Outlander Read-Along Chapters 36-41 – THE END!

Today is the sixth and final discussion day for the Outlander Read-Along. Can you believe the end is finally here?! This week’s questions come from Jacinda at The Reading Housewives:

1. Jaime has the worst case of seasickness. Do you get seasickness or motion sickness? If not, is there something else that makes your stomach a bit queasy?

I’m pretty lucky in that it takes a lot for me to get queasy. Motion and height related things don’t make me feel sick, which is awesome. I feel terrible for anyone that suffers from it! Even gross sights and smells don’t get me. My natural inclination isn’t to gag or barf. Lucky me?

2. How did you handle reading the details of Jamieâ??s torture at the hands of Randall? Did you blame Jamie for anything that happened during the encounter with the captain? If you were Claire, how do you think you would have taken hearing about the abuse from your husband? What did you think of Claireâ??s methodâ??s to get Jamie to start healing psychologically from his wounds from Randall (when she filled his room with opium and simulated another attack by the Captain)? 

It was like a bad car wreck – I had to know. Had to know what had happened in that cell, but yet I didn’t want to know with equal ferocity. If I didn’t know, it didn’t happen, right? 

Wishful thinking.

Randall is disgusting, and there wasn’t much Jamie could have done differently. He did exactly what he had to do – he survived. That’s all you can ask of anyone taken captive. Just survive. I thought Claire’s tactics were pretty risky to try and get Jamie to re-live his torture. I’m not sure I could handle doing that to my husband – but it seemed to work so kudos. I guess. 

3. This cover:

â??history, warfare, medicine, sex, violence, spirituality, honor, betrayal, vengeance, hope and despair, relationships, the building and destruction of families and societies, time travel, moral ambiguity, swords, herbs, horses, gambling (with cards, dice, and lives), voyages of daring, journeys of both body and soulâ?¦you know the usual stuff of literature.â?

Which of the above elements of Outlander were you most looking forward to? Which did you enjoy the most while reading? Which did you enjoy the least while reading? Which did you just not care about? Any of these do you which there were more of? Or less of?

I wish this book had more about the time travel. It’s only a time travel book in the sense that it happens, but beyond that it’s really just a historical romance with an anachronistic heroine. The later books do focus a bit more on the time travel – how it happens, and to whom – but these pieces are often placed far between larger plot lines that deal with historical stuff. 

But I love the historical details and learning about a country and period I don’t know much about. When Claire and Jamie start landing in different parts of the world it gets even more interesting. And the battle scenes are pretty badass. I love seeing Jamie as a leader, both in a military and political sense. 

4. Share with us your overall thoughts on Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Your favorite quotes, scenes, and/or your favorite words that had you searching for a dictionary. If you havenâ??t been marking your favorite quotes/passages, you can find Outlander quotes on Goodreads.

I love this book mostly for the characters of Jamie and Claire. They are so…alive. My favorite quotes and scenes are mostly the things they say to each other about life and love. Diana Gabaldon seems to really understand people, and how spouses should be partners, and so she has amazing ways of expressing the heart of relationships. Two favorite lines are the one where Jamie says there is room for secrets, but not lies, in respect. I absolutely believe that no person should be forced to not keep secrets. Everyone needs a bit of privacy, even from their spouse, but that never means lying. The other favorite is when he says he can’t possess her soul without losing his own. I like that their relationship is built on give-and-take, and not ownership. They must each love the other in equal parts in order to find the balance of power between them. I love that. 

5. Are you going to continue with the series or are you done after Outlander? For those of us who are new readers of this series, any predictions? Do you think participating in the read-along helped or hindered your experience with the story? For those of you whoâ??ve already read Outlander and books beyond, how much did you enjoy (or not enjoy) this re-read?

I loved getting the chance to re-read this, especially through the eyes of the new readers. It’s awesome to get to see the perspective during the read. So often I recommend the book, and then just hear whether or not they liked it later. To see what people think as they read it for the first time is fun!

The Outlander books are sort of like the TV series LOST for me. I’ll keep reading them as long as there are new ones to read, but I get less enjoyment out of each new installment because I’m getting more questions than answers. Still, I love the world and the characters too much to ever give up on them. 

*Bonus #1* Take the Outlander QUIZ on Goodreads and tell us how you did!*

I got 14 out of 15! I overthought the last question. It was one of those where I confused later books with this one.

*Bonus #2* Claire is able to visit the library at The Abbey. Share with us pictures or a description of your own personal drawing of your dream library. Feel free to share more than one. Some of you may even have a Pinterest board full of inspiration, please share!

If you read along with us this week, be sure to link up your post or share your thoughts in the comments!

To link up your post this week, visit Jess at Gone with the Words.