Have you ever had that one book that seemed to haunt you, saying "read me, please!"
Well this is that book. It's been following me around for a couple of years now, and it started when my boss recommended it and kept telling me about it. And then, thanks to the Literary Junkies Book Club, I heard even more people recommend it.
So this holiday, I've dove in.
From the back cover:
The year is 1945.
Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited
with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a
standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British
Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn
by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives
So far, it's "okay." I'm intrigued but it's not like some of the other books that I wasn't able to put down.
Have you read it, is it one of your favorites?
If so, let me know so I'll be encouraged to keep reading!
And just in case I couldn't get into it and then would be left without a book over the holidays,
I went to the library and checked out this book:
Book Description:
At the turn of the
twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest in the
foothills of the Cascade Mountains, a solitary orchardist named Talmadge
carefully tends the grove of fruit trees he has cultivated for nearly
half a century. A gentle, solitary man, he finds solace and purpose in
the sweetness of the apples, apricots, and plums he grows, and in the
quiet, beating heart of the land-the valley of yellow grass bordering a
deep canyon that has been his home since he was nine years old.
Everything he is and has known is tied to this patch of earth. It is
where his widowed mother is buried, taken by illness when he was just
thirteen, and where his only companion, his beloved teenaged sister
Elsbeth, mysteriously disappeared. It is where the horse
wranglers-native men, mostly Nez Perce-pass through each spring with
their wild herds, setting up camp in the flowering meadows between the
trees.
One day, while in town to sell his fruit at the market, two girls, barefoot and dirty, steal some apples. Later, they appear on his homestead, cautious yet curious about the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, Jane and her sister Della take up on Talmadage's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Yet just as the girls begin to trust him, brutal men with guns arrive in the orchard, and the shattering tragedy that follows sets Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect them, putting himself between the girls and the world, but to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.
One day, while in town to sell his fruit at the market, two girls, barefoot and dirty, steal some apples. Later, they appear on his homestead, cautious yet curious about the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, Jane and her sister Della take up on Talmadage's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Yet just as the girls begin to trust him, brutal men with guns arrive in the orchard, and the shattering tragedy that follows sets Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect them, putting himself between the girls and the world, but to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.
I thought it sounded intriguing! I have a ton of books on my To Read List on Goodreads.com but couldn't find any at the library, unfortunately.
They didn't even have a copy of
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Which I have been wanting to start too. It's on my list of 2013 must reads.
Speaking of those, I made a couple lists of my 2012 favorites and must reads for the coming year for a guest post for Lanaya at Raising Reagan (go say hi, she's pretty amazing)
so I thought I would share my lists.
Clockwise from the right; Wife 22, Gone Girl, The Light Between Oceans, Tiny Beautiful Things The Fault in Our Stars and Unbroken. These aren't in any specific order, but if they were, Gone Girl would be number one for sure. (Click on the titles to read my reviews!)
Clockwise from the right: The Knife of Never Letting Go, Outlander, The Lifeboat, The Interestings, This Is How You Lose Her and Traps
Click on each title to read more about the book on Goodreads.com!
Happy Reading Friends!
I am putting Gone Girl on my reading list right now :)
ReplyDeleteThe Interestings looks like a good book. I may have to check that out! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on those 2013 books.
Also, LoveeeSarah and I are joining together to host a blog hop entitled "13 Resolutions for 2013." We would love for you to join us and share your resolutions (it doesn't have to be 13, we just thought that was catchy). You can find more info at http://mostlyhappenstance.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-years-blog-hop.html
Happy Holidays!!!
Thank you for all of these recommendations, I will have to add them to my list!
ReplyDeletexx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
500 Follower Kate Spade Giveaway
I read the whole Outlander series. If you're into the characters, it gets better after the first book. I feel like that series is kinda like Twilight... either people are gung ho and love them, or just plain out hate it.
ReplyDeleteWooHoo ~ You got one of the books from your 2013 list ~ and it's still December! Right on! :)
ReplyDeleteI love a book I can't put down so I am stoked to get Gone Girl for Christmas -- at least hubby better have put that in my stocking!
Lanaya
www.raising-reagan.com
I've been thinking I should read Outlander, too. So many people have recommended it, but I'm just not sure it's my style. I will anxiously await your verdict!
ReplyDeleteYou must must must keep reading Outlander! I absolutely cannot get enough of this series. I have even read all the "extra" books and novellas that go along with this series. I admit, it is kind of slow going at first, but once you get into it, you will love it!
ReplyDeleteAlso, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a great read! It's definitely a tough read, but very rewarding once you get through it.
I just posted an idea about creating an Online/Virtual Book Club with fellow bloggers! Is that what you do? I would love to get involved or link up :)
ReplyDelete