Yes, each of the books is ridiculously long.

Shit. Good shit, but shit nonetheless.

Let's try and post this only once.

I read the first two Outlander books while living in a small house in a rural Greek village with a team of German geophysicists. My German was sort of crappy. It was the perfect situation for 2 800-page novels. (I've never read the rest, maybe because of the subsequent lack of German geophysicists in my life.)

I got through the first three? four? of the books and gave up. I just couldn't do the long slog.

I am just trusting that she doesn't get too depressing, but I'm spoilt enough to know the story goes long enough for them to have a child, so I'm far from that traumatic event, should it come. And I guess she doesn't leave for a while or if at all.

They're at the Abbey right now, and Jamie has just told her he can't stay married to her. I hope this wraps up sooner rather than later.

She must have done *crazy* research for this. I appreciate much of it, but Claire's a bit perfect and then stupid (although the stupid is lessening) for my tastes. Who randomly knows all that herb medicines? Not my nurses, that's for sure. At least she knows nothing about birthing no babies. But some about foals.

I've also, for the first time, been giving my Nook dictionary a good workout. Carnassian was the first time I caved--I guess it would be weird to call them canines on a wolf.

My knowledge comes from the TV show rather than the books.

But in the show, she was WWII nurse - which meant that she was rather more reliant on what we would consider home care that we are today. More importantly in the TV show, old herb lore was a hobby of hers. Two alone explains the herb lore, with one maybe adding a teeny bit of reinforcement.

Between that, her encyclopedic knowledge of Scottish history and memory of all the important places in Scotland she'd travelled to in her time... it's a bit much for me.

Again, though it is not out of nowhere

Scottish history is her husbands hobby. She has heard about it from him and dragged around to all the historic places by him as well. WWII nurse, knowledge of herb lore, somewhat reluctant extensive acquistion of Scottish history and tours of historical Scottish sites all established before the time travel. Still a bit much, but pre-established with reasons for her knowing what she knows.

I don't see where it's reluctant. It doesn't fail her at any time, and barely does the lack of technology-- she seems more wistful about it than anything else. I know a lot of bright people, but she's hyper competent and has a lovely singing voice and the ability to read microexpressions too.

I got dragged around Scotland too, but it didn't have a remotely similar effect.

ita, if it helps any, in later books she doesn't know as much about other parts of history.