A few weeks ago, Joey and I stopped into Barnes and Noble so he could find a book for himself. While strolling through the aisles of the fiction section, I saw a big thick book propped up on one of the lower shelves. I pointed at it and very jokingly said, “There ya go, Joey, read that little one.” Then I gave the book a closer look, and exclaimed, “Oh my god, I’m reading that!”

Oh the joys of reading something on your Kindle and not being able to see a physical copy of the book.

I found Outlander by Diana Gabaldon in my mom’s Amazon collection (I believe it came highly recommended by a client of hers) and yes, it’s very long. I find it so much harder to review a lengthy book. There’s so much going that I basically find it impossible to deem it all good or all bad. And this book, how do you even classify it? It is a book about time travel? Is it a love story? Is it an action novel? Or is it a historical fiction that takes place during the 18th Century in Scotland? All of the above!

I won’t bore you by recapping the entire plot, but I’ll give you the gist. The main character, Claire, accidentally time travels back to 18th Century, where she meets the ancestor of her husband. He becomes the villain of the story. She goes on to marry and fall in love with a younger Scottish redhead named Jamie and the rest of the novel revolves around all the trouble they constantly find themselves in.

Overall, there was plenty to enjoy about the book. By the end, I felt like I had such a clear sense of who all the characters were and genuinely liked most of them. The romance between Claire and Jamie was very endearing and I loved the historical aspect of the book. I was a few credits away from a history minor in college, but I couldn’t get the hang of writing those history papers. Something about my writing being too “flowery.” I don’t know what those professors were talking about, considering how short and to the point this post is…

What I didn’t like, however, was all the rape and violence going on. I know that was typical of 18th Century Scotland, but it just isn’t my thing. And the book was a little, ahem, long. Did I mention Outlander is a seven book series? I just didn’t love it enough to read the other six. I guess I’ll just forever be in suspense about what happens between Claire and Jamie.

On to something shorter and less violent.

**********************
Do you mind reading a long book?

If you start a series do you finish it no matter what?

What are you reading right now?