<p>Sammy the Dog
I saw the movie (Swedish subtitled movie) “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” before I read the 1st book. After seeing the movie, I had to read the book. It was that good. I knew the book had to be better. I couldn’t stop reading until I had finished the 3rd book, “The Girl who kicked the Hornet’s Nest”. I have read that there is a 4th book in Larrsson’s computer. Larrsson, 50 years old, died one week after delivering his 3 books to the publisher. Because he didn’t have a certified will, his estranged father and brother get all the money from the books and movies rights and not his live in girlfriend of 20 years! She possesses the computer. The series was suppose to be 10 books. He made about 30,000$ dollars a year as a civil rights writer. He wrote the books for their retirement income. His girlfriend was also a writer. It has been stated that she helped him with the books. Interesting story. I’m praying for the 4th book.</p>
<p>I love audiobooks in the car. I wish I remembered more often to pick up something before going off on long trips. (My favorite listen so far is Carl Hiassen’s Skinny Dip.) That NPR Thrillers list is peculiar. It has the world’s most boring book on it (Last of the Mohicans) - sometimes I think, much as I love NPR, their listeners are more than a little out of touch. (Though they do have both Dan Brown books - I thought he was a terrible writer, but he writes a pretty effective page turner.)</p>
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<p>Hey, that’s me!</p>
<p>Update on me and the Outlander Series: Finished the book I wasn’t crazy about (#5, The Fiery Cross) and went on to #6, A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Diana Gabaldon has found her way again - the 6th book was MUCH better. Even the rest of the fifth book was better, after I got thru the one section that seemed to have been overlooked by the editor.</p>
<p>If you start this series, be prepared to have it take over your life for a while. Most of the books are about 1000 pages, and there are 7 of them. But I’ve really enjoyed them - it’s been the summer of Claire and Jaime at my house!</p>
<p>re: Outlander series. I am on book 4 Drums of Autumn. It has definitely reduced the amount of time I waste online each day. I find the books somewhat unpredicitable and look forward to continuing the series.</p>
<p>I am also reading Drums Of Autumn. I am loving this series, thanks to this thread! I had always passed the books by thinking, weird not for me. Read outlander last week and am completely addicted.</p>
<p>I read many of the Outlander books in high school - the amount of detail in each book is insane! I always wondered how long it took her to write each book considering how long they are. I loved the main couple but I did get a bit glazed over when Claire’s daughter and husband and baby turned up, etc, lol. Just so many characters!</p>
<p>OK, I just finished book four (Drums of Autumn) even though I had already read books five and six previously. I know that sounds crazy.</p>
<p>Found Fiery Cross and A Breath of Snow and Ashes really cheap on a Barnes and Noble clearance table a year or so ago. They looked interesting so I got them. Devoured them in no time. Got online to look up the first books to get background before starting.
Never got around to buying book 7. But happened upon book 4 in a used bookstore last week. Loved it. Finished it in a week. Now I think I have to buy book 7! Once you start, they are hard to put down.</p>
<p>I tried to get them from our library but all were checked out or on hold at every library branch in our huge system.
Asked about the series in B&N and was told that the Outlander series has had a big resurgence iin popularity recently.
Love the Outlander books.</p>
<p>I read them all out of order too… I finally made it to the first book and it cleared a lot of things up, ha ha!</p>
<p>Halfway thru book 7… why is half of this book about people I don’t care about? But I’m still wrapped up in it anyway.</p>
<p>I can’t figure how anyone could read these out of order. I’ve read them all in order, in the last 2 months, and I’m still halfway lost. Soooo many characters, and they reappear in seemingly random places. </p>
<p>I’m addicted though. Love these books. Find myself thinking during my day, “Hmmmm, I wonder what Claire would do/say about this?” :eek:</p>
<p>The number of characters and the detail to history is why I read these books twice. I enjoyed them the second time around almost as much as the first time. I did find details I had missed the first time. There are definitely some places in some of the books that ramble, but the storyline is so good, it’s easy to forgive a few flaws. I feel like I know Jamie and Claire personally.</p>
<p>Packmom - Maybe this thread has helped fuel the recent resurgence of Outlander. There seem to be a few new fans.</p>
<p>On Sept. 21, you can revisit Outlander with the release of </p>
<p>The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel </p>
<p>Product description (Amazon):</p>
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<p>^^^That sounds like a book I will have to read.</p>
<p>I have not committed to Book 7 yet, verdict? I keep hearing that it is not up to previous.</p>
<p>I cannot imagine reading the books out of order either. One simply must at least read the first book, Outlander, FIRST.</p>
<p>Keeping everyone straight would be impossible for me without reading the books in order. The way various characters come and go throughout the series would just not make sense to me without reading the books in order.</p>
<p>I will definitely read Exile. I had heard somewhere (this thread perhaps?) that she was writing a book from Jamie’s perspective.</p>
<p>Exile IS Outlander from Jamie’s perspective… in graphic novel form. There’s a few pages of it in the back of #7 (Echo in the Bone). </p>
<p>Book 7… half of it is about William and Lord John and some sort of spy issue or something (I never read the 2 Lord John books so I feel like I’m missing a lot of background info). The parts about Claire, Jaime, Bree and Roger are great though.</p>
<p>re: out of order reading…I know it wasn’t the best and knowing what I do now, wish I had not done it. When I started with books 5 and 6, I had no idea what I was getting into… had never heard of the series and didn’t realize I was stepping into a whole 'nother world! </p>
<p>However, there are some pretty extensive synopsis online that are in depth enough to figure out how they got to where they were. I will prob. read the first ones someday…maybe soon!</p>
<p>Exile sounds good too. Will definitely put it on my list of books to look for.</p>
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<p>The great thing about Outlander that a synopsis cannot give you is the build up to Jamie and Claire’s marriage and how their love developed from strangers to friendship to lovers to true soul mates. I loved how the author developed that story so that when they finally came together, you kind of did need those candy ciggies afterward that another poster recommended. When I began the book, I figured Claire would be attracted to a different character, so the way the story actually developed was a pleasant surprise for me.</p>
<p>My two favorite Jamie quotes:</p>
<p>Book One (Outlander): “There are things that I canna tell you, at least not yet. And I’ll ask nothing of ye that ye canna give me. But what I would ask of ye - when you do tell me something, let it be the truth. And I’ll promise ye the same. We have nothing now between us, save - respect, perhaps. And I think that respect has maybe room for secrets, but not for lies.”</p>
<p>Book 7 (An Echo In the Bone): “Since this time yesterday, I’ve committed piracy, mutiny and murder. I may as well add treason and make a day of it.”</p>
<p>I also had never heard of the series when I started reading them, so I just went along with it! I figured some stuff out, but I do remember being totally confused about Bree and Roger and Jamie’s other family for awhile.</p>