It's Wednesday again already and this is when I usually ask you, "What's in your library bag?" But, since I know most of you are busy and might not be reading a new book every Wednesday, I thought I'd include some thoughts on one of my favorite books of all time. A review of sorts...
The book is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and it is in the historical romance genre. At first glance, Diana Gabaldon's books can be kind of intimidating because they are usually upwords of over 600 pages, but let me just tell you they are well worth the read. Outlander, the first book in her aptly named "Outlander series", starts out in Scotland in 1945 after WWII and ends up in the Scotland of 1743. Claire Beauchamp Randall is a former British combat nurse and is on holiday with her husband Frank in Scotland. They hope to get reacquainted after the long war and are sightseeing and such. A strange thing happens when Claire, on a plant finding expedition, touches a boulder in an ancient stone circle near their rooms. She is thrown back in time more than 200 years to the Scotland of 1743. It is here that she meets Jaimie Fraser and must try and remember her history lessons from childhood to navigate this new time she finds herself in while also trying to figure out how to get back to the Scotland of 1945. Ms. Gabaldon goes into great detail on the history of Scotland both in 1945 and in 1743, which makes the story very real and believable. As Claire finds her way, she also finds a love to last through all time. Jaimie and Claire are meant to be together and they overcome all sorts of obstacles to make it work. To me, this book is the perfect romance, a love that withstands everything, even, literally, the test of time. Since, fantasy is also a favorite of mine, I especially like the fantastic idea of time travel that Diana Gabaldon weaves into her story. This is a book I can read again and again, like visiting an old friend.
I recently recommended this series to one of our library patrons and she said she couldn't put it down. She'd often come up to me and say, "I read every second I can, even stealing moments after I drop my daughter off at soccer practice. My husband thinks it's the same big book taking all of my time, but I've read three now and can't wait to start the fourth. I just love Jaimie and Claire!" What more could you ask for in a book??
If these books sound interesting or if you'd like to try something else, come in and see me at the library and we'll talk...
I hear that these books are big enough to be used as weapons!
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