–
I’ve had the above book Outlander on my shelf for years, having bought it with a Border’s gift card at the store’s closing at the urging of friends that loved it. But I didn’t read it until recently when when so many friends of mine were eagerly anticipating the cable TV series that premieres today.
I liked this book of a woman caught between two time periods. It was steamier and sexier than I normally go for but also filled with Scottish history that I know nothing about. I liked it enough to want to read the series with my own imagination at play, and not taint that experience by seeing the movie too soon with the visuals filled in for me.
You can see the library book shelf of the series below, with the first book clocking in at 627 pages, and all the others similar or longer. I felt I might enjoy savoring these installments intermittently instead of overwhelming myself on a huge binge, so I have suspended reading it for a while, one third the way through the second book.
Interestingly, the author has a PhD in Ecology, which has nothing to do with her books, and was a university professor for twelve years until she could write full time. She said she originally wrote this saga for herself, not expecting it would become so popular, or her life work.
Here are two snips for you:
• “Life among academics had taught me that a well-expressed opinion is usually better than a badly expressed fact, so far as professional advancement goes.”
• “The rest of the journey passed uneventfully, if you consider it uneventful to ride fifteen miles on horseback through rough country at night, frequently without the benefit of roads, in company with kilted men armed to the teeth, and sharing a horse with a wounded man. At least we were not set on by highwaymen, we encountered no wild beasts, and it didn’t rain. By standards I was becoming used to, it was quite dull.”
Anyway, if you are not familiar with this series, either in print or on the screen, you might want to give it a go. You might like it as much as many people do. Meanwhile, I’ll be slowly working my way through the print version, while looking forward to the TV series in the further future. (We don’t have cable anyway…)
One thing is for certain: Scotland’s tourism is about to get a major boon. Scotland was never before on my life list to visit, but it sure is now!
Enjoy the two trailers below, which will give you the essence… and keep in mind this material is for adults only.
–
