Reading the Chunksters discussion
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Outlander
Archived 2014 Group Reads
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Outlander by D. Gabaldon, Reading Schedule and a Dashboard to Sing Up
I am definitely in.
Zulfiya wrote: "I am definitely in."I tried to read this a couple of times but it is, to me, definitely romance. I'll sit this one out. Enjoy!
I read this when I was in high school, in 1992 or 1993. My mom was reading it and telling all her friends how wonderful it was. They kept borrowing the books, so I figured I give it a go.I really liked it and it was the first historical romance I've ever read. I read most of the series. Loved it. Then again, I was in high school. I wonder what I'd think of it now.
Anyway, I've read it before and really have other books to read. I'm going to sit this one out. Have fun reading it everyone.
Hi all! I am definitely in and actually have read much of the book already. As I have a head start on others, I will refrain from making any comments until everyone has a chance to get into the story.
This will be the first group read on this group I will be participating in. What do you mean by "sign in?"
I read this book a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it! I probably won't read it again but I might join you all in the discussion!
Zulfiya wrote: "My dear reading friends, the results of the poll were quite conclusive, and we are going to read Outlander, the first book of the series, and if the discussion is successful, we may continue it as ..."I didn't vote for it ... but I meant to :p.
I'm going to try fitting it in. :)
I wasn't able to fit in DQ, let's see if I can do this one. I hope so! :)
Sara wrote: "This will be the first group read on this group I will be participating in. What do you mean by "sign in?""Sarah, by posting and agreeing, you have already 'signed up'
I've heard a lot of people liking this one, I don't know, I'm not for the Romance genre...I will sit this one out too, enjoy everyone!:)
La la la! I'm in way over my head with all the great reads which Keep cropping up but I'll give it a shot. I've heard good things.
Delmy =^.^= wrote: "I've heard a lot of people liking this one, I don't know, I'm not for the Romance genre...I will sit this one out too, enjoy everyone!:)"
Not just Romance, Time Travel, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, more! :D
Goodreads top shelved for Outlander right now are:
Genres
Historical Fiction 3,978 users
Romance 2,939 users
Fantasy 2,126 users
Science Fiction > Time Travel 1,447 users
Romance > Historical Romance 1,013 users
Adult 314 users
Cultural > Scotland 292 users
Book Club 261 users
Amazon Best Seller Ranks for Outlander right now are:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Fantasy
#2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Time Travel
#4 in Books > Romance > Time Travel
I've tried reading it before, my library offers samples for their Ebooks and I just couldn't get into it.
Delmy =^.^= wrote: "I've tried reading it before, my library offers samples for their Ebooks and I just couldn't get into it."Ah, fair enough! :)
I'll give this one a go and hopefully am more successful than when I tried to read Count of Monte Christo.I have read this before ---- a long, long time ago (1990's). I know that I enjoyed it at the time, but I think similar to some others, I'm not sure that I really like the romance genre. However, I still LOVE time travel.
Guys, we might move it to the side-read because the requirements of this read were any chunkster written in the twenty-first century, and although I weeded out other earlier reads, this one seems to have seeped in. Last time I checked, it showed that it was published in the 2005, but I now believe than it was only for my edition.
It means we will still read it this July, but as a Romance side read, like we did with the Les Miserable that we finished last week, not as our themed read.
Goodreads says it was first published in 1991.
I possibly checked the edition of the book I own.
I won't be reading along as I've already read it (and LOVED it) but I'll pop in and join the discussion.
I'll definitely join. We have the audiobook at our library and I wanted to read this series for years.
I will pop in, too! This is one of my favorite books of all time. So very much more than a romance (although I like romances well enough!) But I must warn you:
Hands off the red-headed Scot, ladies, Jamie is MINE!
This will be my first read with the group. I've wanted to participate for awhile, but other reading has gotten in the way. I picked up my $4.99 kindle copy earlier this week. I started it yesterday and already feel this will be a good relaxing read. I don't usually read romance, but the historical and time-travel aspects should keep me entertained. Looking forward to the discussion.
