The Longest Ride Audio CD – Unabridged, September 17, 2013

I am a Huge-and I Mean Huge Fan of Nicholas Sparks. His Books Blow Me Away and Takes My Heart with each one of His books. I Have Read & kept every book He has written & even seen every single Movie that has come from His Books!!! "The Longest Ride", His Latest & Long Awaited Book is NO Exception to how AWSOME His Talent is. He has once again stolen My Heart with this book. (I Can't Wait fot The Movie Adaption to come out)!!!! This Book Literally Blew Me Away. I Don't Like to Spoil any of the Story & Plots, bc I believe everyone should have there own option in what TheyRead & some ppl don't always Read Carefully Enough to Understand what is being told In The Story. If You Read This Story with an open Mind & Your Ability to Understand what He's trying to convey in This Book, You to will Fall Inlove with Both Set of Characters & Plots. The Couples May be Several Years Apart & Grew-up & Lived in Different Generations, but having Read This Book already over 2 times bc I Couldn't Get Enough, You yourself will see how Those 2 different Couples have more in common than you'd think. There feelings, values, ideas, & most importantly there Love-for There Soulmates, are so similar to one another & is so sweet & romantic you just CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF EACH OF THERE STORIES. One Thing I Will Definitely Say to You is Make Sure You Have Plenty of Tissues with You while Reading This Book-Starting from the Beginning. Ira, the 91 yr old Man-just breaks your Heart for Him & especially whens He's remembering His Life over the years with the Love of His Life. I Couldn't stop crying, while I was reading & stared the water works, My Husband looked at Me & asked Me what was wrong & was worried something was really wrong with Me. I just had to tell Him one thing & He understood bc I usually get like that over the years since I started reading All N. Sparks books. I just told My Hubby-I'm reading the New Nicolas Sparks book & He totally understood. He-knows how I am when reading or waching His Movies. My Hubby is'nt one for the romance stuff, but He Will Set Through A Movie with Me. He says He Loves Me Enough to endure a few hrs of a Movie that's important to Me. He may not totally admit it, but There are a couple of Movies He actually likes, but wont say, bc He thinks He wouldnt be masculine enough if admitted it. To Me it makes Him the perfect Hubby-passionate, kind, & Loving. He wouldn't let it show but when He watched "A Walk to Remember", He was almost in Tears. I thought it was so sweet & shows He has a loving heart. But when this book comes out as a movie, I don't know if there will be 1 dry eye in the Theater when this Movie comes out!!! Its impossible if you have a heart. Just like the Characters in this book. Other than Ira & His wife Ruth, you have 2 younger characters that you'll fall Inlove with just as much. Lie I said, the 2 seperate couples are so alike with the way they act, feel, see things, & Love most of All. They share that same feeling even though they are so far apart in age & a big generation gap. So, the major part is LOVE IS LOVE NO MATTER THE AGE, GENERATION GAP, OR WHERE YOU THINK YOUR LIFE IS TAKING YOU!!!! Some comments I read, was a lil upsetting to Me bc it just felt like they didn't get what N.Sparks was trying to convey. Its really sad, bc I understood everything He was saying for these couples. Love is sometimes hard to find, but once you do, its an Amazing Journey & No matter what lies ahead its worth every step you took to get there. One you want to hold on with both arms, legs, & heart. You may even get to ride a horse along the way to your happy ending. Like Sparks says, The Longest Ride-Is This Thing Called Life... Amen to that, I Couldn't Agree More... There are ups & downs in life, but with Your Soulmate you can overcome almost anything in this life. I believe that this book is trying to tell you that & make you think about the importance of Love & Life. Open Your Heart & let it in. You'll be a much happier & Loving Person if You Do. I have it, & Love every minute of Our lifes together-even the ups & downs, without them you don't know what Love