Wandering among "the blooming heather: books of Scotland

My sister recently told me about attending a Bible study where a woman provoked the prayer group by saying she prayed for solitude. If the universe ever deals justly with me in ways of solitude, I want to put it on notice that by solitude I mean: Scottish castle with my wonderful husband and cats, a huge library, and Amazon cards for days. So I guess what I really mean is: lottery win.

At present, there is no prospect of Scottish castles outside of a desktop background, so I'll have to settle for books about the country. You'll have to do some of the heavy lifting: imagine the scent of the grass under your feet and the cold air off of the sea. It's one of my great regrets that when I finally made it over to Europe I mostly saw London with only a bit of Wales, Ireland, and Scotland mixed in. Books do make for a cheap mode of travel, though!

This was a beautiful little book: glossy pages, iconic illustrations, and small, digestible chapters. It made for a great introduction to the clans and the history surrounding them. A great introduction for a general reader that I hope to follow up with some deeper history books.

And now for a rare admission: I don't know what to do with this book. I already felt conflicted about its predecessor (the gay villain trope? really?, not to mention the abuse and misogyny) but it was a fun read that really drew me in. So, I moved on to book two and I loved the first hundred and last hundred pages of this one - but the boring middle was in serious need of an editor. I'm going to eventually read book three, but I think I need a break first!




And we shall conclude with: Sam Watererston in a kilt, because he's just adorable! I don't know that in encourages reading per se, but it does make me smile!