Eh, I really can't stand books that depict hunky men in frilly shirts holding scantily-clad damsels as the sun sets in the background and wind blows their equally long hair... That's exactly how I imagine the setting of Outlander :) But then I really want to read something set in historical Scotland. I'm kind of on the fence with this one. Started reading it a few months ago and stopped at chapter 5 because it was getting suspiciously girly. The heroine is all like, Look how feisty I am in the face of danger! I'm totally not gonna give a damn that I just time travelled centuries back in the times before plumbing... Oooo look, a hunky man!But I can totally see people enjoying it if they are into romance genre. It has some pretty great historical background, and from what little I read, some awesome Scottish folklore. Like I said, I'm on the fence. I'm a firm believer in finishing a book before judging it, so I would love to be proven wrong.
I will sit this one out just because summer normally means less reading time for me, not more, and I'm already falling behind in my other group reads I have going.
I was hoping we will be reading The Historian (though I didn't vote for it because I had voted for my own nomination) So if The Outlander is slated as a side-read, do we vote again or take the next in line?
I'm also wondering the same thing as Maureen.
Well, I have ordered the book with the intention of reading it, so I hope it remains in the main group read. I have bitten off more than I can chew though....so many books on the go, but trying to hang in there!
This is one of my all-time favorite books. It was originally published in 1991. I read it years ago and then again about 1 year ago. It has romance but even the women in my library book group that don't read romance enjoyed it because it has so much more to it. A couple of side notes, several years ago Outlander was moved in bookstores out of the "romance" section and just into "fiction." D. Gabaldon was very happy about this because she didn't write it to be a romance. Also, Starz is filming a series based on the book that debuts August 9, 2014. My family bought me a 4 month subscription to Starz for Mother's Day so I can watch it. :-) I am hoping they have to renew it as they make further seasons based on the subsequent books.
I actually own this one and haven't read it, so I am going to attempt it. Count me in.
Outlander does meet the criteria for a modern classic, as it was originally published in 1991, however I do not have any issues with moving it to a romance "side-read". (However, as MK's post aptly shows, the novel is much more than romance, as it truly is historical-fiction, with some sci-fi and romance elements included. Without saying too much, and taking into account the time period of the plot, there is some violence and descriptive sex scenes.)
I should point out that The Historian which came in second place was actually originally published in 2005, which does not meet the criteria for a modern classic.
Edited: Since it seems we were actually voting for a contemporary classic, I do apologize for any nominating errors on my part!! I am fine with moving Outlander to a side-read or whatever the group members and mods would like to do :-)
I should point out that The Historian which came in second place was actually originally published in 2005, which does not meet the criteria for a modern classic.
Edited: Since it seems we were actually voting for a contemporary classic, I do apologize for any nominating errors on my part!! I am fine with moving Outlander to a side-read or whatever the group members and mods would like to do :-)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/3...
I think there is a bit of confusion too as the nominating thread was for "Modern" chunksters but the "poll" title was listed as "Contemporary".
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/3...
I think there is a bit of confusion too as the nominating thread was for "Modern" chunksters but the "poll" title was listed as "Contemporary".
Lisa wrote: "Outlander does meet the criteria for a modern classic, as it was originally published in 1991, however I do not have any issues with moving it to a romance "side-read".I should poin..."
The theme is "The Chunkster of the Twenty First Century. The theme is obviously self-explanatory - a big book published in the twenty first century." The 21st century is January 1, 2001, and will end on December 31, 2100.
So "The Historian" fits, "Outlander" does not.
AND "Modern" generally denotes something that is "up-to-date", "new", or contemporary.
I'm more curious to see how many people who voted for Outlander will actually sign up for it.
Andrea wrote: "I'm more curious to see how many people who voted for Outlander will actually sign up for it."I have found that's usually the main issue. I read both Les Miserables and The Once and Future King, both of which I did not vote for, and yet there were only a handful of people who participated in the discussions (and at times, the term "handful" is being generous).
I'm a mod at the historical Fictionistas group and we always have lots of people voting, but only a handful reading.
I've read The Historian and would love a reason to move it to the top of my TBR pile to enjoy all over again. I read it when it first came out so it would almost be a new read.
