Off The Shelf

  On Friday night, a few friends and I went to see the film adaption of Nicholas Sparks' novel Safe Haven  starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel.   The theater was filled mostly with teenage girls, most of whom were clinging to tissues and each other by the time the credits started rolling. Here is my brief introduction to the story from a previous post: After traveling from place to plate for several months, Katie Feldman has finally settled down in Southport, North Carolina, the classic small town where everyone knows everything about everybody. But Katie has a secret, something she has worked to keep hidden since she left Boston. Just when she thinks Southport is not the place for her, Katie meets Alex - a kind, widowed store owner with two young children. As Katie struggles with her private knowledge, and her feelings for Alex, she comes to discover that love is the only true safe haven.   Now here's the thing about reading the book first, ...

Love (n.)- an intense feeling of deep affection The above is Google's definition of the word February 14th is always dedicated too. But what is yours? Many writers, painters, speakers, and common people have tackled the idea of love- what it feels like, what it looks like, how it is created. But not one of these people are ever right. Love is different for each human, and whether your love is for your spouse, for music, for literature, or for your country, everyone has experienced this "feeling of deep affection" at least once in their lifetime. At least, I'd like to hope so. Maybe that is really what Valentine's day is all about. Maybe it's about extending our love. Extending it past the ones we hold dear, but to those we normally don't talk to - the ones we sigh in traffic with, the ones we pass in the hallways, or the ones we mumble to in the grocery check-out line. On this cold and brisk February night, I sit here hoping that you spent your day...

Safe Haven  Nicholas Sparks   340 pages “I've come to believe that in everyone's life, there's one undeniable moment of change, a set of circumstances that suddenly alters everything.”   After traveling from place to plate for several months, Katie Feldman has finally settled down in Southport, North Carolina, the classic small town where everyone knows everything about everybody. But Katie has a secret, something she has worked to keep hidden since she left Boston. Just when she thinks Southport is not the place for her, Katie meets Alex - a kind, widowed store owner with two young children. As Katie struggles with her private knowledge, and her feelings for Alex, she comes to discover that love is the only true safe haven. This was my fourth read by Nicholas Sparks ( A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, The Last Song  ), and out of all four, this is the only one threw which I did not cry. Sparks is known for his emotional endings, but in ...