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Literary Friday: The Most Romantic Book Series {ever}

Friday, February 10, 2012

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Day #10: The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

My favorite book series of all time is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  If you have not read this series, you are truly missing out on an epic story.  There are seven books in the series so far, and each one is about 900 pages or more.  I read the first five books during a summer, and I literally got nothing else done because I could not put the books down.  My poor family starved.  ;P

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The series begins after World War II.  Claire Beachamp, a British nurse, has recently been reunited with her husband, Frank Randall.  They are on their second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands when Claire is drawn to a group of ancient standing stones.  As Claire approaches the stones, she hears an ear-piercing noise.   Suddenly she is being pulled through the stones.  She soon discovers through a series of odd events that she has traveled two hundred years into the past.  The first odd event is an encounter with the cruel commander of Fort Williams, Captain Black Jack Randall, who looks identical to her husband, Frank.  A young Highlander named James Fraser rescues Claire, and in order to protect her from the Evil Captain Randall, he must quickly marry her.  

Jamie and Claire's romance is my favorite love story.  Their love literally spans centuries. During the aftermath of Culloden, Jamie forces a pregnant Claire back to the future so that she and their baby will not starve. Eventually, Claire travels back through the stones to Jamie once their daughter is grown, and they immigrate to the United States just in time for the Revolutionary War.  The saga of Jamie and Claire's extraordinary lives, Diana Gabaldon's acute attention to research, and the historical context and settings make this book series worth the effort of reading it.  Perhaps one of my favorite books in the series is A Dragonfly in Amber when Jamie and Claire are at the French court with other Jacobites waiting for the chance to restore Bonny Prince Charlie to the Scottish throne. 


An Echo in the Bone had a triple cliffhanger.  It has been agony waiting on the eighth book of Claire and Jamie's story entitled Written in My Heart's Own Blood, a work in progress which will probably be released in early 2013.  I hope that my heart can stand the wait!


But while I wait, I would love to get a copy of the twentieth anniversary edition of Outlander.  
It includes a new essay, a new map, a CD with Outlander the musical, and more.




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Mr. Art @ Home: Are you paying attention?  This would be a thoughtful and much-appreciated Valentine's Day present!  ;P

Please stop by next week for my Literary Friday post about Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.  It is also a very long book (over 900 pages), but it is one of the best books I have read in a very long time.


Until next time...

Happy Reading!
Ricki Jill


12 comments

  1. Oh no, now I've got 7 more books to add to my reading list. It's getting pretty long thanks to you, but I mean that in a good way. At least I have a go to list that I know will be good. I'm just now getting around to reading "Welcome to Temptation". Have a great weekend. :D

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  2. I only read the first book in the series. I remember devouring it-- like a bowl of popcorn. Before I knew it, I had finished the entire thing far too quickly. Bigbad's mother and grandmother are both fans too!

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  3. I can see I need to add these to my ever growing list of reads!

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  4. I am one of those persons that reads about three book a week and, I have to tell you, after reading this post, I won't get anything done again until I read these books! :) The story sounds wonderful and I thank you so much for sharing.
    I wonder if they are available as ebooks.

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  5. Is it bad that I have a hardcover copy of Outlander, a trade paperback copy of it, a copy on my Kindle and STILL have been coveting that anniversary copy? It's a sickness. Outlander is the reason I visited Scotland.

    Have you read The Scottish Prisoner yet? It was very good but you get such a sense of Jamie's loneliness and despair. It was heartbreaking to read.

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    1. Oops, forgot my usual sig, Carole (Stapes)

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    2. I have the Scottish Prisoner, but I have not read it yet....I will read it within the month, though. How was it?

      xo,
      RJ

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    3. I thought it was good. I loved that Jamie was a main part of the story You get to see the development of Jamie's and John's relationship (Jamie and John didn't end well in the last Lord John book) and the bleakness of Jamie's life at Hellwater. You get to see a little of Jamie interacting with young William. Hope you enjoy it.
      :) Carole

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  6. Good call! I have two of the books in the series (but not the first book, yet) and I can't wait to start reading it! In fact, I think I need to pick the first book up today. Thanks! :)

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  7. Oh my goodness, The Man & I both have enjoyed this series so much. We used to take more road trips than we do now, & always enjoyed listening to books on tape. We stumbled on Outlander by accident, not sure if we would like it, but were both hooked. We have not yet read or heard the last two, so I'll be off to the library next week. I think this story would make an incredible movie. Fun to know we have something else in common, sweet friend!
    CAS

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  8. Holy cow no one has ever made me want to read a series or a book like you just did. I found your next career as a newspaper book reviewer. Dang girl. I hope you are loving your weekend now that hubby is home.

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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