The Outlander Book Club will be starting a group re-read of the OUTLANDER series on June 1, 2010. Their plan is to discuss two chapters a week. (At that rate, it will take quite a long time to get through the series!) Details are here, if you're interested.
Thanks to Laura from OBC for letting me know! I probably won't participate actively in it myself (I already spend enough time in analysis and discussion of the books on Compuserve on a daily basis!), but it sounds like a good idea, especially for those of you who are relatively new to the books.
The term used by the Outlander Book Club is "re-kilting", not "re-reading", but I don't care for that expression myself. No offense to the OBC folks, but I find the terms "re-kilt" or "re-kilting" awkward and more than a bit silly. When I re-read these books, I'm not in any sense wrapping myself in them like a kilt; to me, it's more like putting together a gigantic jigsaw puzzle or an elaborate tapestry, something that is so intricate and exquisitely detailed that you notice new things every time you re-read. Nor do I think the Scottish aspects of the story are all there is to it, as this term seems to imply.
And I also think "re-kilting" can be hard to understand if your first language is not English, because you will not find it in any dictionary. So, the term "re-kilting" grates on me a bit. I much prefer the terms "re-reading" or "re-listening", both of which are easy for anyone to understand, even people who are brand new to the series.
This is just my personal opinion, and shouldn't be taken as any criticism of the great work that Laura and the others at Outlander Book Club have been doing. If you haven't yet had a chance to check out their site, I would encourage you to do so.
Friday, May 21, 2010
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3 comments:
Like you, I find that when I am reading/listening to the series, I'm caught in an elaborate tapestry of clues scribbled on post-it-notes, trying to piece together the road map Diana has directed me to...
I haven't had a chance yet to 're-kilt' other than select chapters but I know I will once I finish Echo. I just think of it as a fun way express getting wrapped up in the story. I also 're-vamp' Vampire books like Twilight and have 're-wandered' the Host. It is just a fun expression to integrate something about the books. I used it all the time and enjoy explaining it when asked. Most people think it is cute or fun. But to each his or her own!
Karen, thanks for directing readers to the OBC re-kilt.
For the OBC folks, re-kilting is a serious and joyful activity. I love the expression, actually. I wish I had invented it. TwilightTink put it well for me: It's "a fun way of getting wrapped up in the story." And when I think of Jamie, he's always wearing a kilt.
Best to all.
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