I’m in love with Nicholas Sparks. Well, his writings anyways.

In the last few weeks, I have dived into several Nicholas Sparks books: The Best of Me, The Lucky One, and The Rescue. Usually in the weeks (or months) leading up to Christmas I read Debbie Macomber’s lovely, light-hearted Christmas novels that are so fun to read and get me in the mood for Christmas. I will still be doing that, but this Thanksgiving break I found myself at the library checking out more of Mr. Sparks novels after reading The Best of Me. I have read him before, but forgotten how much his writings pull me into a world full of romance and real-world drama. I admire him for writing about worlds where the good guy doesn’t always win and sometimes characters have to look for the silver lining in a terrible situation. Like I said, real-world, not always happily ever after. Don’t get me wrong: There’s usually a happy ending, but not without some tragic gloom hanging in the background of the reader’s mind, causing the happy situation to be that much better in contrast. His characters are brought to life when the reader reads about their thoughts, feelings, and circumstances that form them into a “real” person dealing with much of the same things that we deal with ourselves.

Mr. Sparks’ worlds are also full of romance. Not the Prince Charming romance where everything is seemingly perfect, but an even better kind of romance: The “messy, up-and-down, trying to figure out life together while learning to love another soul” romance between two realistic people that leaves you falling in love with their story, and perhaps your own, even more.

The last few pages always have a moment that makes me bawl like a baby. That moment where something that was unknown throughout the whole story, but very vital, is revealed. I just adore and relish these stories, especially when they make me cry. He’s one of those authors that I could read every day.