The Longest Ride

By: Nicholas Sparks

Narrated by: Ron McLarty, January LaVoy

Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Winner, Romance, 2014

Ira Levinson is in trouble. At 91 years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together - how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior's life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward - even life and death - loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans - a future that Luke has the power to rewrite... if the secret he's keeping doesn't destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.

©2013 Nicholas Sparks (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Another great love story

Enjoyed the double love story told within the 1 book and how by fate the two entwined.

great

Loved the story. great author, well narrated .. havnt watched the movie yet but book was great

great story, hated the endingheary

If you could sum up The Longest Ride in three words, what would they be?

Heart warming, sad, loveable

Have you listened to any of Ron McLarty and January LaVoy ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No but i will diffently like too!

Any additional comments?

The story was great over all, the ending sucked....not everything always turns out perfect.

One of my favorites

Enjoyable reading and afterwards I went to see the movie. Not going into details but it was an overall good read.

Gran libro, una bella historia

Una bella historia de amor, pero una mejor historia de vida. Ojalá que todos tengamos la oportunidad de amar de esa forma

I couldn't bring myself to hit the pause button

This book caught my interest right away, it dragged a lot in the middle but in the end..... it's a perfect ending that's hard to not get choked up about.

Beautiful!

Any additional comments?

What an incredible journey it was to read The Longest Ride. Ira’s love for Ruth is almost tangible as he remembers his past with her. I enjoyed getting to know Luke and Sophia as they traverse the course of new love. The way Nicholas weaved the tale of both couples together was seamless and made me want to gobble up their story faster.

I felt like the story was well fleshed out and really had great detail that would entice the reader to follow in the footsteps of the characters. The images that Nicholas painted of the places in the book would make for a beautiful excursion.

Overall, I am glad I took the time to experience this Longest Ride.

Loved this book!

It is nice to listen to a story that has endearing characters who you want to spend time with. A relaxing, charming story. When the story is over it is like saying goodbye to close friends!

Excellent performance

The story is a little hard to get into, and from a guys perspective, a bit of a "chick flick".

This is two stories being told simultaneously and the Ira/Ruth story seems to be the one that's harder to get into, although, Ron McLarty reads the Ira parts and does an excellent job as with every other book he has read that I have listed too. On that same note, I have never liked any female readers, idk why, none have seemed to read the books to my liking, however January LaVoy did an amazing job and I will be buying more books read by her after this amazing performance!

Like I said, this is more of a chick flick but it was very good and Nicholas Sparks did an excellent job of weaving the story's together and tying it all into a nice bow at the end.

Good read, give it a shot, worth the time!

The Shortest Read!!

Excellent. Couldn’t put this one down. Should have waited and started it on a weekend. When will I ever Kearny that?
Never start a New NS book on a Thursday evening. Ugh, It makes for a hard Friday and You’re going to be moody no matter what.
My patients ar always kind of like, “what’s the matter with her?” “Did someone act up? “ I don’t know bro.”
Finally one of my trusted older students will ask,”Are you okay? You seem worried or distracted,” and I’ll have to tell her The Who sorted issue- always follows by, can I borrow that book when you’re done with it. So we’ll go to the library to see if it’s there or ask the librarian to order it.
That’s how good this one was too. Don’t miss it.