is really about & how it makes you stronger as a couple, just like His 2 sets of Characters in this book. Money may help buy you things you need or want, but Love-has No price, its priceless & needs to be cherished with All Your Soul & Heart. Ira, the older man in this book trys to explain that, if you actually read carefully through your tears. I wouldn't know what to do with My Life if something were to happen to My Hubby before Me. We started out very young, I went from living at Home with My Mom, to straight getting Married & living with My Hubby (@ age 16).. We knew eachother since I was 12, He was 13, frienship 1st-so get heads out of the gutter, yes We still were young when We got Married, but We already knew We were meant to be... 24yrs of marriage, 3 kids, & 4.5 grandbabies later & We are still HAPPILY MARRIED. OUR 3 KIDS ARE ALL ADULTS NOW-THE YOUNGEST IS 21 IN JANUARY. MY LIFE FEELS COMPLETE WITH WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH TO GET WHERE WE ARE NOW, LIKE I SAID-UPS & DOWNS, BUT THERE'S SO WORTH THE JOURNEY TO GET TO YOUR HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER. I JUST HOPE TO GOD, MY CHILDREN KEEP THE HAPPINESS THEY HAVE FOUND FOR THEMSELVES, LIKE THERE PARENTS. WHEN I SEE THEM & LOOK IN THERE BEAUTIFUL EYES-I CAN SEE THERE LOVE, & THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY THEY FOUND THERE SOULMATES & HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER!!!! I THINK THAT'S WHY I FEEL LIKE I CAN SO RELATE TO THESE COUPLES. THE YOUNGER ONES BC OF MY BEGINNING WITH MY HUBBY, & THE OLDER COUPLE-EVEN THOUGH I'M NOWHERE NEAR THAT AGE, BUT I FELT LIKE IVE LIVED A LONGER TIME BC OF HOW OLD I WAS WHEN I STARTED, BUT TRUE LOVE DOES & WILL CONCOUR ALL.. I KNOW BC IVE HAD IT FOR 26YRS NOW & ITS AN AMAZING THING TO HAVE. I HOPE EACH ONE OF YOU EITHER HAVE IT OR FIND IT SOON!!!!READ THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVEN'T YET. YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF NOT ONLY IN TEARS, BUT WANTING THAT FEELING OF THE MAGIC NICOLAS SPARKS BRINGS TO HIS READERS IN EVERY BOOK HE WRITES. YES BTW, THERE IS A SUPPOSE GHOST IN THIS BOOK, LIKE THERE WAS IN "SAFE HAVEN" & "THE BEST OF ME", BUT THIS ONES A BIT DIFFERENT. I REALLY DON'T LIKE TO GIVE SPOILERS BEFORE YOU READ, BUT I HAD ALSO READ A NEGATIVE COMMENT ABOUT HIM WRITING ABOUT GHOSTS NOW & THAT PERSON WASN'T TO HAPPY ABOUT IT, BUT IT WAS MORE OF IRA'S IMAGINATION OF HIS WIFE KEEPING HIM ALERT & ALIVE TIL HELP CAME, THAN A REAL GHOST. HE EVEN SAYS ITS IN HIS MIND IN THE BOOK. HE IS THOUGH WHEN THE TEARS START TO FALL & NEVER STOP TIL ALMOST THE VERY END, BUT ITS JUST THE SWEETEST THINGS HE SAYS ABOUT HIS WIFE & THERE LIVES TOGETHER THAT HE ABSOLUTELY WOULDN'T CHANGE FOR ANYTHING. THE MEMORIES IN THE BOOK HE SHARES IS SO WONDERFULLY HEARTBREAKING & HEARTWARMING THAT WILL GET YOU!!! I DARE YOU NOT TO CRY, ITS IMPOSSIBLE UNLESS YOU HAVE A COLD HEART!!! LUKE & SOFIA THE YOUNGER COUPLE HELPS RELEAVE THE TEARS FOR A BIT. NOT TO SAY THEY DON'T HAVE THERE EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS ALSO. I THING ABOUT THEM ALL BEING AGES APART & A BIG GENERATION GAP, THEY ALMOST HAVE THE SAME ISSUES & SAME IDEA ABOUT LIFE AS THE OLDER COUPLE. THEY ALSO END UP COMING FACE TO FACE WITH IRA, & THE EVENTS THAT FOLLOW THAT IS HEARTBREAKING, & CHANGES THE LIVES OF THE YOUNGER COUPLE FOREVER, A SPECIAL BOND HAD BEEN CREATED & FOREVER ETCHED IN THERE MINDS FOREVER IN A SAD BUT GOOD WAY... READ & YOU'LL UNDERSTAND MY ENDLESS RAMBLING ABOUT THIS BOOK, THESE CHARACTERS, & MY OWN LIL BRIEF STORY-I FELT COMPELLED TO SHARE, BC THIS BOOK IS THAT DAMN (SORRY) GOOD & WILL FOREVER STAY WITH YOU IN YOUR HEART, MIND, & SOUL!!!!!!! GO READ NOW, 1 MORE THING, IF I COULD-I'D GIVE MORE THAN 5 STARS, IT DESERVES SOOOO MUCH MORE. NOW READ YOUR NEW BOOK OR GO GET ONE, ITS SO WORTH THE COST & MORE.... YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED ONE BIT-WELL MAYBE A BIT LIKE ME BC IT ENED & ALSO I WISH THE ENDING HAD A BIT MORE TO IT, MORE OF A FINALITY THAT YOU WANTED, I NO I DID, BUT IT WAS STILL SATISFYING!!!! CHERIE S.- LOVES ROMANCE & A HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER!!! ;-) GO FIND YOURS..

