Before The Last Song and Dear John, A Walk to Remember, Message in a Bottle, and even The Notebook hit the big screen, Warner books paid Sparks one million dollars to publish his novel The Notebook. A book tour (the longest in the history of Warner books, according to Sparks on his website and word of mouth made the book take off.

It landed on the New York Times best sellers list, 54 weeks as hardcover, with another 54 as paperback. It was later translated into 23 languages. Sparks became almost instantly a well-known and critically acclaimed author.

A True Love Story That Captures the Heart

The back cover states that “Every so often a love story so captures our hearts that it becomes more than a story—it becomes an experience to remember forever. The Notebook is such a book. It is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again.” How 200 pages can produce such magic is hard to imagine until one has experienced it, but it’s true: the simple, profound story is moving and unforgettable.