image by Amy Morelli
There are things in life that bring absolute joy! For some of us it’s cooking, for others it’s running, for me… it’s reading. Reading has brought me countless hours of escape from the world, changing my perspective and even making me smarter. Those that read have higher GPA’s, higher intelligence, and more general knowledge than those that don’t. In Anne E. Cunningham’s paper What Reading Does for the Mind (pdf version), she found that reading, in general, makes you smarter, and it keeps you sharp as you age. Other benefits are: reading reduces stress, improves analytical thinking, improves memory, and increases vocabulary knowledge just to name a few.
A lot of my girlfriends are also avid readers, and we all have been in an unofficial book club for years. Over the years we share books and insights on our favorite “must reads”, and some of us are such book nerds that we’ve even found ourselves at the same bookstore at the same time, completely unplanned! (Robyn Dixon, this is you!) I bet you know where I’m headed with this. It only makes sense that I share my thoughts and views not he current books I am reading. Starting in 2015, I will share with you, my favorite books— as well as my girlfriends recommendations, reviews and even discussion on the books I'm reading!
The first set of books I’m going to write about is the Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon. I have read the entire 8 book series and I must tell you, everyone is a page turner! Mainly set in Scotland, these books offer a joyous escape of time traveling excitement that span hundreds of years in various global locations! From the moment I found these books, I always hoped a TV show could be made from them. Last year, those hopes became a reality. The Starz Network created an original tv series centered around these books. (Watch the trailer above.) The first season aired in August 2014, and new episodes will air in early 2015. Recently, it also won a People's Choice Award!
Join me this year, as I re-read the books and write on both the books and television series. So far, Starz has done an amazing job, and the first eight episodes followed book one pretty accurately! I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next, and am hopeful the show honors the integrity and life of the story that Diana Gabaldon intended.
image courtesy of JB HI FI
The Outlander Book Series Can be Found here at Amazon. and great news, they just announced Outlander Season One, Part One goes on sale March 3rd. You can preorder it here.
If you have a book you’d like to share, or are reading the Outlander books and want to share your thoughts email me, or comment!