Waypoints

I found this a fascinating book.  It's unusual for a 40 year old to write an autobiography...and, in fact, this isn't exactly an autobiography.  Sam tells of his trek across the 96 mile West Highland Way and while he walks, he reflects on his life.  The book goes back and forth between the beautiful scenery he is seeing (or the rugged parts he is trying to climb) and his history as an actor.

One thing I learned from reading this book is why Sam's Jamie Fraser is so believable, while interviews with him about Jamie Fraser are nothing like the character himself.  Sam has spent so much time learning how to become a character that when he steps into those scenes, it's like Sam Heughan disappears and Jamie Fraser appears instead.  Jamie is older while Sam is younger.  I find that I now want to see the other movies he's made to see if he creates those characters are well as he has created Jamie Fraser.

It's funny that he seems to enjoy porridge with peanut butter for breakfast, something I've never heard of, until I tried and decided it's pretty good and it will now be my breakfast!
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 Months to Live

Image
Well, that will teach me not to listen to advertising. I have kind of stopped reading Patterson since he started writing with co-authors.  Some books are better than others, depending on who the co-author is.  Patterson says he likes developing plots but likes others to write them. Patterson and co-author Lupica (and later their wives) have made ads where they talk about how this is the best book they have ever written.  Their enthusiasm is so intense that I broke down and got the book. They are wrong. This is an OK book, but definitely nothing like the earlier books that Patterson wrote by himself.  I only give it 2-1/2 stars. Jane is a defense attorney who has been hired to defend a guy she is pretty sure killed a family of 3, but who says he's innocent.  As she is about to defend him in court, she learns that she has Stage 4 cancer and is given 12 months to live.  (Patterson says the other two books in the series will be called "6 months to live" and "3 ...
Read more

The Baby Left Behind

Image
Cate desperately wants to have a baby, but is unable.  She has been accepted as  the adoptive mother to a newborn, only to have the mother have second thoughts after giving birth. Jada is a recovering drug addict who experiences tremendous pains after lunch at a Mexican restaurant and assumes it's food poisoning, only to discover after hours of painful cramps that she is giving birth -- having no clue that she was pregnant.  How is she going to care for a newborn she didn't know she was expecting. Cate receives a phone call on her way to the hospital to pick up the second baby she is about to adopt, letting her know that this mother too has changed her mind.  She is devastated. After a about a week, Jada can't seem to deal with her new baby and she contacts her dealer and takes heroin again.  She realizes she will be a terrible mother and she remembers seeing Cate at the doctor's office, so she drives to her house and leaves her newborn at the front door, with a...
Read more

The Day Diana Died

Image
  I don't really read a lot about the royal family, but I was curious about this book.  Anderson has written a complete story of the accident, the people involved, and Diana's life leading up to the end of it.  It is a fascinating account, if occasionally a bit too involved. (also, he definitely needed a proof reader!  Entirely too many typos...maybe it was because it was the Kindle edition). Whenever I read anything about the royal family, I realize how dysfunctional the family is.  When Charles was growing up and his mother was away for several months, when she came home, she didn't hug him, she shook his hand. The coldness of Elizabeth after Diana's death is very difficult to read.  Her only concern was finding out whether Diana had any royal jewels, which should be returned to the palace immediately. She seemed surprised that so many people around the world were shocked by Diana's death and she had to be convinced to allow a public funeral...after all s...
Read more