The Lucky One: How to make a Nicholas Sparks cliché-fest in 6 easy steps

Film+TV The Lucky One: How to make a Nicholas Sparks cliché-fest in 6 easy steps Zac Efron's new romantic drama adheres closely to The Notebook writer's formula. Star-crossed lovers? Check. Water-drenched kiss? Check. And so on... READ MORE Music Remembering Levon Helm: The rock legend's 5 greatest performances After the influential lead singer and drummer for The Band dies Thursday at age 71, critics fondly recall his most searing concerts READ MORE Animal Kingdom The 'miracle chick' born without an egg A happy baby bird emerges directly out of its mother — without incubating in an egg outside her body. Can we finally put an age-old riddle to rest? READ MORE Books Joseph Olshan's 6 favorite books The popular author recommends classics by Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, and Wilkie Collins READ MORE Art The week's best photojournalism In some of the week's most astonishing images, sailors scale the mast, a young diver does the splits, and a tired marathoner crosses the finish line on his hands READ MORE Film+TV Does HBO's Girls have a race problem? The show about four spoiled white girls making their way in New York is earning buzz — but does it offer a whitewashed vision of the multiracial Big Apple? READ MORE SEE ALL CARTOONS Mental_floss The gene that makes you smarter Newser 'Holy Grail' baseball card sells for $1.2M The Frisky Urban Outfitters' pro-Nazi shirt scandal GOOD For Earth Day, pledges for the planet Discovery News Look up! The Lyrid meteor shower begins tonight Take off your dancing shoes A Florida city outlaws dance halls and skating rinks, even though it has none — and more in our collection of strange revelations about the nation         Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences | privacy policy  Copyright © 2012 The Week, All rights reserved.