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 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

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Kate
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PostSubject: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Icon_minitimeTue May 26, 2009 7:21 pm

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Outlander

I know, I know. We're a bit behind... BUT, we're getting back on track. Choosing two books last month turned out to be epic fail, as I had trouble finding P&P&Z, and Bittner had trouble finding our Pirate book... But I picked up PPZ at last, and Bittner finally purchased Outlander... I think. XD

Outlander, technically our May pick, was chosen to fit our sci-fi/romance/fantasy selection. As I'm almost done with the book (and actually just picked up the sequel today) I have to say that this book is not easily pegged into a category. But here's a review from another source:

Quote :
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR HEART TO A BOOK? Well, look no further. Diana Gabaldon has created the ultimate escape in The Outlander. Don't let the 850 pages dissuade you. It's the fastest read you'll ever have.

The epic tale begins when Claire Randall, a young combat nurse in World War II, moves to Scotland with her beloved husband to re-ignite their marriage interrupted by the war. Hiking one day, Claire accidentally passes through the stones of an ancient stone circle and wakes up to find herself in 16th century Scotland. Lost, alone, and confused (yet, determined), Claire's path crosses, and is inextricably linked to, a young Highland warrior, James Fraser. (The kind of man women want, and men want to BE.)The story that ensues would make Shakespeare proud--danger, suspense, passion, betrayal, true love, and tragedy. Gabaldon is a master story teller. She shrouds her fantasy in just enough reality as to completely seduce her readers.

The time-travel element as well as the romance, while unconventional for a "serious" historical novel, are handled brilliantly by Gabaldon. Not, for the faint of heart-- the author tackles themes of a violent and sexual nature. However, the story is so realistic and beautifully told, it doesn't come off as a ploy to shock readers. Well-crafted and meticulously researched, The Outlander is historical fiction at it's finest-but never this much fun! The hero and heroine come alive. You'll find yourself living and breathing in their world, anxiously devouring each chapter.

WARNING: have the next three books in the series handy. Once, you turn the last page of Outlander, you won't want to return to the 21st century. I couldn't get to the bookstore fast enough. And, Gabaldon does not disappoint...
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bittner29
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PostSubject: Re: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Icon_minitimeSun May 31, 2009 12:51 am

So I just reached chapter 17. Which isn't quiet half way but close enough for me to stop and share my thoughts so far. The hope is that this will help me to not fall so far behind like I did with my postings for April.
So far I am really enjoying Outlander. And at the point where I am in the story they have stopped using the term "outlander" so much, so my visions of Malachai pulling Vicky down the dirt road in the center of town screaming "OUTLANDER!!!!!! WE HAVE YOUR WOMAN!!!!!!!!!!" are starting to cease.
I'm at the part where Jamie and Claire have married (and have consummated it), they went fishing and I think that now they are just waiting for Dougal to return from doing his buisness.
I like Claire I think she is funny. I LOVE Jamie. The funny part is that when I first started reading this it kept making me think of "Host". Mostly just because she kept saying "Jamie Jamie Jamie" and she was this girl who was and outsider. There was even one part where she was saying that the other girls were avoiding her. But I have a suspicion that this Jamie is way hotter. So far I prefer Jamie to Frank. Frank seemed nice enough, but Jamie is HOT!
Here are my predictions thus far for the ending of the book.
I suspect that the kid in the beginning of the book, the one that was staying with the priest in the "modern" part of the book, I suspect that he is a distant descendant of Claire's. Only because her and Jamie seem to be having a lot of sex and then I started wondering what if she got pregnant? But then I thought that she wasn't able to have kids because I remembered that after seeing the boy that was staying with the Priest Claire began the topic of adoption with Frank. But he said he didn't want to because he was still holding on to the idea of having a kid that was a "part of her". Now I know that he was really thinking about himself then, but I remembered him saying "part of her" and then I got to thinking that maybe that kid is a part of her, her and Jamie.
I'm also assuming that the man Frank saw that was watching Claire brush her hair, that that was Jamie. But I hope I'm wrong. Because Jamie loves her and if he is going off into other realms to try to find her that means that at some point Claire must have left him. And I can't stand that idea. He really loves her and would do anything to protect her. That is so cruel of her to just leave him with no explanation. I'm assuming she doesn't give an explanation or proper goodbye because the man that ran into Frank was angry, and again he was searching for her. I just have this miserable image in my mind of her leaving him, and Jamie ends up blaming himself because he swore to protect her.
Poor Jamie!
Well, if one assumed that all these suspicions I have about the ending of the book, would serve to move me into not wanting to put the book down. They would be wrong. I was like that with the wedding part but once it started to cool down a bit I began to feel the weight of the book and remembered how long it is. Then I put it down and took a break. Have to pace myself. I will most defiantly reach the half way mark tomorrow and I'll try to get a bit further. My goal for finishing is Thursday at the latest. So I'll keep you posted!
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PostSubject: Re: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Icon_minitimeSun May 31, 2009 11:49 am