Historical facts on art college in North Carolina!Tender story of how WEII affected so many young couples! All the while traveling through the maze we create out

As always, Nicholas Sparks never disappoints.

It took me a couple chapters and then I couldn't put it down. Wish her would write a 2nd book.

I caught a 30-second movie clip that hooked me into this book’s premise….but also amusingly gave away the entire plot. No matter, Sparks has a super power in creating mood. His writing is focused, there’s a slow and deliberate storytelling - a methodical build. The book is written in two parallel storylines, each so captivating I found myself frustrated when the writing abruptly stopped on one to go the other. But oh the ending…right on cue, satisfying and strong. All of the carefully crafted bits and pieces come together. The audio book is a wonderful production, highly recommend.

Book in good condition

Senior art history major Sophia Danko doesn't have high expectations when she joins a few of her sorority sisters to attend a bull-riding event and barn dance; the main thing she's looking for is distraction after a painful breakup, and when her ex shows up at the dance, already a little drunk and looking for her, even that seems to be out of reach - until a handsome bull rider comes to her aid. Sophia spends the rest of the evening talking with Luke, and accepts his invitation to come over to his ranch the next day to ride horses. Within a few weeks, the relationship shows signs of getting serious, but before they can plan a future together, Luke and Sophia have to navigate the reality of their very different backgrounds and ambitions - and Luke's been keeping a secret that just might ruin everything.Ninety-year-old Ira Levinson should know better than to drive at night in bad weather, especially after he's started to suspect he's lost his way, but the personal importance of his errand overrides his judgment. When his car goes off the road on a mountain highway and plunges down a steep slope, leaving him severely injured, Ira doesn't have much hope of survival. It's the memory of his beloved wife, Ruth, whose loss he still mourns after nearly a decade, that keeps him clinging to life. As night becomes day and the snow continues to fall, Ira loses himself in memories of a romance that was still going strong after sixty years.Ira and Ruth, Luke and Sophia. Two very different couples, one at the end of "this longest of rides, this thing called life," the other just beginning. In "The Longest Ride," Nicholas Sparks treats readers to two satisfying love stories. Throughout most of the novel, he alternates a chapter of Ira's story with a couple of chapters about Luke and Sophia. It's not until seven-eighths of the way through the novel that the two stories connect, but when they do, several lives will be forever changed.Nicholas Sparks is at his best when celebrating the deep and time-proven love between couples who have been together for decades, 'til death do them part. "The Notebook" is a strictly ordinary romance, made unforgettable by a frame story featuring the lovers grown old together. I enjoyed "The Best of Me," but the five pages about Tuck and Clara were the only part that moved me to tears. Even "A Walk to Remember" fits the pattern, in a strange way. "The Longest Ride" is no exception to the rule; I liked Luke and Sophia and very much wanted a happy ending for them, but it was Ira's chapters that I found most memorable and moving. If more of the novel had focused on Ira and Ruth, this would have been a five-star read, easily.Readers well-versed in inspirational copypasta may well guess rather early on what's going to happen in the end, as Sparks has borrowed a major plot element from a certain bit of Christian folklore that's been passed around for decades. Some have called it plagiarism, but I thought it was a nice touch, especially since he's acknowledged it in the Author's Note at the end of the paperback edition. And yes, I was familiar with the original tale and I knew what was going to happen, but that didn't ruin the story for me; I was happy just to sit back and see how exactly it would unfold."The Longest Ride" isn't perfect, or even Sparks's best. The final draft really could have used a bit more polishing to eliminate some of the clunky or repetitive passages. Sparks's treatment of Greek life deals largely in stereotypes; Sophia is apparently the only sister in Chi Omega who isn't a shallow, promiscuous gossip. Perhaps there's a bit of truth in the stereotypes Sparks reinforces here, but do we really need to hear about "the fact that the plumbing had to be replaced because too many girls were bulimic, which corroded the pipes"? Bulimia nervosa is a serious illness, not a lifestyle choice for the rich and foolish, and at any rate, Sparks is dipping into folklore again here whether he knows it or not: there have been plenty of rumors, but never a documented case in which the plumbing in an entire women's dormitory had to be replaced because of bulimia among the residents.In spite of occasional lapses of diction or characterization, however, I enjoyed "The Longest Ride." It's the perfect book to pick up when you're sad, sick, or stressed and in need of a sweet, simple, undemanding story to take your mind off your troubles. Sparks has created likable characters who inhabit a world it's easy to lose yourself in. You'll be glad you came along for the ride.

