highbrowland literature

Ok. True confession. I'm reading something totally embarassing. Ever hear of the Outlander series of books, by Diana Gabaldon? Well, it's all Julie's fault, but I am totally hooked. So hooked that, when I knew this book was coming out, I watched the library site, waiting for the impending acquisition to get catalogued, and put myself on the reservation list before the library even really owned the book! (It's a little trick that hardcore library users know...not exactly cheating and cutting the line, but definintely taking advantage of a loophole...I know other people know about this because, if you can believe it, more than a month before the official release date, I was already second on the list!)

This new book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, is the latest in the series. In it, we find our hero, the superhot, supercapable Jamie Fraser and his time-travelling, herbal-healing wife Claire living in North Carolina (South Carolina? Doesn't matter), awaiting the American Revolution. You really don't need to know more than that, as it wouldn't make any sense to read the book out of order, anyway. All you need to know is that, while it's full of phrases like "I've got to have ye!" and "Ye make me so hard!," it's also moving and exciting and well-written historical fisction.

Never even heard of the Outlander books? Doesn't surprise me. Even though the current book is at the top of the Times bestseller list, it's kind of a niche genre. Pick a copy of the first book up at Amazon today. I know...you're scoffing already. (Karen -- the former Ms. Levine, more than the former Ms. Eisenberg -- this means YOU!) I was once a scoffer, too.

Would I steer you wrong?

Posted by volfie at October 19, 2005 06:38 AM