My Outlander Audio Re-Read Project

My Outlander Audio Re-Read Project

Perhaps I should start out by saying that this post isn’t coming at the start of something, like most posts of this nature do. No, it’s coming just as the end is in sight. Still, I’m on the cusp of doing something that I’ve wanted to do for a little while now, and didn’t want the occasion to pass without sharing it with you guys! Because, Outlander? The EPIC historical fiction, romance, time-traveling, tale of Claire and Jamie Fraser by Diana Gabaldon? One of my favorite series OF. ALL. TIME. ALL THE TIME.

Since we aren’t starting at the beginning, let me take you back there for a second. If any of you have ever seen one of the Outlander books, you know they are humongous. Reading them is often a time-consuming commitment, especially for me. Over the years since I first discovered OUTLANDER–in the romance section of my local Borders (RIP)–I’d managed to make my way, sometimes at a limp, through the first seven books of the series, falling in love with basically everything except Black Jack Randall and Stephen Bonnet along the way. But a hurdle was presenting itself to me: WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD. Book 8. By the time it came out in 2014, I was in the thick of YA/blogging, and never managed to find the time to devote to it. So, in November of 2015, I decided I was going to embark upon an epic quest: re-reading the first seven books via audio (a favorite thing to do) and then listen to book 8 to finish it off.

I finished listening to AN ECHO IN THE BONE on my way home from work today. I’m starting WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD tomorrow.

(Too much drama? Eh, maybe.)

DAVINA. (Photo cred: Outlander TV News)

When I finished ECHO, I took a few deep breaths in my car because tomorrow = uncharted territory. I have no idea what’s going to happy to Jamie, Claire, Brianna, Roger, Jem, Ian…nothing. I’ve spent over a year listening ONLY to these books, and to the mellifluous voice of Davina Porter. When I finish HEART’S BLOOD, 45 hours from tomorrow morning, I’ll have no more Outlander to read. No idea what could come next. I’ll surely go through some period of intense withdrawal accompanied by a urgent need to know what comes next. Because let me tell you, the title of book 9, GO TELL THE BEES I’M GONE, does NOT make me feel ok. I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO BE GONE, DIANA.

But until then, I’m going to make these 45 hours last as long as possible (not hard, since I only listen on my drive to and from work, which is an hour at most total); try not to borrow trouble, as my mom always tells me; and enjoy the shit out of myself.