Outlander Read-a-long: Chapters 1-7

Yay--the Outlander read-a-long is here!

 I hope everyone is enjoying it so far. I'm so excited to be able to fangirl with everyone because this has definitely been one of my favorite reads of the year thus far. I can't believe I didn't discover it until this year!!

Anywho, to the questions:

1. Outlander is a well-known book. Before you cracked it open, what were your expectations or assumptions about this story? Or did you jump into it with a blank slate? 

Okay,  I have to say, I didn't really know what this story was going to be about, but I knew that it's pretty much Sarah's (from Sarah Says Read)  favorite read EVER, so I knew it would be good because she has excellent taste in books. I had also heard that there were going to be some pretty steamy scenes, but that didn't bother me at all. I don't normally read a lot of romance, but the historical fiction part was enough to pull me in.

2. Claire's husband, Frank, is fascinated with learning more and more facts about his family tree, which extends back pretty far. Do you or anyone in your family keep a family tree? How many years/generations back does it go? If not, have you ever considered or attempted to create one? 

Well, on my mom's side, some third or fourth cousin (or something like that) has had her side of the family all figured out for years now. I'm not sure how far back it goes, and to tell the truth, I'm not sure my mom does either. Now, on my dad's side, my dad, my uncle and my grandma have all been working everything out. I'm not exactly sure how far back that goes, but on my grandma's side, we have it back at least to the Civil War, and on my grandpa's side, we have it traced back to the little town in Italy that we hail from. I think it's really fascinating, and we have some really interesting people in the family tree!

3. How did you find Claire's initial conclusion as to her surroundings after waking up from going through the stones? Did you think that was a reasonable conclusion? 

I don't know that my first thoughts would have gone to a reenactment. I mean, I guess it's logical enough, but I probably would have thought I was dreaming or drugged or something. Then again, since I don't really believe in anything supernatural/paranormal (for as much as I read about it!) and if I absolutely KNEW I wasn't sleeping, I probably would have stretched for any logical explanation.

4. How about her composed, rational way of dealing with the fact she's traveled back in time? Did you find it believable? Do you think you would have acted the same way? 

Okay, as far as this goes, let me just preface this by saying that I am phenomenal at suspending my disbelief while reading. The only time it doesn't work for me is if the writing/story is just that ridiculous. That wasn't a problem here, though. I knew that Claire was probably used to thinking on her toes, what with her experience in combat nursing. With that being said, I also knew that I definitely would not have reacted that calmly. I would have flipped out. I would have been hysterical.

5. At this point in the story, what are your feelings or expectations on Claire and Jamie? Is Frank still a factor for you? 

Because I'm weird like that, I always read the back cover/synopsis before reading a book. So from reading that, I pretty much knew that Claire and Jamie were going to end up together at some point or another. I remember, though, that I really liked Frank for the first couple of chapters, but he slowly started getting on my nerves. I don't know why. It was before Jamie was even introduced. He (Frank) just didn't seem like the kinda guy I'd swoon over, although he is a nice guy. When Jamie entered the picture, though, I was all about him. I still am! I looooove me some Jamie!

Bonus question: Frank encounters a man outside of the inn where he and Claire are staying. He is afraid it might have been a ghost. What do you believe it was? Do you have any predictions or suspicions on what that was about? 

I actually had to dig out my copy to look this one up because I only vaguely remember reading this part. Having done that, I thought it was the ghost of Jamie. Or maybe Jamie there in some sort of vision-world, a la Mists of Avalon. Like maybe he was looking into a crystal ball or something. I say this because Frank was very adamant about the fact that his kilt wasn't blowing in the wild wind.

Alright, that's all for this week, but you can head over to Stalking the Bookshelves for the questions for chapters 8-14!

Happy reading!