Better than valium....and, better yet, a celebration of DECENCY!

Okay, all of you bibliophiles out there! Has any one book, or a series, actually improved your sense of serenity and carried you to the comfort of the clouds? Seriously, I don't remember any one book or series of books ever creating such a sense of calm and decency in my soul before. The books to which I refer are the Mitford Series. I confess I have only completed the first one of the series, but I am on the way to our local, amazing, used bookstore (Recycled Guide to Literature) to purchase the entire series.

What is it about a book that can transform our lives? For me, it was the explicit decency in these books. The author says she creates a story void of sex, violence, and profanity, and she does so with aplomb! I spent the entire day Saturday reading and immersing myself into the town of Mitford. I was sad when Father Tim gets ready to leave his congregation and his new love to travel to Ireland. I wanted to hear more. I felt a tug at my heartstrings as I closed the last page of the book....How one book can do that to a person amazes me. But I don't question the effects that good literature has on us....I applaud and celebrate it.

 Why don't you try finding solace and wonderment in books? Find one that touches your soul and allows you to find Nirvana right in your own space. Find a comfortable nook in  your home or outdoors and celebrate reading. For those of you with children, this act of embracing reading will have a profound effect on your children, allowing them to grow spiritually and mentally.

Reading is a tool that can calm our minds! And it's cheaper than valium. . . . It is a natural happy pill. I suggest  you start on your journey now.

 

The author of the series Jan Karon is the author of the bestselling series of nine Mitford novels featuring Father Timothy Kavanagh, an Episcopal priest, and the fictional village of Mitford. Set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Karon's Mitford books include At Home in Mitford; A Light in the Window; These High, Green Hills; Out to Canaan; A New Song; A Common Life: The Wedding Story; In This Mountain; Shepherd's Abiding; and Light from Heaven. The Father Tim Novels include "Home to Holly Springs" and last fall's release of "In the Company of Others," set in County Sligo, Ireland. There are over 40 million Mitford and Father Tim novels, childrens books, and CDs in print.