Three Weeks With My Brother

Rating:
Summary: A Poignant Memoir
Review: I had never read anything written by Nicholas Sparks up until "Three Weeks With My Brother." I think it is a great read. I met Nicholas and his brother, Micah at the Festival of Books in Los Angeles. They were very friendly and you could see the love between the two of them.

My one gripe about the book is the amount of grammatical errors. He misuses "me" and "I" numerous times. It drove me NUTS!!!!!!!!!! Nevertheless, the story of Nick and his brother completely touched me and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: What a great book!
Review: I have read all of his books and was interested in this one because it was his life story written into a 3 week round the world trip he took with his brother. It is really two stories in one. He tells about his trip he and his brother take but then he lets you in on his personal struggles with life. It is interwoven into his decription of the trip but the way he does it is very interesting. If you think he's had a great and easy life you will be surprised to find out the turmoil he has had to deal with in his lifetime. What an inspirational story for all! He is really turning into a great writer I think. If you like Nicholas Sparks you will love this book! I did.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Read
Review: I have read all of Mr. Sparks books and this is one of the best. How he wove in their childhood memories as they travel together as adults is brilliant. I laughed out loud, and cried softly at events that shaped these two men's lives. i would love to take a trip like this with my brtoher, what a wonderful bonding experience.

Rating:
Summary: Touching and Moving Book
Review: I have read all of Nicholas Sparks' books and this is the absolute best book he's written. Forget all the other reviews that you read and just listen to me. Nicholas Sparks is a phenominal author. This book is touching and moving and I laughed and cried the whole way through it. Someone would be crazy not to read it. And for those of you who have read it and disliked it, go see a shrink because obviously something is wrong with your head.

Rating:
Summary: His Best Yet !
Review: I have read several of Sparks' books and liked the majority of them, but this is his best by far. I laughed, cried and everything in between in this one. It makes me love him all the more ! I cannot understand the negative reviews here accept to suspect jealousy at such success ! Mr Sparks ~ more non-fiction please !!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Okay, I'm biased...
Review: I love Nick Sparks, but my friends and I have said for years that there is no way a man is writing the novels that bear is name. We truly believed a woman was writing them and they were using a man to help sell the books. But after reading this account I could clearly see how he got his sensitivity and insight--through suffering. My best friend got the book first and she said, "you and he have so much in common," because we shared similar experiences and personality traits. You might have noticed from the book jackets that he is also extremely good-looking, and prior to reading this book, I thought he and I might eventually run off together into the sunset. Problem is you can tell from this book he really loves his wife and kids. I love my husband, and iron sharpens iron. But seriously, his is such a touching story. My only complaint is that the book felt a bit schizophrenic to me as it jumped back and forth between the travellog and the memoir.

Rating:
Summary: Really Enjoyable
Review: I really enjoyed this latest Sparks book. Interesting perspective on how families deal with grief and how those left behind pull closer to each other. I have experienced this myself. Although co-authored by Micah Sparks, the entire book seems to be written from Nicholas Sparks point of view. I'm not sure which parts (if any) were written by Micah. The travel log sections were interesting, but more so are the reflective telling of their childhood stories. The stories and people are truly genuine and human with absolutely no pretenses. I mostly think of Sparks as a chick-writer, but now I am interested in reading more.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Insight into the life of a successful writer
Review: I started reading Nicholas Sparks' novels because I felt a personal connection with him. Like me, he has the same first name, is a middle child with an older brother and younger sister, was born on December 31st (though I was born on Dec 30th), and similarities in moving from place to place during childhood and personality. It was these similarities that drew me into reading his novels, but while his novels were entertaining, light reads with interesting characters, I never felt that he was a great writer. His novels present a world I'm not familiar with (gossipy friends and neighbors, women who want a house with a white picket fence, satisfaction with an average suburban/small town provincial lifestyle), but it seems to resonate with people if he continues to show up on the best seller lists.

This book is by far his best book because he offers fresh honesty about the flaws of his family and himself. When I started reading it, I expected more of a travelogue and was surprised to see how little he revealed about his trip in relation to his well detailed personal history. His description of places seemed little more than segues into reminisces about his personal biography, and that's what really kept me reading. I really enjoyed and appreciated his insights into his personal history and didn't realize how much tragedy seemed to befall him each time he had a bit of good news. I don't see how I could endure all that he has had to endure for the past 15 years or so, but it seems to have given him plenty of inspiration to create the novels he has written. His close relationship to his brother is touching and I wish that I had that kind of relationship with my own brother. But I thought he was a bit too hard on his brother's doubts about religion.

I would have liked to have read more details about his trip to some interesting places, but I guess his brief descriptions of places such as Easter Island, Cambodia, and Jaipul India sparked an interest in me to find out more about those places. Overall, I was impressed how he weaved his whole personal history from childhood through the present into this book and I found his personal history was actually more interesting than his travel narrative. After finishing his book, I agree with his wife and brother...he doesn't need to work so hard. Trying to write two novels a year is demanding enough, but to balance it the way he does with family responsibilities (he does have five young children to devote attention to after all) and time for self only adds unnecessary pressure. My personal advice to him would be...its okay to take time off from writing. I'll still buy your books when they are published. You are well enough established a writer to have two years between novels if you want to (after all, Michael Crichton is one of my favorite writers and its years between his novels). This book has given me a greater appreciation for Nicholas Sparks as a writer and a person. I only hope that he gave his wife an extraordinary gift for her willingness to sacrifice three weeks so he can travel the world with his brother. She is remarkable and maybe their courtship and relationship dynamic might make an interesting novel in the future if he dares to fictionalize it for public consumption. If not, this book certainly accomplishes that role. His wife should apply for sainthood, and he is lucky to have a woman like her to endure life's trials with.

Rating:
Summary: Very compelling
Review: I started to read this book in a bookstore and literally couldn't put it down. (How cliched, I know.) I wanted to know what tragedies drove these brothers to make this around-the-world trip and what life lessons they learned from their journey. This was my first exposure to the work of Nicholas Sparks. I can't wait to read some of his earlier books.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Summer Reading
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Spark's family and about the journey around the world and through childhood of these two brothers. I was deeply touched to be given such insight into the author's life and it made you realize that no matter how good someone's life looks on the outside, you never know really what is going on/has happened behind the smile/tears. This book is different from his others since it was inspired by his own life not someone else's (also enjoyed learning where he came up with the ideas for other characters in previous books)...truly an enjoyable book to read. I loved how he mixed past and present stories with his trip with his brother. Kept it very interesting.