OUTLANDER

Um. How did I manage to not read any of these books until now?

OMG.

I'm in a bookclub (think I've mentioned it before) where we alternate between fairly heady works of award-nominated fiction and sometimes dry

non-fiction. I love it. I love that the members can be very snobby about books, and find i

t funny when they rank on authors or series or even magazines and movies, because the generation gap is such that usually they're mocking things I love or at least enjoyed (and I have very low standards when it comes to books and movies. I'll read/watch nearly anything). I love my book club because they force me to read things that I might pass over at the library as too boring or too academic, and I've read a LOT of book

s that have been a challenge. But sometimes I need to escape. That's when I'll pick up stuff like

Twilight or some random brit fiction, a la Shopaholic series. I need the slightly trashy and highly entertaining!

I mentioned this to a woman in my bookclub. Two mon

ths ago she recommended the Sookie Stackhouse series. I needed a vampire break, so I wrote down the Charlaine Harris books to save for later and entertained myself with library books - you know, things I see at Barnes and Noble, write down in my iPod and borrow from the library because I am too cheap to buy books most of the time. This month she came in singing the praises of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. She's like "oh there a bit bodice-ripper-y

, but decent historical fiction....in Jacobite Scotland....

and there's time travel."

Um WHAT?!!!

I mean I'd heard of the book title and author but knew nothing about the series. How is this possible when:

1. I (mostly) love time travel books. TOTALLY addicted. Since Carolyn B. Cooney's Time Traveler's Quartet (and no, I did not know there wa

s a fourth book, and yes, I am totes going to buy them all and reread, young adult fiction categorization be damned!

2. Scotland! Those are my people! On both sides! We're septs of Clan Bruce and Clan Gordon! And probably others! GOSH.

Gordon

Bruce

I feel like I should be giving some sort of primal Clan shout right now....

3. Summer is the season for delicious books! I need delicious Scotsmen in my life (fictional Scotsmen, that is LOL)

So I planned to check Outlander out of the library. Buuut it is ALWAYS checked out in every library that owns the book. I felt the need to read it was too urgent to put myself at the mercy of the holds list. So I bought the Kindle edition for my ipod touch and began reading it on the train on Friday morning. It took me about a commute's worth of time to become completely addicted, so I ordered Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber on half.com for cheeeeap, because, as much as technology rocks and the kindle app is awesome, this was the kind of book I wanted to physically hold in my hands....

.....but then I couldn't wait. I couldn't stop reading. I thought I could get through the weekend on the Kindle app, then pick up another book and wait until the Outlander books arrived (it doesn't matter, I'll just reread them eventually anyways!) I finished Outlander yesterday at platelet donation and began Dragonfly in Amber on my way home. And let me tell you, it has me ANXIOUS. I want to sneak it at work, but I have too much to do :( Since there are five more books, I'm thinking that everything works out in a certain way, but the uncertainty is killing me! I see why people who are just starting the series now say they start with the first book and have to continue right through to the seventh. Books 1-5 are currently in the mail on their way to me :) because I can't keep reading these on kindle. And what better books to keep me entertained during our weekend getaway in New Hampshire, which is a bit rugged highlands-y...

The point of my post? hmm don't really have one except to say that I'm totally grateful to my book club friend for emailing me about the series, and that I'm loooving it. If you're looking for some adventure, 18th century medicine, Scottish history, romance, sexy time - READ IT! And if you're so inclined, imagine that sexy doctor from Grey's Anatomy as Jamie (Dr.Owen Hunt/Kevin McKidd) Oh HELLS yes.

Alright. Off to do real work.

Seriously though. Read Outlander.