Thank you for your input, guys. I discussed this issue with Kristi, and WE ARE READING OUTLANDER as our main read as a ROMANCE read. Next time, we shall read the TWENTY FIRST CENTURY BOOK, and we will include the previous nominations again. The question of participation is a painful one. Unfortunately, people vote but do not show up for the discussion. It is slightly aggravating; that is why we ask the participants to sign in to motivate them to be more committed, but even this does not help. There are dozens of members who either never posted or posted once, and I am not talking about new members, obviously.
Andrea wrote: "Eh, I really can't stand books that depict hunky men in frilly shirts holding scantily-clad damsels as the sun sets in the background and wind blows their equally long hair... That's exactly how I ..."This post is hilarious. I laughed out loud and about choked on my coffee.
Posting my intent to read along with you all! I've had Outlander on my TBR list for quite some time. Need to finish up some reads I'm in the midst of for a while and then plan to jump into this one so I can discuss along - yay!
Hi I'm not a romantic novel kinda person either but there are a lot of good reviews. Got it on my kindle and seems only fair to give it a go as I'm half Scots myself might find out more about the history of my mother's clan?
Recently won a copy of this one on the goodreads first reads scheme - along with the second one. Loved it!Hope you all enjoy it too!
I'm in! I'm really excited about trying these!
we start as scheduled!
This one has been sitting on my shelf for a few years now, so I am happy to join in with this read. I'm also not normally excited about romance (that's why this one just sits there on my shelf), but I've heard good things about this one, so we'll see...
I've downloaded this to my Kindle and I'm ready to read. I do generally enjoy romantic histories and read a short story by this author that impressed me.
I'm going to join in this read too. I have read it a few times but I want to reread the series since the new book is coming out soon. Can't wait to get started!
Andrea wrote: "Eh, I really can't stand books that depict hunky men in frilly shirts holding scantily-clad damsels as the sun sets in the background and wind blows their equally long hair... That's exactly how I ..."I thought i would add that Claire (the main character) is definitely not a girly character, she is far from it. I will say that romance does play a part in this story but the story is more focused on history with a dash of fantasy. I would give it a go. Its more gritty than frilly. :)
Reading the Chunksters
Books mentioned in this topic
Outlander (other topics)Outlander (other topics)
Outlander (other topics)
The Historian (other topics)
This thread is both to discuss the reading schedule and a dashboard to sign in if you plan to participate. I also hope that men will join in and participate in our discussion despite that the book is shelved as Romance.
Here is the preliminary schedule, and I plan to start on June 23, but I am quite flexible, we can start a week earlier or a week later.
By the way, Kindle and Google Play are selling this book for 4.99, but you will have to pay more from Kobo or BN. On the other hand, the second-hand book stores offer it for peanuts money, so order while the supply lasts. :-)
06/23 – Chapters 1- 4 (Part I)
06/30 – Chapters 5-7 (Parts I and II)
07/07 – Chapters 8-12 (Parts II and III)
07/14 – Chapters 13-16 (Part III)
07/21 – Chapters 17-20 (Part III)
07/28 – Chapters 21-23 (Part III)
08/04 – Chapters 24, 25 (Part IV)
08/11 – Chapters 26-29 (Part V)
08/18 – Chapters 30-33 (Part V)
08/25 – Chapters 34 -37 (Parts VI and VII)
09/01 – Chapters 38-41 (Part VII)
As you can see, there is no break week. This schedule is based on my experience as a moderator in this group because after the reads I moderated and/or participated ,we tend to lose readers after the break week, BUT, on the other hand, if the group thinks that the reading schedule is too intensive, I will be happy to give you a break week, but let us start without one in mind.
Let me be honest with you – romance is not my cup of tea, and I usually read classics, literary fiction, quality thought-provoking sci-fi/fantasy, alternate history, and occasionally historical mysteries if I need to relax and read without much effort, but I am going to expand my reading horizons and read out of my comfort zone. I hope you will do the same.
P.S. DO NOT FORGET TO SING IN RIGHT HERE IN THE SAME THREAD.
Looking forward to this discussion.