In the first paragraph I was hooked.
I was in love by the end of second chapter.
I held my breath through the rest of the book worried that it was going to get worse and disappoint.
It didn’t.
I loved it.
Now I’m crossing my fingers that the rest of the series ( there are many more) live up to the first one.
Would I recommend it? Yes, yes yes!
Start with Outlander and then keep going.
I’ve been re-reading them in between other books since Jane has been born and I’m on my 6th book of hers in a month.
I haven’t yet had the words “dinna fash” or “you’ll ken” come out of my mouth yet but it’s a good thing I’ve only got one book left or I’d be yelling “Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ” next time I burn dinner.
Would I recommend them? Having just stared blankly at the computer screen for a many minitues I have no tidy way to sum up the books nor why exactly I’d recommend them.
I think I’m in a Jamie and Claire induced stuper… and now I have to go read what happens next – even though I’ve read this one twice before.
Once you get through the first two chapters of the main characters cringe worthy views on childbirth and nursing, you can settle into a “fluffy” yet enjoyable book. That is as long as you don’t mind the adultery, drinking, drugs, depression, a baby thrown in the mix when convenient and lots of soap operas.
Would I recommend it? It’s all about expectations. If all you are looking for is a mindless yet enjoyable read in the romantic comedy style that may make you laugh out loud and if you can ignore any of the items mentioned above that may offend you, then yes. Otherwise you’d better skip it!
The cover of the book says “One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World.”
Good thing too, it was the grumpiness that made the book. This grumpy author travels to ten countries and shares what he learns in chapters with titles like:
“Switzerland – Happiness Is Boredom”
“Iceland – Happiness Is Failure”
and
“Moldova – Happiness Is Somewhere Else”
Had this book been written by some positive thinking, sickly sweet personality, the world is a wonderful place and I’m a wonderful person, ( yes Eat, Pray Love, I’m thinking of you) it would have been a total failure. Fortunately Eric Weiner is an unhappy grump, (his words not mine) and so what could have been a nauseating topic turns out to be amusing and informative.
Would I recommend it? Yes. It’s also full of interesting facts. Did you know the smiley face was invented in 1963 to cheer up workers at an insurance company? 
After finally finishing this book my only overwhelming feeling is…
HA!
Perhaps final conquest isn’t the best of reviews…
Parts of the book I found completely fascinating and surprisingly, for lack of a better term, relevant. I’d have thought that a book about the first Europeans that may have made it to North America (predating the Norse) and the why’s and hows of how they got here would be information that would be filed away in my brain as interesting but mostly useless and ultimately forgotten. As it has turned out I’ve found relate-able material in all sorts of areas since I started reading it. After all when you span Scandinavia to Newfoundland from 5000 bc to the 1400′s that’s a lot of history and a lot land covered, I guess it’s bound to come up somewhere!
On the down side the book has a tendency to be a bit of a dry history book at times. Contrasting this was a fictional account following a group of people, the Farfarers, as Mowat takes you through the times. I expected this part to be much better than it was, and it turned out that that was my least favorite part of the book. As more of a glimpse of what life was like than an actual story line I found it just to be annoying. Also it had a tendency to be ridiculously graphically violent for no apparent reason. I never need to read descriptions about heads being chopped in two, ever.
Would I recommend it? Not for the average evening read but if you’ve any interest in this part of history or even seafaring history in general, it’s an interesting worthwhile read. However I would not recommend you leave it in your child’s room and read it while nursing her to sleep, this will cause it to be read in snippets over a ridiculously long period of time so that when you finish it all you’ll have to say is…
HA!
