December Meme - December 26
I know how much you adore "Outlander", please talk about how you first discovered the books, what was it about them that drew you in?wings128
Oh my ... I don't remember exactly when it was, but I remember this first edition cover and I have the vague memory of knowing the British version, Cross Stitch, first.
I'm thinking it was sometime soon after returning to Japan after University in 1993. I actually searched on Amazon to see if I ordered it on there and found that I made my first purchase of the book there in 2002 but that was a newer edition so I'm pretty certain that that was not my first copy.
It may have been a recommendation, but from the fact that I was in Japan at the time, I think it's more likely I found it at an English bookstore, looking for a nice romance novel :P It was in a way a natural progression from harlequin to historical romance (scotland, viking... :P) to Outlander. Where I just stopped. I don't feel any need for any other book in that sense. I can't be satisfied by any other romance novel - to be honest. They all seem either too vulgar or too tame, and just a tad boring.
The thing about the Outlander series is that it covers so many genres and all of them my favorite. History(I especially love the history of the British Isles - Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, the Americas - colonial and wild west ), timetravel(sci-fi) , fantasy and so much adventure, that the romance is almost just an added plus. It is so full of detail on the time periods - both Claire's original time period (also different from ours) and where she ends up (18th century). I love reading all the detail - food, medicine, clothing, survival in the wilderness as well as the political and moral delemas. The main characters Jamie - A scottish highlander, honorable and kind and so caring but also the most courageous of warriors and carasmatic of leaders. Claire - An English woman stubborn (as is Jamie ) and strong, a medical professional from the depth of her soul. All the people around them, even the most awful people are portrayed with care so that the more we know them the more we sympathize. A good series whether TV or novel has to have quite a bit of humor for me - satirical and otherwise. And this series is packed full of it, just as it is packed with love and adventure. I have to add that the idea of an outlander, and Englander in Scotland, is close to the situation I grew up with in Japan as an outsider among the Japanese people and I feel close to Claire in that sense as well.
It is a beautiful series. If anyone here has not read it, you must. ;)
Oh my ... I don't remember exactly when it was, but I remember this first edition cover and I have the vague memory of knowing the British version, Cross Stitch, first.
I'm thinking it was sometime soon after returning to Japan after University in 1993. I actually searched on Amazon to see if I ordered it on there and found that I made my first purchase of the book there in 2002 but that was a newer edition so I'm pretty certain that that was not my first copy.
It may have been a recommendation, but from the fact that I was in Japan at the time, I think it's more likely I found it at an English bookstore, looking for a nice romance novel :P It was in a way a natural progression from harlequin to historical romance (scotland, viking... :P) to Outlander. Where I just stopped. I don't feel any need for any other book in that sense. I can't be satisfied by any other romance novel - to be honest. They all seem either too vulgar or too tame, and just a tad boring.
The thing about the Outlander series is that it covers so many genres and all of them my favorite. History(I especially love the history of the British Isles - Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, the Americas - colonial and wild west ), timetravel(sci-fi) , fantasy and so much adventure, that the romance is almost just an added plus. It is so full of detail on the time periods - both Claire's original time period (also different from ours) and where she ends up (18th century). I love reading all the detail - food, medicine, clothing, survival in the wilderness as well as the political and moral delemas. The main characters Jamie - A scottish highlander, honorable and kind and so caring but also the most courageous of warriors and carasmatic of leaders. Claire - An English woman stubborn (as is Jamie ) and strong, a medical professional from the depth of her soul. All the people around them, even the most awful people are portrayed with care so that the more we know them the more we sympathize. A good series whether TV or novel has to have quite a bit of humor for me - satirical and otherwise. And this series is packed full of it, just as it is packed with love and adventure. I have to add that the idea of an outlander, and Englander in Scotland, is close to the situation I grew up with in Japan as an outsider among the Japanese people and I feel close to Claire in that sense as well.
It is a beautiful series. If anyone here has not read it, you must. ;)