Just need a little light reading for a while, after being bogged down in another much more mind-consuming book.

Did anyone else notice about halfway through the first chapter that nobody in the Bush administration has ever heard of this book?! Maybe they were more interested in the “First, Break All The Rules” stuff because it fit in so well with what they were just going to do anyway. Bush has no zen. >:(

I usually read books after I’ve seen a movie if I want to get MORE out of it. This book is so identical to the movie (as it was written from the screenplay) that there is literally nothing MORE to gain from reading it. I love the movie, but I don’t want to read the movie. Giving up. :(

The point of this, I think, is to say that we all are time-travelers. We all live in our memories and expectations of the future, and we never let our loved ones go – not completely. While this is more concretely true of the Time Traveler himself, we all spend our lives traveling in our minds to times and places we’ve been before and hope to be.

More fascinating, though, was the circular nature of the actual story – that Henry and Clare were soulmates: they never had a chance to choose each other. They were always married, always committed to each other.

At times I felt the author speaking directly to me through her character’s personalities and cultural references. I saw where someone in another review called these references trite or contrived, but not so – either you get them or you don’t, and the ones I didn’t get are dog-eared for look-up! In a lot of ways it was a trip down memory lane for me, with suggestions of other works I might like.

I loved the book, and am only holding back that one last star for a few loose ends not tied up, and, frankly, I felt the book was not long enough! But the Time Traveler’s Wife developed from an excellent concept and execution, and is certainly a new favorite.

Now I have to add Wales on my list of places to see, in addition to Scotland and Ireland. I had never been interested in Wales, but it has a very interesting history and culture independent from the UK, similar in that way to Scotland and Ireland.

But really, this story is primarily about a 13th century woman torn between her father and her husband. A great read, if a bit difficult at times, with all the details. But recommended nonetheless, for the inside look at the 13th century, and after reading this book, I can’t believe it was so long ago… I never imagined history to be so colorful, and so similar to (and also different from) the current day.

I like the dark highlander better than kiss of the highlander… that’s saying, among other things, that I like the evil twin better than the good one. This one was much more steamy, much better written, and made a lot more sense. Very enjoyable, as cheap thrills go.

It’s not great… but filling in the spaces while I’m waiting for the next Gabaldon/Outlander book… not well written at all. But readable.

This is romance, yes, but it’s so much more than that. You’ll just have to read it and see. If you can get in 100 pages or so, you’ll be hooked completely (and probably in love with a certain red-headed, kilted, fictional highlander). I was so hooked that I’ve read the whole series (Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, the Fiery Cross) one after the other with no breaks, and now am back again at the first one, which is by far the best. I am awaiting the release of #6 in September!

I recommend getting the Outlandish Companion as well, as it’s a pretty good reference for the Gaelic words and other expressions, not to mention other reference and “behind the scenes” information.

I’ve been skipping around a lot in this book, because I want to be everywhere at once. This is incredible. I have a partial list of places to go before I die that I’ve been working on myself, but this gives me more to think about, and specifics, and suggestions I would not have thought of. My favorite so far, which I am reserving for my 2005 (hopefully) UK tour: the Scotland Castle Tour combined with the single-malt Scotch Whisky Tour.

Interesting. Good imagery. A bit wordy and difficult to read at times (mostly in setting descriptions), but the stories and dialogue are easy. Had to return to the library after 6 weeks. So I guess it took me a little longer than expected. Would like to read some other books and come back to this later.