I love to read. The thicker the book the better. A few summers ago, I indulged in the re-reading of the Outlander series…all 8 books. That’s close to 7,000 pages! I absolutely loved every second. Each turn of the page made me feel like I was meeting an old friend. Tears and terror, anger and pain, love and healing kept me up late or early, again. I did this because the television series was beginning the following fall and a new book was coming out. The television series was everything I hoped it would be. The T.V. Jamie was the same man I fell in love with in 1991 when I first read Outlander. The book, however, was a different story…literally.
I don’t like to read short stories. They are, well, short; TOO short. When I get to the end, I’m usually frustrated because I want more. I bought Seven Stones to Stand or Fall, though, because it’s by Diana Gabaldon and I love her books. Still, I wasn’t sure I could trust her to write the kind of stories that wouldn’t leave me hanging on the edge of a cliff by my fingernails during a rainstorm with lightning flashing all around me and nothing but jagged rocks to dash my body to bits waiting below. I shouldn’t have worried, though. She’s Diana Gabaldon, master storyteller and keeper of dreams (I’m still waiting to find my very own Jamie…).
Reading the stories was like savoring my favorite meal. The starter is just enough to whet the whistle for more goodness to come. The main course was full of flavor, complicated and spicy storylines and interesting twists to familiar favorites. Dessert was the perfect blend of sweet and savory with a dash of heat to finish things up. Has this book changed my mind about short stories? Probably not but at least they kept me entertained as I wait for the next REAL Outlander book, Go Tell the Bees I’m Gone. Hurry Up, Diana…we’re all waiting on the edge of that cliff I mentioned earlier!
I have been reviewing books for about 15 years. For the last 10 or so, I’ve used a combination of WordPress for the discussion and Wikipages for my archives. Well, I went to add some reviews the other day but low and behold…Wikipages is going away! Like, poof, leaving the Internet! So, I had to embark on a quest to find a new location for all those reviews. I was forced to use Google sites because it’s a very stripped-down site manager. I can’t even install a search box for people to use to find a specific book! I have to use that because my school system has BLOCKED EVERYTHING ELSE! I’m all for protecting our children from bad stuff on the internet but this county does not allow teachers to have Youtube channels. You can’t download ANYTHING onto your school computer. We, teachers, aren’t even allowed to know the wifi password for our other devices! Boy, I sure miss my days at Lovett or even Montross!
Do YA Read? 