On My Bookshelf: Outlander

Embarrassing not-so-secret: when I'm interested in a movie, TV series, or book, I tend to go all the way. As a fifth grader, the top drawer of my dresser was stuffed with Star Wars paperbacks. When  Veronica Mars was on the air, I read every good fanfiction I could get my hands on. And when Mindy and Danny's unresolved sexual tension reached an all-time high on The Mindy Project, I gushed over GIFs capturing their special moments.

So it's no surprise that when I finally picked up a book that had been recommended to me by a friend, intrigued by the promise of time travel and romance and the gosh darn Scottish Highlands, it wasn't long before I was hooked. Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon, is the first in a series that began over twenty years ago, and is still going strong. The first book centers around an English woman, Claire, who inadvertently travels back in time from the 1940s to the 1740s, and falls headfirst into the Scottish Highlands. I'll admit, it took a little while for me to get into the book, but it didn't take long before I was reading it obsessively, every second I had the chance. (It didn't hurt that things got steamy between Claire and a- well, I don't want to give anything away!)

I just finished the second book, and have the third one on hold at the library. It's a good thing I have to wait between books, or else I would be tearing through them at great detriment to things like, uh, work. The series has been around for a while, so there's a good chance you've already heard of it. But if you haven't, and you have an interest in great writing, history, and hunky love interests (who doesn't?), you should consider giving this book a try.

Have you read any good books lately?

Londoners

 

I'm currently reading Londoners by Craig Taylor, and it's making me long to be back in that great city, with its smell and clouds and even confusing Underground doors.

Then the Underground train, even when it's coming, I felt too scared to get on. I waited for the first train to pass to see what the people were doing and then I waited for the second one to pass too, because I still didn't know what to do. I said to myself, let me see how they do it: they're very confident, they just walk and go into it. But I didn't know, is this door going to open or not? Because you see the door opening and sometime they're pressing buttons...It was so scary. Never mind the gap!

{Photos: Instagram}

Saul Bass [Covet]

This behemoth of a coffee table book is currently top spot on my wish list. It celebrates the work of celebrated designer Saul Bass, who is famous for his film and corporate design.

The book itself was beautifully designed by his own daughter, Jennifer, and contains more than a thousand illustrations of Bass's iconic work. Are you listening, Santa? ;)