Looking Back - A New Song

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

A New Song by Jan Karon

Mitford Series #5

Fiction

2000 Penguin Books (first published in 1999)

Finished on May 2, 2000

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In A New Song, Mitford's longtime Episcopal priest, Father Tim, retires. However, new challenges and adventures await when he agrees to serve as interim minister of a small church on Whitecap Island. He and his wife, Cynthia, soon find that Whitecap has its own unforgettable characters: a church organist with a mysterious past, a lovelorn bachelor placing personal ads, a mother battling paralyzing depression. They also find that Mitford is never far away when circumstances "back home" keep their phone ringing off the hook. In this fifth novel of the beloved series, fans old and new will discover that a trip to Mitford and Whitecap is twice as good for the soul.

My Original Thoughts (2000):

Great entertainment! I didn't find it as humorous as the previous books in this series, but I still enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading the next book!

My Current Thoughts:

I still have most of these books on my shelf with plans to eventually reread them. I've only reread At Home in Mitford, so I have a ways to go before I get to this one.

Looking Back - At Home in Mitford

Update

Finished on May 22, 2019
New Rating: 3.5/5

After sharing my recent post about At Home in Mitford (below), I decided it would be fun to start re-reading this series. I read a chapter or two, picking it up here and there between other books, taking my time and not rushing to finish it too quickly. I enjoyed revisiting Mitford and all the quirky characters, but I may not have liked it quite as much as I did 20 years ago. At times, I found myself a little bored with the story, but the second half picked up and while I may not have loved it, I'm glad I read it again. 

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Mitford Series #1
Fiction
1994 Penguin Books
Finished in February 1998
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable.

Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's sixty years old

Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for. And readers get a rich, provincial comedy in which mysteries and miracles abound.

My Original Notes (1998):

Awesome novel! Not a great work of literature, but simply a wonderful slice-of-life story. The characters are so lovable. Puny and Doolie are so funny and I love the romance between Fr. Tim and Cynthia. I'm such a sucker for a romance. I hope they get married!

My Current Thoughts:

I've read several books in this series and I think this first installment was probably the best. I remember laughing out loud and reading passages to my husband. I still own quite a few of the books and have decided to give this one a re-read sometime this year. I'm curious to see if it stands the test of time.

Looking Back - Out of Canaan

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Out to Canaan by Jan Karon
Mitford Series #4
Fiction
1997 Penguin Books
Finished in June 1998
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his talented and vivacious wife, Cynthia, are pondering the murky uncertainties of retirement. They're also trying to locate the scattered siblings of Dooley Barlowe, the mountain boy they love as their own. A brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development, and a tough survivor must hunker down for the fight of her life. Worse, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing, and a suspicious real estate agent is trying to turn the beloved house on the hill into a spa. Can change be coming to Mitford? The buzz on Main Street says yes. Change is certainly coming to the tenderest regions of several townspeople's lives. A woman struggles every day to stay on course after years of hard living. A man tries to forgive himself for a tragic mistake. And the town's most eligible bachelor leaves Mitford -- and returns with a stunning surprise.

My Original Notes (1998):

Just as wonderful as the other three in the Mitford series! I hope there will be more. Wonderful characters. Touching episodes of life in a small town.

My Current Thoughts:

I'm re-reading the first book in this series (At Home in Mitford) and will most likely continue revisiting the series over the next year or two.

Looking Back - These High Green Hills

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon
Mitford Series #3
Fiction
1996 Penguin Books
Finished in May 1998
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In These High, Green Hills we're once again in Mitford, a southern village of local characters so heartwarming and hilarious you'll wish you lived right next door.

At last, Mitford's rector and lifelong bachelor, Father Tim, has married his talented and vivacious neighbor, Cynthia. Now, of course, they must face love's challenges: new sleeping arrangements for Father Tim's sofa-sized dog, Cynthia's urge to decorate the rectory Italian-villa-style, and the growing pains of the thrown-away boy who's become like a son to the rector.

Add a life-changing camping trip, the arrival of the town's first policewoman, and a new computer that requires the patience of a saint, and you know you're in for another engrossing visit to Mitford--the little town that readers everywhere love to call home.

My Original Notes (1998):

Wonderful! I truly enjoyed every word. I feel as though these characters are not only real, but my friends. Charming and inspiring.

My Current Thoughts:

I'm looking forward to rereading this one. I recently started reading At Home in Mitford and it's just as good as the first time I read it.

Looking Back - A Light in the Window

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

A Light in the Window by Jan Karon
Mitford Series #2
Fiction
1995 Penguin Books
Finished on April 17, 1998
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

His attractive neighbor is tugging at his heartstrings. A wealthy widow is pursuing him with hot casseroles. And his red-haired Cousin Meg has moved into the rectory, uninvited. 

As you can see, Mitford's rector and lifelong bachelor, Father Tim, is in need of divine intervention. In this beautifully crafted second novel in the Mitford series, Jan Karon delivers a love story that's both heartwarming and hilarious. Only time will tell if the village parson can practice what he preaches. 

Like At Home in Mitford, the first novel in the series, this book is filled with the miracles and mysteries of everyday life. And the affirmation of what some of us already know: Life in a small town is rarely quiet. And absolutely never boring.

My Original Notes (1998):

Wonderful! I love these books and think Karon is a talented writer. I feel like I know these people, feeling their happiness, sadness, hopes and fears.

My Current Thoughts:

I don't remember very many details in the Mitford series books, so I flipped through my copy of A Light in the Window and found a Post-It Note marking the following:

The snow has left the cottage top;
Thatch-moss grows in brighter green;
And eaves in quick succession drop,
Where grinning icicles have been,
Pit-patting with a pleasant noise
In tubs set by the cottage door;
While ducks and geese, with happy joys,
Plunge in the yard-pond brimming o'er.
The sun peeps through the window pane;
Which children mark with laughing eye,
And in the wet street steal again
To tell each other spring is nigh.
       ~ John Clare

Lovely. I'm eager to give this book a second reading.