Outlander

Sometimes I run into a wall with my reading. I keep starting books but never finishing them. Nothing holds my attention. When this happens the best cure is to revisit an old favorite. Its like hanging out with your best friend when you're really not in the mood to meet new people. Outlander is the book I revisit the most. The thing I find funny about Outlander is how it birthed a whole genre of crappy romance books behind it, none of them touch at all upon what makes this book so wonderful. They just take the hot Scottish warrior in a kilt trappings and put it on a romance novel plot. At its heart Outlander is an historical novel about the times of the Jacobite Risings in Scotland. It uses time travel as a plot device because when the author, Diana Gabaldon, started writing the book the female lead didn't talk or behave as she would have in that time. To solve the problem she made her more modern which helps give us an entryway to the times. It definitely has romantic elements and tons of hot sex scenes but as they are between a husband and wife that doesn't make it fit the mold of a typical romance either. Its about love, loyalty, politics, survival and family. It fits no genre really but the relationship between Jaime and Claire is the one many of us yearn for, partners who love each other, trust each other and fight to the death (literally) for each other. This is my favorite book and interesting my father's as well although we discovered it completely separately. It's not for everyone. Some romance readers don't like it because its too historical, fantasy readers don't like it because the time travel is just a means to an end not a major plot point and fans of historical novels find the romantic, sexual and fantasy elements of it not to their liking. Those who love it like me, however, adore it and all its sequels. It rises to the level of obsession for many of us. Now if only the author could write faster dammit!

New Year Old Blog

I'm trying to get back into writing. I've missed it greatly in the last few years. I do get a post done on my co-run blog, Borderline Savage on occasion but mostly I don't write much of anything. As part of my goals for the new year I want to start giving myself more venues to write. This way whatever I want to talk about I have a place to do it. This brings us to my old book blog. The idea was to write a bit about each book I read. Reviews I guess but maybe just thoughts or reactions. Nothing formal just whatever I am moved to say about them. It's really just an exercise for me but maybe you'll find out about something you'll enjoy.