Written in My Own Heart's Blood question

This is book eight. This is not the best of the series. Start with Outlander.

I haven't read the series in several years before I started reading this but for me it was like an ol' friend everything fell back in place. If you haven't read any other book of the series I would recommend you do so it will be worth it.

Kim wrote: "I found this book on audible.com and I am wondering if I should start the series with this book or read from book 1. Can this book stand on it's own or am going to be so lost I won't enjoy it?

S..."

No you really need to start with book one, you would miss out such a lot of the story if you didn't.

I agree - you need to start with the foundation before you build on another story (no pun intended).... Book 1 OUTLANDER....it is an awesome series!

Books 1 through 7 are merged into a single purchase / single download on Amazon Kindle books. Buy that and book 8 and you'll have just barely enough to "get by" until book 9 comes out.

"It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance."-as written by Diana Gabaldon
You must begin here at chapter 1, book 1, Outlander.

No. There is a lot of back story that you are missing and it's a story that builds upon itself. Definitely start with Outlander. It's worth the thousands of pages to finish up with MOBY.

Start at the beginning!! You may be able to get the audio books on your library's website. The narrator, Davina Porter is FABULOUS.

I picked this book up first no realizing it was a series, and read the first 100 pages. I was hooked, but felt like I was starting a television series in the middle of the season. So I started from the first book, and so glad I did.

Gabaldon always comments that each book is designed to stand alone, but, you will miss out on so much back ground and the ties that bind the characters that you, really, should start from the beginning and read in order.

Start with "The Outlander" and read the rest in order. Do not mess with the order of the story or you will get lost. It is a BRILLIANT story!!!!!

Oh no no no no. This is one of those series that absolutely MUST be read in order. She even wrote a companion book so people who do read them don't get lost and can keep up with who-is-who and what has happened to date. It would make no sense to someone who didn't read them in order.

Definitely start with Outlander. I found it a bit of a slog until she gets into the past, then it be-bops right along. I got the first six books in paperback and read them one after the other. Set down the sixth and picked up the first again and read the whole series again. I've probably read the whole series 4-5 times by now. Just finished the latest a couple of weeks ago.

No. The series is continuous and it will be like watching the final episode of long running TV show if you start with the last (even though this is not the last). You will probably feel a bit out of the loop.

Read them all. It's probably my favorite series and the backstory will really help with the connection. Plus the first book is really good too :)

Kim wrote: "I found this book on audible.com and I am wondering if I should start the series with this book or read from book 1. Can this book stand on it's own or am going to be so lost I won't enjoy it?

S..."

There are 8 story threads being woven through this books (hence the octothorpe on the cover). It would be asking a lot for you to make any sense of the weaving of all those character-rich plot lines without having had the benefit of previous introduction.

Start with Outlander. (And if it doesn't grab you right away, do yourself a favour and stick with it until the end of chapter 15 before you make any rash decisions). ;-)

This is definitely not a series you should start in the middle. Outlander is the first, and best in my opinion, so start there and decide if you want to continue. I think you will!!

I do agree with the others. All books are available as audio books. You need to know how it started. I would suggest to read/listen to at least the first 3 books and book 7. That would give you enough to understand the basic story line. Ideally though, the whole series.

I think you'll be lost. There is just so much backstory with all the characters, I'm about halfway through this book and there have been a few times where I've struggled to remember something relevant from a previous book that is being referenced. And I've read each book in the series at least twice!

It really is a great series, in my opinion, so if I were you I'd start with Outlander and see if you like that one. It could be considered a standalone book, although I was hooked and wanted more.