Last night I began reading "Shepherds Abiding" which is the latest by author Jan Karon in the Mitford series. This is the 11th in the series if you count the small Christmas books from the last 2 years, and the book of Father Tim's favorite quotes. If not, it's the 8th.

It is so ODD for me to enjoy reading this kind of book! I call it "taking a vacation in Mitford." The author has such a talent for sucking you into the very peace of this fictional town. Your shoulders and neck begin to relax after the first few pages. I remember reading the first in the series, "At Home in Mitford," and I kept waiting for the big, scary, mysterious PLOT to develop. Meanwhile, I was enjoying getting to know Father Tim and all the townspeople of Mitford going about their lives. And that is what the book is about. The lives of these people and the way in which they relate to each other. It is about the little stresses and trials that beset us daily, and the little blessings from those around us that get us through those days. It helps us stop and savor certain moments for the true MIRACLE of the moment.

Big things do develop in Mitford, and they get resolved, but not always in the course of the same book. Life doesn't get "fixed" quickly either. Sometimes, it is in the waiting that we find treasures - character, strength, patience, and the value of family and friends.

Jan Karon is one of my favorite authors, and I found her in one of the two children's books she's written. "Miss Fannie's Hat" is one of my personal favorite books in the library of children's books I'm in the process of building. And up until the release of "Shepherds Abiding" her newest book was for all ages and titled "The Trellis and the Seed." It's kind of a poetic prose picturebook. It is absolutely beautiful.

I'm about a fourth of the way into this new one. I highly recommend her books. Just take a break from Anne Rice, the Harry Potter books, Lord of the Rings anything, and take a little weekend trip to Mitford. You'll be refreshed.