Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Well.  As mentioned when I watched Outlander last week
Read While Walking: Outlander "The Reckoning" I saw an advertisement for the purchase of the books, two for $15.  It was a limited time offer though, so (being susceptible to things like that) I purchased the first four books of the series the next day. 


As also mentioned though, I had the firm intention not to read the books until I was certain I wouldn't be spoiled for the show.  But, surely I could read the first book right?  I had heard that this portion of the season was based on the second book.  So I sampled the first couple of chapters just to get an idea of the extent to which I'd be spoiling elements of the show if I read them.


Anyway, almost before I knew it, Claire is at Fort William and I'm caught up to where the show broke off before Christmas, and I'm only halfway through the book.  I find (like Game of Thrones the TV series) that the show follows the book quite closely.  There are details and depth that can be recognized in the show, but are sometimes only fully appreciated with the background of the book.  Together it makes a very enriching experience. 


As an example, I have a much better sense of the political intrigue within Clan MacKenzie, and why Jamie is so important to the Clan.  I think the show has diverged slightly (based on my place in the novel so far) by making Colum and Dougal have different approaches to Jaime and the Clan, where in the book they seem very unified.  But some of it, like Dougal causing Jamie to wed the Sassenach, thereby destroying the possibility he could rise to the MacKenzie, is available to a viewer of the show, it's just more likely not to be appreciated on a first (or even second) viewing.


Unusually for me however, I'm enjoying the show sufficiently that I'm hesitant about reading the books first.  In the past, where the circumstance has arisen, I've never been uncomfortable about reading the books first.  In fact, I tend to prefer it, wanting the excitement of revelations to come from my reading, not someone else's interpretation. Game of Thrones is probably a good example.  I don't think I want to watch the current season for fear it will move ahead of, and thereby hurt the experience of the books.


 So I can't really explain it with this series, but I don't want to spoil it by reading first, at least through this season.  I don't trust my willpower enough to make any promises about next season and the subsequent books of the series.  Which brings us back to Outlander, the first novel by Ms. Gabaldon.  Being halfway through, and not wanting to read ahead of the TV series, I've taken the only possible course of action available to me and asked my wife to hide the book.