New Reads:

This week I'm reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. And I'm glad. Very glad. Last week, I was doing a little research to find out when the next books in my favorite trilogies were coming out and was disappointed to find that none of them had release dates for 2013. So, I was in need of a new story. Something that would suck me under and carry me away. And one of the girls that I run with suggested that I give Outlander a go. I am only about a third of the way in so I can't speak too much about how good it is, but I am really enjoying it. 

Here's the basic plot summary:

"The year in 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon -- when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach -- an "outlander" -- in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord ... 1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life ... and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire ... and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives."

I can always get behind a historical fiction novel. Especially one set in Europe during one of my favorite time periods -- WWII.

I am happy to have stumbled upon this story. And the really great news? There are, like, eight novels in the series. Should keep me busy for a while.

I love the girls I run with. They help the miles really fly by. And it just so happens that we all really love to read so it's been a real joy to share novels with them. We've been introducing each other to authors and stories that we haven't been exposed to before. Whenever I'm torn about what to read next, they always pull through. It's a really great thing we've got going -- sort of a running book club.