Nicholas Sparks' "A Bend in the Road"

A Bend in the Road on Amazon

I'm a HUGE Nicholas Sparks fan, probably in large part because I'm a breathing member of the female gender. His books are like crack to us. I've read almost all of them, and "A Bend in the Road" was on the short list of those that I've missed. It also turned out to be one of my least favorites. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad story, but it just lacked the emotional tug that a lot of his others have. 

The story opens on the narrator, who is telling his story of a horrible moment in his life, a moment that years later, still haunts him. He tells the story of a young mother who was killed in a hit-and-run accident, in which he was the killer.

The story then cuts to the time of the event and follows the woman's husband, Miles Ryan, a sheriff's deputy in a small town (because all Nick Sparks books take place in small towns) and his fruitless investigation to find his wife's killer. The story takes the reader through Miles' struggles to raise his young son, Jonah, and his blossoming romance with Jonah's teacher, Sarah. 

Unlike other Nicholas Sparks stories, this one reads, for the most part, like a mystery novel. You spend the story wondering who the nameless, faceless narrator is, but once the source of the narration is finally revealed... In my case anyway, it left a "well,  that was stupid." taste in my mouth. I think the reason that I felt that way stemmed from the fact that the coincedence was so big, that it became unbelievable. His other books always seem tragic in their possibility, like a less ridiculous Shakespeare. 

One thing that I did really appreciate about this story, however, was that the male lead in it was a lot more rough around the edges than your typical always perfect Nicholas Sparks character. With most of his stories, you have to remind yourself that guys like that don't exist, or else they're a needle in a haystack to find. Miles Ryan, while a genuinely good person, is definitely flawed. He's kind when he wants to be, but he can be volatile and abrasive. He makes plenty of wrong choices and he's not quick to apologize. He screws things up, and he has trust issues. He's a very real character, and at times, I found myself disliking him immensely. It was a refreshing change for a Nicholas Sparks character, because Miles never really has that moment where he just becomes this great guy with an epic happily-ever-after. The ending of the story is more realistic than idealistic.

So, while not a bad read, it doesn't compare to say, "At First Sight" which is one of my favorite Nicholas Sparks books. (BTW, if you decide to read "At First Sight" make sure to read "True Believer" first.)

Steven D. Levitt's "Freakonomics"

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

The title "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" is a little misleading. He actually only explores the hidden side of a dozen or so things, but what he does is explore is most definitely interesting. And with his weekly article in the New York Times, Mr. Levitt certainly has time to keep exploring everything.

This book, co-written by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner is one of the select must-reads from the Uncollege Reading List (uncollege.org), which is how I stumbled across it. However, before I even got to it, several people had asked if I'd read it. Surprisingly, every person who mentioned it, referenced the same chapter - one in which the authors explain the correlation between the legalization of abortion after Roe v. Wade and the unforeseen nationwide drop in crime during the 90's. 

To give you a bit more of an idea of what this book is about, "Freakonomics" is a compilation of how statistics and data can be examined to show relationships that you nay have never noticed. The authors show how they were able to use match result data to prove cheating among Japanese sumo wrestlers, the show the inner-workings and financial data of the Chicago crack regime, they show what facets of parenting do and don't contribute to the scholastic success of their kids, and plenty more, all with the numbers to back it up.

Of course, many of the points that they make can still be argued by the reader, however, the theories and insight are still interesting and worth the read. One particular study at the end of the book is actually very interesting today, since the list of the 2012 most popular baby names was released today. The article is about how you can take popular baby name list, and using that data, predict which names will be popular years down the road. Since the book was written in 2005, they predicted the popular names for 2015. Let's see how they compare so far.

Of the 2012 most popular girl names, they had on their list - Sophie/Sophia, Emma, Isabel/Isabell and Ava. Four out of ten. Not too bad.

Of the 2012 boys names, they had - Aidan, Jackson and Liam. Three out of ten. Still not bad for a guess made seven years ago. 

It still remains to be seen how they do for 2015 year. 

Anyway, whether you agree with them or not on their findings, if you keep an open mind, it's a quick and fascinating read.