Kate’s 2¢: “A Bend In The Road” by Nicholas Sparks  

“A Bend In The Road” by Nicholas Sparks  

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I enjoyed this story, although, the astute reader will discern who the mystery person is.

   Jim Zeiger is one of my favorite narrators and he didn’t disappoint with his reading of this story.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer. He has published twenty-three novels, all New York Times bestsellers,[1] and two works of nonfiction, with over 115 million copies sold worldwide in more than 50 languages.[2] Among his works are The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle all of which, along with eight other books, have been adapted as feature films.[3]

Sparks lives in North Carolina, where many of his novels are set.[4]

Early life and education[edit]

Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31, 1965, in Omaha, Nebraska.[5] His father, Patrick Michael Sparks, was a business professor and his mother, Jill Emma Marie Sparks (née Thoene), was a homemaker and an optometrist’s assistant.[6] Sparks is of German, Czech, English, and Irish ancestry.[7] He was the middle of three children, with an older brother, Michael Earl “Micah” Sparks (born 1964), and a younger sister, Danielle “Dana” Sparks Lewis (1966–2000), who died at the age of 33 from a brain tumor, an event that inspired his novel A Walk to Remember.[8] As a child, Sparks lived in Watertown, Minnesota; Inglewood, California; Playa Del Rey, California; and Grand Island, Nebraska, before the family settled in Fair Oaks, California in 1974.[7]

In 1984, Sparks graduated valedictorian of Bella Vista High School.[9] He began writing while attending the University of Notre Dame on a track and field scholarship, majoring in business finance and graduating magna cum laude.[10] Sparks wrote his first, never published, novel, The Passing in 1985 and a second unpublished novel called The Royal Murders in 1989. He married Cathy Cote in 1989 and moved to New Bern, North Carolina.[11]

Literary career[edit]

Sparks’ first published book was Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding,[12] a nonfiction book co-written by Billy Mills about Lakota spiritual beliefs and practices, published by Feather Publishing. The book sold 50,000 copies in its first year after release.[13]

In 1995, literary agent Theresa Park secured a $1 million advance for The Notebook from Time Warner Book Group, the book that became Spark’s breakthrough novel.[14] Published in October 1996, the novel made The New York Times bestseller list in its first week of release and eventually spent fifty-six weeks there.

In 1998, after the publication of The Notebook, Sparks wrote Message in a Bottle which, in 1999, became the first of his novels to be adapted for film in 1999. In total, eleven of his novels have been adapted as films: Message in a Bottle (1999), A Walk to Remember (2002), The Notebook (2004), Nights in Rodanthe (2008), Dear John (2010), The Last Song (2010), The Lucky One (2012), Safe Haven (2013), The Best of Me (2014), The Longest Ride (2015), and The Choice (2016).[15] He has also sold the screenplay adaptations of True Believer and At First Sight.

Including The Notebook, fifteen of Sparks’s novels have been No. 1 New York Times Best Sellers, and all of his novels have been both New York Times and international bestsellers.[16] Sparks has also often been listed on Forbes annual highest-paid authors lists.[17]

In September 2020, Sparks published his twenty-first novel The Return and followed that up with The Wish in 2021 and Dreamland in 2022, each of which were optioned as films.[18]

Personal life[edit]

Sparks lives in New Bern, North Carolina. He has three sons and twin daughters. In 2015, he divorced Cathy Cote, his wife of 25 years.[19][20]

Philanthropy[edit]

In 2008, Sparks donated nearly $900,000[21] for a new, all-weather tartan track to New Bern High School, where he has also volunteered to coach.[22] The same year, he also donated “close to $10 million” to start a private school, The Epiphany School of Global Studies.[23][24] Sparks has also funded scholarships, internships, and annual fellowships at the University of Notre Dame Creative Writing Program. In 2012, he founded The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a nonprofit that funds global education experiences for students, which has donated more than $15 million to charities, scholarship programs, and other projects.[25]

Novels[edit]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

A bend in the road DB53017

. Reading time: 10 hours, 7 minutes.