Okay, I'm almost done with my book, but I'll keep my comments to what you've posted about. When I first started the book I was not a huge Frank fan, still not by the way, simply because his idea of adoption pissed me off. So, for me, there was never any big competition. I was surprised that Jamie turned out to be the leading man, simply because in the beginning Claire kept referring to him as such a young man despite the fact that she's not that much older than him. I honestly thought that she was going to fall for a relative of his named James. lol

Once I figured out it was Jamie, I was wondering how they would possible get together. Although he seemed friendly to her, there were no real signs of impending hook up. Especially since he was all munching on Laoghaire (which my friend Amy pronounces Leghair because she hates her). But I thought they way they had to get married made sense- although I don't quite see the wisdom behind marrying her to an outlaw, but whatever. I'll go with it. I was a bit surprised at all the amounts of sex the two of them have, but then again I'm a modern girl and the whole lack of cleanliness grosses me out at times.

This is a strange book, and I can't quite figure out what is so engrossing about it, since the pace is a bit off at times. But I think mostly the reason that it's good is that the author does a great job of showing life back in Scotland in the past without it feeling like a history lesson. And trust me when I say that there are lots and lots of good parts coming. Some will traumatize you, so be prepared.
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PostSubject: Re: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Icon_minitimeFri Jun 12, 2009 9:32 am

June 7th

At this time I am house sitting for my friends Mary and David. They have gone to Vegas for a week and left Riley and myself to care for their house and for their two dogs Tootsie and Sugar. Unfortunately they don’t have internet here so you will be kept in suspense on my thoughts for Outlander until I make it home on Tuesday. However, I can’t keep my thoughts in my head until then in fear I will forget them.

I am actually really REALLY close to finishing. I’m on page 819, and with only 850 pages in the book that leaves me 31 pages to go until the end.

Currently Jamie and Claire are at the monastery. I’m actually just after the part where Claire covered herself in the sent of lavender and came into Jamie’s room and started to pretend that she was Randall in order to get Jamie to fight back and bring out his strength. It worked, for his fever has broke and he is feeling better.

I am so close to the end and yet I am terrified about reaching it. Now, those of you who know me well, know that I am very fond of reading the last few lines of each book I read. It is such a natural thing for me to do that I do it sometimes with out realizing it and other times I really have to fight to keep a hold of myself to not look to the end. Well, in the case of Outlander, I have flipped to the end. But, I have only read one line and it was something about how Jamie probably knows something by now. But I don’t know what he knows, or who Claire is talking to or why she isn’t with Jamie in that moment. Is she back in 1945? Or is she just visiting with Jenny and Jamie is outside? And what does Jamie know by now? Does he probably now realize that she has left and is back in the future? I am literally willing the end of the book to go the way I want it to. I keep thinking over and over in my mind “She can’t leave him…she can’t leave him…after all they have been through…after the torture and the pain…she can’t leave him…even if he begs her…that can not be how the book ends” I am so terrified that by the time I get to the end of this book, she is going to leave him. And I will be furious!

