOLE SAPPY ENDING?

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 have the forethought to converse with at least one or two about the scenario before jumping headlong into the task.
The book was wholly unbelievable, trite and painful to read. I am amazed that movies are made based on this drivel.

Nunca se me ocurriría leer este libro si no fuera por el club de lectura y pese a que no me ha gustado demasiado, es algo que me parece estupendo. Abrir mentes, probar cosas nuevas y sustituir prejuicios por experiencias propias es una actividad muy recomendable.
Podemos dividir el libro en dos partes, la final, verdadero motivo de la historia, es conmovedora y trágica y habría que ser muy insensible para no caer rendido ante esta historia.
Por contra, la primera parte, que se supone que es la justificación para lo que ocurre al final de las vidas de los protagonistas, es un sinsentido empalagoso, irreal (al menos a mi corto juicio) y que me genera bastante rechazo por el mensaje, creo que equivocado, machista y anticuado, que envía.(desde luego no es un libro que recomendaría a mis hijas. Basta de amores Disney y príncipes azules, por favor!!)
Dos estrellas por ese final tan bueno.