Read by Jim Zeiger.

Psychological Fiction

Romance

New Bern, North Carolina. Deputy Sheriff Miles Ryan is still mourning the loss of his wife two years earlier in a hit-and-run accident. Sarah Andrews, his son’s teacher, is coping with a nasty divorce. Miles and Sarah fall in love, but their future is shattered when a secret is uncovered. Some strong language. 2001.

Downloaded: January 1, 2025

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Kate’s 2¢: “Your Utopia” by Bora Chung

“Your Utopia” by Bora Chung

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   There certainly some weird stories in this book. I actually liked the one with the total demise via a disease whose only symptom is casual cannibalism.

   Greta Jung Did a good job of reading this translation  by Anton Hur.

Bora Chung – Wikipedia

Chung Bora (born 1976) is a South Korean writer and translator. Her collection of short stories, Cursed Bunny, was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.

Chung was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022. She was born in Seoul in 1976. She has written three novels and three collections of short stories. Chung has an MA in Russian and East European area studies from Yale University and a PhD in Slavic literature from Indiana University.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Your utopia DB120796

Chung, Bora Reading time: 6 hours, 58 minutes.

Greta Jung

Short Stories

Science Fiction

Supernatural and Horror Fiction

Bestsellers

“Bora Chung’s inimitable blend of horror, absurdity, and dark humor reaches its peak in these tales of loss and discovery, dystopia and idealism, death and immortality. In a thrilling translation by the acclaimed Anton Hur, readers will experience a variety of possible fates for humanity, from total demise via a disease whose only symptom is casual cannibalism to a world in which even dreams can be monitored and used to convict people of crimes. In “The Center for Immortality Research,” a low-level employee runs herself ragged planning a fancy gala for donors only to be blamed for the chaos that ensues during the event in front of the mysterious celebrity benefactors hoping to live forever. In “A Song for Sleep,” an AI elevator in an apartment complex develops a tender, one-sided love for an elderly resident. “Seed” traverses the final frontier of capitalism’s destruction of the planet–but nature always creeps back to life. If you haven’t yet experienced the fruits of Chung’s singular imagination, Your Utopia is waiting.”–Page 2 of cover. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.

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Kate’s 2¢: “The braille killer: an Alice Bergman novel” by Daniel Kuhnley

“The braille killer: an Alice Bergman novel” by Daniel Kuhnley

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   The reader really needs to suspend any pre-conceived notions to enjoy this book.   Daniel Kuhnley andTJ Spehar did a good job of reading this novel.

From Goodreads Author:

I’m Daniel Kuhnley, an American author of Dragon Fantasy and Supernatural Serial Killer stories. Some of my novels include The Dragon’s Stone, Reborn, The Braille Killer, and Rended Souls. I enjoy watching movies, reading novels, and programming. I live in Albuquerque, NM with my wife who also writes.

All of my novels are professionally edited and proofread to ensure you have an enjoyable reading experience.

More information about my novels and sample chapters are available at danielkuhnley.com.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The braille killer: an Alice Bergman novel DB124174

Kuhnley, Daniel. Reading time: 10 hours, 44 minutes.

Read by Daniel Kuhnley; TJ Spehar.

Mystery and Detective Stories

Disability

Women

“Blind at birth, Alice Bergman’s sight has been restored–but her childhood struggles and the assault she endured have never been forgotten. For the last ten years, she’s been secretly receiving letters from her attacker-letters written in Braille. Now a homicide detective, Alice is assigned a murder case. The victim? A blind girl. The scene is preternaturally clean, far more than can be explained in any rational way. Alice is able to relive the girl’s last moments-but she can’t see the girl’s killer. That doesn’t matter, though. Alice knows the killer is the same person who attacked her as a teen.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Downloaded: December 7, 2024

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