If You Haven't Read It, You're Doing Life Wrong

My absolute hands-down favorite book (and series) of all time is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

It. Is. Awesome.

Awesome isn't even enough.  It's life-changing.  It's epic.  It's memorable and heart-wrenching and truly lovely.

This is the first book in the series.  Get in the car and go buy it.
Now.

This is the brilliant woman who created the series.  I <3 her. ;)

So here's what you need to know.  The books came first, so read them before you watch the series.  (Personal soapbox- always read the books first whenever possible.)  There are currently 8 books in the series and they are HUGE.  Like 800 pages.  They are imposing and you will think well these will last me awhile.  Nope.  You're wrong.
The first 50 pages of the first book took me three months to read.  It's slower than molasses at Christmas.  (Heard that phrase all my life and never have I ever seen molasses in winter for real.)  Anyway- they're slow.  Push through.  It's pretty much right at page 51 where you are BAM! Hit in the face with the awesomeness that is Outlander. You don't get to stop really til the end of the book.  The pace varies throughout the series, I think depending on how Diana felt as she wrote.  The basics of the book are as follows:
1. The main character travels through time.  There's not a ton of scifi in it, but that's the big 'why' of the books.  Deal with it.  It's worth it.
2. The book is a romance.  No an action novel.  No a historical fiction..... No.  It can't be categorized.
3. The book deals with a lot of offensive topics and she isn't afraid to delve in up to her elbows (sex scenes, rape, incest, royal atrocities, murder)... and surprisingly she's done her historical research to accurately include characters and their personalities so that you're really reading about fictional people and true history.
4. Jack Randall and Stephen Bonnett are.. um... jerks.  Seriously.  Just go ahead and hate them.  With a fiery passion.  Hate them.

Now the tv series.

It's amazeballs.  Seriously.  It's probably one of the BEST book to tv/movie translations I've ever seen.  Thankfully, the director has allowed Herself (what Outlandish peeps call Diana) to be a consultant, so she's constantly involved in the production of this beautiful series.
Here's what you need to know about the tv series:

This is the main character.


That's really all you need to know.









Well- it's not ALL you need to know, but it's about 60%.  ;)

He's quite yummy looking without being unattainable.  PS- my hubby watches the show (and read the first book) and he loves it.  The action is amazing.  The characters were perfectly cast.  The writing is phenomenal.  You've only missed one half of the first season so far, so you have time to catch up. It returns on Starz on April 4th.


In summary:
1. Go buy all the books.  You'll fly through them once you get going.  They're incredible.
2. Go order Starz.  It's one of the best shows for Sassynachs and Outmanders alike. (You'll understand that better once you join the community following that's come from this series!)

When you've experienced Outlander, you can come back and thank me. You're welcome.