I loved the movie, so I thought my 1st Nicholas Sparks book should he the longest ride (next a walk to remember)Haven't started the book yet since I just got it 10 mins ago but I didnt realize how small it was (the book under it is to compare the size)I hope this book is a great one. I have read the reviews I'm pretty sure I will like it :)

This is one of the very few occasions when I have read a book after seeing the movie and I loved them both. In actuality I think, this time, I slightly preferred the movies idea of Ruth's letters being read to Ira by Sophia but that's just me.The book is one that I read at a gentle pace, it was a sweet and tender love story of two couples, two ages and I really enjoyed it. In part it's told in a kind of flash back way with a badly injured old gentleman, Ira, talking to the image (ghost or pain-fuelled hallucinations?) of his deceased, beloved wife. We see them meet and fall in love, we relive parts of their life together and we suffer with Ira`s loss at her passing. Then there is Luke and Sophia`s story, a love story at its beginning and how do he lives of these very different people entwine.Would I recommend it? To fans of Nicholas Sparks, to fans of a good, heartwarming love story? Absolutely I would but have a few tissues on standby...just incase!

I read this in anticipation of the film adaption being released. I’ve read 2 other Nichols Sparks books (The Lucky One and Safe Haven) prior to seeing the film so I thought I’d keep up that mini tradition with this.I really enjoyed this book. It’s about two couples – Sophia and Luke who are about my age and Ira and Ruth who are a couple of generations older. There is something so real about Nicholas Spark’s stories. I found it really easy to get into this story and swept up in both couples.Ira’s story is a trip down memory lane. In the aftermath of the car crash his wife appears to him and they reminisce about their time together. Their story is a real mixed bag of emotions and at times I really felt incredibly sorry for Ira.Luke and Sophia are quite opposite to Ruth and Ira although the bond between both couples is the same. Luke is a genuinely nice guy. He’s respectful of Sophia and is loyal to his family and his commitments. I respected his determination to help his mum out with their family ranch. He and Sophia are quite opposite in their upbringing but they do share some of the same traits like their loyalty to family and that they are both quite quiet people. Their attraction to each other seemed natural and it was inevitable that they would get together.Sometimes throughout I felt like the book was longer than it needed to be. The story is about the love between two couples and how it’s the same even though they are generations apart. I’m looking forward to seeing the film, and I hope it’s not too different to the book.

I am a massive Nicholas sparks fan and when I saw the kindle edition was only 99p I jumped at the chance to read it.A beautiful story about 2 different couples and how their lives came about.I haven’t seen the film but after reading the book I definitely want to see it.The story of Ira and Ruth was excellent, I was dying to read all about them and found myself thinking about the book when I wasn’t reading it.I love how the 2 couples lives come together. I found myself wondering if what did happen was going to happen as I read more and more of the book.Highly recommend this book and will hopefully read more by Nicholas sparks

Phenomenally well written emotive book. I loved the film, and would put it in my top ten, the book just is so much more and has more depth (which is not unusual but still surprises me, because the film is so good). Recommended read to anyone who loves a true romance novel. Although not just a fluffy boy meets girl they live happily ever after. It is two love stories about two separate couples set in two different times.There are lessons, that all of us can learn from in this story.Steeped in well researched history.The quote from which the title of the book is taken is truly beautiful.Long may Nicholas continue to right these fantastic books, that speak of love stories that we all wish to live, but that are not so unrealistic that they cannot be achieved.

I first heard of this book after watching the trailer for the movie. I thought why not read the book first before watching the movie since we all know movies never do books justice and boy was I right! This book is amaaaaazzzinngggg not your typical love story with the girl always in danger or being kidnapped and the guy comes to save her. This is truly an amazing love story that switches between a modern love and an old love and expresses just how interlinked the two are and also how despite the age of the world increasing and the era's constantly changing love always remains the same. Truly a beautiful story, can anyone really ever fault Nicholas Spark? No!Seriously recommend reading this before watching the movie, it does not do this book justice....although I did love the movie!