Rating: 
Summary: Better than Many Say
Review: When we first received our copy of this book, we had two thoughts. (1) Hadn't we already read about the wedding? (2) The book is somewhat large for so little text. After confirming that we had not read the wedding story in one of Karon's earlier volumes, we settled down to read her most recent offering.We were not disappointed. The story that unfolds in "A Common Life" is anything but common, to use the vernacular. The author graces us with her vision of what a Christian marriage should be like, and dishes out an uncommon amount of good advice for how a couple should get started in building a successful married life. (Of course, the "common" in the title is actually referring to two people who share one life in a solid marriage.) On the other hand, we would have preferred if the book had been considerably smaller in size. Since we purchased it sight unseen, we cannot complain that its moderately large physical size was misleading. To those who pick it up off a shelf in a store without looking inside, however, there is almost certain to be disappointment. A small volume ("marriage missal" size) that one could carry in one's pocket would have been more agreeable. I hope, however, that this does not keep anyone from buying the book. It is well worth the price!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I waited a long time for a very thin book. It was good but if you took out all the empty pages and spaces it was only a 100 pages. What took her so long to write so little.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT'S GOING ON WITH JAN KARON
Review: I love the Mitford series. I recommend them to everyone. I, like most people, were left out when there was very little mentioned of the wedding in her last book. Unfornateley, this book left me very dissapointed. She really should have included the wedding in the last book. There was no plot. It only gave daily descriptions of what the characters were doing. There was no story line, or a plot. I kept feeling like Jan Karon, just hurry up and get to the wedding. Everything else was filler. I am so glad that I got this at the library and didn't waste my money on it. I will still look forward to her other books though.
Rating: 
Summary: A common life: The wedding story
Review: I spent last summer reading the Mitford Years series and was thrilled to see Ms.Karon had a new book coming out. I had it on reserve at my local library before it was at the book stores, and boy was I happy that I did'nt spend my hard earned money on it. It was a very weak story that should have unfolded two books back. It had no indepth description of her characters as her previous stories had. I was looking foreward to catching up with all the characters I had grown to know and love only to find the book a complete dissapointment. I looked at the series for adventure and fun only to find Ms Karon living in the past with her characters and not sharing where they are or what they are doing NOW!
Rating: 
Summary: An Uncommonly Beautiful Novella
Review: An uncommonly beautiful novella which goes back in time to sketch the wedding of Father Tim and Cynthia Coppersmith. The author takes us along this time, and the reader is permitted a kind and gentle glimpse into the minds and thoughts of many of our Mitford friends. A fascinating departure from the story telling of Mitford, we learn first hand of Dooley's unvoiced fears, Cynthia's own transition, and watch as Father Tim falls right off the cliff of independence and self sufficiency, and into the valley of late life romance. The reader will also learn who harbored a secret crush on Father Tim and who was late to wedding! Any lover of the Mitford books will appreciate the glimpses and insights this little book provides, but IT IS a novella, and not one of the long visits to Mitford we have to wait so long for! Actually, the second reading was more pleasurable than the first, since I took time to savor. The reviewers seem all over the place here - but mostly divided between those who knew what to expect, and those who didn't. So read up on the reviews and then virtually visit Mitford... As befits such a special occasion book, the artwork and layout are exquisite. Hopefully the volume of Father Tim's quotes will be as beautifully rendered.
Rating:
Summary: Karon disappoints this time.
Review: A Common Life was a big disappointment after loving the rest of the Mitford series. Seems like Karon threw together a new book to capitalize on recent success. A Common Life lacked the familiar details of the characters we had come to know and love. The first five books in the Mitford series were wonderfully detailed about the community of Mitford and its residents. A Common Life wasn't a horrible book just a quick and simple read. If you don't already know and love the Mitford characters, don't bother with A Common Life.
Rating:
Summary: A Common Life - The Wedding Story
Review: After reading the other books in The Mitford Series, I was most disappointed in this book. After waiting anxiously for it to be published, it was a real let-down. And I am not alone in my thinking. I have yet to have anyone tell me that they like this book. .... There was nothing in it that had not been in the previous books and it was not even good reading. .... Personally, I do not feel that the book rated even 1 star.
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: I was thrilled to preorder the book and couldn't wait to be the first on the block to read this. I couldn't be more disappointed. Where were the characters we loved? Nothing was in any depth and I thought that maybe this was a way of making money off the parts that had originally been edited out. I'm sorry I wasted my money and my excitement.
Rating:
Summary: wish I could give it no stars
Review: so bad I could hardly pick it back up after taking a break. sappy, shallow, clealry only a ploy to make some more money from a story that was already told. from what it looks like, we're in for more of the same--the christmas story and the book of quotes advertised in the back of the book. I wouldn't even consider buying more of the same drivel.
Rating:
Summary: wish i hadn't bought it
Review: Like the last two reviewers, I purchased this book on the strength of the previous Mitford books. This book is so sappy and lacking in plot that I will think twice before buying the next installment in the series. If I could give this book less than one star I would.
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