O is for... Outlander

is for Outlander!

Okay, this doesn't have much to do with Geneva - except for the question of how on earth I'm going to watch the Outlander series when it starts in June.

How to summarise this for those of you who haven't read the books? Let's see... Once upon a time a friend leant me a copy of a book called Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon. I was wary about reading it, since I don't usually enjoy books recommended by others, but it was a historical, set in Scotland, so already I was positively biased.

Once I did start, I couldn't put it down. Lucky for me, not only was it a Big Book, but it was part of a Big Series, and I was coming in right at the time that the latest book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, was released in paperback. I got to read all the books at once, and then join in the loooong wait for the next one, An Echo in the Bone (but how much more other fans must have suffered in the wait between the second and third books, when the protagonists were separated by both space and time and there was no knowing if they'd ever come together again!).

Diana describes the extent of the series better than I can:

Also, her challenge with regard to the first book still holds:

As for how to describe it...as Diana says: "Frankly, I've never been able to describe this book in twenty-five words or less, and neither has anyone else in the twenty years since it was first published."

But here's her description anyway:

And here're all the books:

(photo from MommaRake)

She's in the Final Frenzy of writing the next one, and it should be out in a few months!

If you're wondering why I keep referring to her as Diana instead of by a more formal form of address, it's because I feel like I know her, mainly because the best side effect of reading this series was joining the Compuserve Books and Writers Community, which Diana has called the greatest "electronic literary cocktail party" out there. You should have heard my squee the first time I addressed a message to her and got a reply!

Actually, I just did a quick search, and I think this might have been it: a thread about Susan Cooper. Here's another thread from a little later, discussing cover blurbs. And here's us talking about me writing a review about one of the Lord John books. And here's the review itself, of Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade.

There are lots of Outlander themed blogs out there. A yummy one is Outlander Kitchen, featuring recipes inspired by the books.

And yes! They're making a tv series of the first book. Everything you ever wanted to know about it is here on the Outlander Starz page. Can't wait!

Which series would you recommend?

N is for... Nyon, and Being Nicole's Minion (and finally my ROW80 goals!)

is for Nyon -- and being Nicole's minion!

I'm really enjoying being part of the A to Z Challenge so far! And it's fun being one of Nicole's Mighty Minions, too!

I guess all of us are feeling the pressure to keep up with visits and comments. There are 2107 participants this year! Some of course, once you visit you realise, aren't actually participating; I saw an apology on one blog that said the blogger just couldn't make it after all. So far the best part for me has been discovering blogs outside of the writing and reading circle -- sometimes I forget that people blog on topics other than books (or food and cats)!

Speaking of books, I hadn't had a chance to post my ROW80 goals. I've got two for this round: write an essay for Bizim Anadolu, and do my own version of the NaNoWriMo Writing Marathon! The official marathon was last Saturday, but I'm hoping to do mine on the final Saturday in April. A full day of writing and nothing else! Who's going to join me?

And now, some shots from our day trip to Nyon:

I like the name of this street: Passage des Pirates

Not sure who this fellow is...

Flags! (Why the fish, I wonder?)

The castle square

Other side of the square

Arched entrance

View from the castle, looking towards France

View from the castle

M is for... Magnificent Weather

is for magnificent weather!

We've been really lucky with the weather since we've arrived - it rained one morning (my first day of work, actually), and even then it was warm.

I've got some gratuitous shots of sunshine and spring blooms!

Sunshine over the lake

The flower clock in the Jardin Anglais (English Garden)

Another sunny day, with the Alps in the background

No idea what these flowers are - they're so jaunty!

Jet d'Eau in sunshine

Spring blooms! Such a contrast after the endless cold and snow in Montreal

L is for... Lac Leman

is for Lac Leman - and bathing!

The other day the temperature rose to 22 Celsius (so far it's only rained one morning in the two weeks we've been here!) and I was sorely tempted to go swimming - before I thought of how cold the water might be and chickened out.

They've got an area on Lac Leman marked off for bathers, and it's a lovely spot:

Look how clear the water is!

Lighthouse at the end of the bathing pier

 Sunshine on the lake

 A long view

 Wonderful spot to swim... maybe when the water's a bit warmer

 The bathing pool

Rainbow!

K is for... PanoramiK Photos

is for PanoramiK Photos! Yes, I'm fudging this letter a bit, too.

View from near the Quai des Paquis, with the Jet d'eau and hotels on the right

View from near the Quai des Paquis, looking across to the Alps (Mont Blanc hidden by clouds)

View from the North Tower of the Saint Pierre Cathedral

View from Nyon Castle, looking across to France!

J is for... Jet d'eau

is for Jet d'eau!

Description from the Geneva tourism website

Here's more about the Jet d'eau on the city of Geneva website.

I is for... "Bird's Eye" Views

is for "bird's eye" views.

Yes, I'm stretching the letter to cover a homonym!

Guide to birds of the lake

Sparrow collecting nesting material

Young girl with chicks (probably for Easter)

Sparrow in pub!

Swans

Swans

Swans and ducks and lovely clear lake

And then there was the dove on our windowsill...