This Week's Genre: General Fiction
This Week's Permanent Reviewers: Queen of Happy Endings, Princess of the Past and Lady of Literature
This Week's Ladies in Waiting: Becky @ One Literature Nut and Christina @ Insert Book Title Here
Current Giveaway: Win an audible credit for a book of your choice!
This Week's Permanent Reviewers: Queen of Happy Endings, Princess of the Past and Lady of Literature
This Week's Ladies in Waiting: Becky @ One Literature Nut and Christina @ Insert Book Title Here
Current Giveaway: Win an audible credit for a book of your choice!
About Oldies but GoodiesSometimes old books can get a little lost in blogland among the piles of ARCs and new releases. So every week on a Sunday, we're going to be focusing on an old favourite - a book that was published at least 5 years ago and deserves to be recognised.
How to Participate
If you would like to participate, please feel free to leave a comment with your favourite Oldie but Goodie or leave a link to a blogpost you've done on the topic.
THIS WEEK'S OLDIE BUT GOODIE:
Title: Suzanne's Diary for NicholasAuthor: James Patterson
Genre: General Fiction
Copyright: 2001
Pages: 304
Synopsis: Katie Wilkinson has found the perfect man at last - but one day he disappears from her life, leaving behind only a diary for her to read.
The diary is written by a woman named Suzanne and is addressed to her new baby boy, Nicholas. In it she pours out her heart about the joy he has brought her. As Katie reads this moving story, she realizes that the man she's fallen in love with is Suzanne's husband, Nicholas's father. She reads on, filled with terror and hope as she struggles to understand what happened and whether her new love can survive.
Written with Patterson's perfect pitch for emotion and suspense, this novel captures beautifully the joys of a new family. This is an unforgettable story, at once heartbreaking and full of hope.
Why I loved it: This has to be my first choice because every year or so something will lead me to remember this book and the characters in it. Like the ghosts of friends long past they flicker on the edge of my mind and beckon me back to the pages of their world. This was the very first book I ever read that so bravely and openly wrote about tragedy and finding meaning in the darkest moments of life. I guess you could say it was my first encounter with what it means to grieve and isn't that an incredible testament to the power of fiction? As a teenager who led a blessed and normal life, this novel was so powerful that it was able to give me my first glimpse into the loss that must one day touch us all. For the teenage mind especially, there is no downside to being able to put yourself in somebody else's shoes and by inserting itself into your imagination, good fiction does that like nothing else possibly can.
Like a Nicholas Sparks novel, the plot is touched by tragedy and is almost guaranteed to have you reaching for the tissues by the end but it has an undercurrent of hope that carries you through. Over the years, I have recommended this book to others and bonded with those who have already read it. I haven't yet a person yet who hasn't been touched by this story.
In 2005, this book was turned into a movie starring Christina Applegate. There isn't a trailer I can show you that won't give everything away but the movie is great also if you want to hire it!
Find it @ Amazon for $7.99 or Book Depository for $7.19 (free postage worldwide).
Visit Annie @ Reading, Writing & Ranting
9 comments:
Hello,
I actually do the same thing on a Sunday, that is, blog about a book that I read in the past and has had some impact upon me.
The meme is called 'A Blast from the Past'. This week I did The Great Gatsby. You can read the review here
http://pageturnersbooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/blast-from-past-great-gatsby-by-f-scott.html
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas sounds really good!
Hey Becky - that's great! Thanks for letting me know about it...I didn't think my idea would be original but couldn't find any memes at the time. We'd love to participate. I'll link back to your site next week :-)
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas...what an emotional read. My mom bought it, read it, and as soon as she finished it, she hopped in her car, drove over to my house, handed me the book--still puffy-eyed from crying--and insisted I read it. Then she hugged me. And it makes me want to cry all over again. I read that book and I cried like I never cried reading a book before or have since. My son couldn't understand why I continued to read it if it had me so upset. And of course, I had to hug him too. What a book that was!
I actually read this on audio book about a week ago - not the book to read on the way to work, but it was SO good.
This book is going on my TBR list. It sounds like a book to not miss out on.
I like the idea for Oldies but Goodies. It shall be interesting to see what books are out there that others have loved in the past.
What a tearjerker that was!
I actually just finished reading an Oldie but Goodie this week and posted my review. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
I shed a few tears reading Suzanne's Diary too!
I've just read A Thousand Orange Trees by Kathryn Harrison which was first published in 1995 and could find very little mention of it. It seems to have slipped under the radar and I think it deserves more recognition.
I posted a review yesterday
http://cat-bookmagic.blogspot.com/2010/01/review-thousand-orange-trees-by-kathryn.html
Amy C - it is an emotional read isn't it? My Mum passed it on to me...definitely one for families.
Dolleygurl - I wouldn't want to read it on the way to work LOL but I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Deanna - You have to put it on your TBR pile. I think you'll love it!
Jennifer G - I haven't read Snow Falling on Cedars but I hear great things. I'm heading over to check out your review :-)
Cat - I must admit I haven't heard of A Thousand Orange Trees but I'm going to check out your review. I love the books that nobody knows about...they're the treasures.
I couldn't get into this one. Guess I'll be renting the movie. I like Applegate.
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