I love Jamie. I really do. I know he is begging her to leave him now, but he doesn’t mean it. He loves her. I knew that from the beginning even if she didn’t realize it until he told her so when they were at Lallybroch. That is why I have hated her so much at times. Because she didn’t believe that he loved her. And because she kept wanting to go back to Frank!

Which I don’t really see how that would be possible. I mean I know that John Randall and Frank Randall are two different people. (that just made me think of something, has Claire actually told Jamie that her husband Frank is the descendent of John? I can’t remember but I don’t think she has, interesting. Back to the original train of thought) And I understand that I have never been in love with someone to the point of wanting to marry them, and therefore it is difficult for me to understand that pull that Claire feels towards Frank. But after everything that has happened. How? She has said herself that their looks are similar down to their smiles and movements. They are practically identical. How can she go back to the future, see Frank, see those eyes and that smile that was on the face of the man who wanted to rape her and who tortured her husband on more than one account, how can she look into that face and not be revolted? How? I understand that Frank is different, but that face, that leering smile, what he did to Jamie, how can she ever look into the face that caused so much pain and feel tenderness and affection?

I loved the part where they went home to Lallybroch, I loved Jenny and Ian. That whole part when they first get there and Jamie didn’t believe that Jenny didn’t sleep with Randall was hilarious! When Jenny was like “Ian go get the bed sheets” I was laughing so hard. But then at the same time, with the whole pregnancy part, the scene where she is trying to explain to the group what the feelings are like. To me that just seemed awkward. I mean, that was her brother in that room! I don’t have a brother, but I sure as hell wouldn’t talk to him like that. I do have two sisters and I wouldn’t talk to them about those things either!!! That was just too much information for my taste and it left me hoping I never get pregnant! The part where she actually has the baby didn’t bother me at all, just the talking about it before hand. Ugh! No thank you!

My favorite parts of the book have been, after the wedding when they got back to Castle Leoch and they were just kind of getting settled in, chapter 25 when Jamie finally learns the truth and believes her, Lallybroch, and when they were in the monastery. I really loved the way the Catholic faith was presented. Even if you are not a Catholic, and even with all the negative light that falls on the establishment from time to time, the actual faith of the church, really is beautiful. Claire’s time spent Father Anselm, the Sacrament of the Healing of the Sick, the ritual of Perpetual Adoration, it made me miss going to church. I haven’t been since Easter. But reading that whole part just made me wish that I could go to church and have a Father Anselm to connect with, maybe I will someday, when I’m not living in the “Baptist Bible Belt”.

Alright so I just finished the book! I liked the ending, figures she would end it with them having sex…again. I’m so glad that they stayed together. It is funny though that the last line that I read from the book, was actually the last line of the preview that is included of the next book. Oh, well.

Now, do I want to run out and buy the next book and continue on the journey. Nah, I’m good thanks. So far, Heart and Soul remains to be the only book I’ve read in a really long time that when it was over I really wanted to go out read the other books. And they weren’t even sequels! Have I done so? No, not yet. I’ve been so busy trying to keep up with the books we’ve picked that I haven’t had time just now to add other books to my list. Heart and Soul being the exception, I still find it my natural tendency to finish a book and be ready to put an end to that story. As much as I love the characters, well in this book only Jamie, I don’t feel the need to continue the stories. In my head I’ve already developed my own ending and if I read the other books it might contradict what I have in mind.

By the way, for anyone else who was curious about the St. Sebastian picture in the sick room, he is the patron saint of athletes because of his physical endurance and he was also the patron saint of soldiers. He was declared patron of plague sufferers for his reported cures for many afflicted with different diseases.

Additional note, While house sitting for Mary and David their dogs chewed through the battery adapter for my computer I have just 20 minutes left in my battery so after that it might be a while before I can post again. Hopefully I’ll get a new cord soon but no promises!
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PostSubject: Re: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Icon_minitimeSun Jul 12, 2009 12:06 am

Well, finally finished Outlander about 2 days ago. Courtney was right, there is lots of sex. Main points (no, I haven't read any posts yet):

I was annoyed how she kept thinking about Frank. Sure, when Randall was around there would be memories, but get over it. And they really couldn't get to Jaime before he was raped? But whatever, not my book. I just have to read it and convince myself that at least my life isn't that bad. (Some Poo went down at work, but I think it'll be okay).

2. I find it hard that she would kill people, like the boy soldier, but she'd been through war, seen crap, and I guess you have to handle what's in front of you.

3. I like her spunk. And alot of the women characters were pretty cool

4. Why hasn't she thought, hey, maybe I was always supposed to go back in time, and everything I'm doing now is what's supposed to happen, and the future as I know it only existed because I made it that way? That happened alot in heroes. They guy would dream the future and because they chose their actions according to that future, it came about. And, is she going to be her own grandma??? And, has she made herself barren by being her own grandma? You know, like how on tv shows where decendents look like some old person in a picture? Recent example: extended preview of the new CW show, the Vampire Diaries, based on some teengage vampire series that I wasn't going to read, but now think I will. Maybe I'll like it. And I've been watching Iheartvampires on take180.com. All this stuff makes me want to watch Buffy and have a dramatic/passionate romance. Which I doubt will happen, since I'm alone in Little Rock. I have gone out with some co-workers though, so I'm not completely sad. And I did see Public Enemies last week. It was pretty good. Okay, end not pathetic rant Smile
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PostSubject: Re: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Icon_minitimeMon Jul 13, 2009 11:26 am

Not quite on the subject, but what happened at work?

And I read the Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith back in the dark ages of when I was still in high school. It was pretty good for teen fic back then (Although I preferred Smith's The Secret Circle series which was about witches). It's a set of 4 books and it centers around pretty girl Elena and her love for vampire Stefan, but then it becomes a bit of a triangle when Stefan's older, slightly evil brother Damon shows up. And Elena looks just like the girl that the brothers had fought over 100 or so years ago back in Italy, the girl that turned out to be a vampire. She was feeding off them and sharing blood, and when the boys find out the literally kill each other, but then become vampires. So the relationship is strained to say the least. XD The one vampire lore that Smith adds is that vampires can go out in the sun, if they were a special ring (the stone is lapis lazuli I think) that protects them. Plus, Stefan was an early Cullen. However, they also don't need to drain their victims to feed. Well, animals yes, humans not so much. Maybe not the best written books, but you have to remember it was written in the early 90's before it was common for teen books to be expected to be well written. lol



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PostSubject: Re: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Icon_minitimeMon Jul 13, 2009 10:09 pm

Sent out a few to many jeans to the stores. And by a few I mean about 6,000. It was my 3rd day and I only had guidelines to go by. Now everyone knows not to let the newbie do important stuff. My buyer was cool about it though, and today went well. No one seems to think I'm a total screw up. I think most of the blame went to her assistant since she technically should have instructed me better. But I still feel bad.

And that is exactly was the tv series is. Should I waste my time reading the series or just watch the show? I do have Twilight to live up to.
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PostSubject: Re: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Icon_minitimeTue Jul 14, 2009 6:56 pm

I don't know, chances are that the series will be different (like the gossip girl books suck compared to the show). But yeah, I liked the books. I read and read them back in high school, and while I doubt they live up to the memory, it was good. At least the first one is good and nowadays they're being sold 2 to a book (the first 2 make up book one and the last 2 make up book two).

So, I personally would want to read them, just because.

And about your mistake, technically you are just stimulating Dillard's economy, because hello! Huge jean sale!!
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PostSubject: Re: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Icon_minitimeTue Jul 14, 2009 8:08 pm

Yes, everyone needs to go buy 39.99 ralph lauren jeans. The company has actually discontinued them, so their only around for a limited time. If you wait til the end of the month you get an extra 30% off them. And look out for the Gillian mock neck turtleneck and Jillian real turtleneck. The names are dumb, but they are really good sweaters. We have them in petites and women's world also. So that's cool. And I may get to move to VA since it's in our district. I could also go to Alabama or stay in Arkansas, or go to many other states.
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