Rating: 
Summary: How Does One Top This Read...Now, There's the Rub!!
Review: I fell in love with Mitford and the characters therein. This book came along at just the right time in my life. Recent events in the news and the everyday hustle-bustle of life makes one want to escape to Mitford where life is as it should be. It is a wonderful, feel-good read and I fell in love with all the characters from Father Tim to dear ole Barnabus. At Home in Mitford is like a return to childhood when the days were simple and worries were few. I absolutely loved this book and am hurrying off to read the rest of the series. This is a book that remains with you the rest of your life. P.S. I had this review tucked away in the "private" review section for some reason, so I decided to bring it out into the public because I've been singing the praises of Mitford for 3 years now!! Since this book, I've read the entire Mitford series and it only gets better!! When life gets me down, I return to Mitford and I always feel better. I can't wait for the next book!!
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Summary: Finally came to Mitford by the Moosepath!
Review: I was looking for something to read after being charmed and entertained by Van Reid's Moosepath League novels. My sister, who loves the Moosepath books too, suggested Jan Karon. I will admit that I resisted for quite some time. I had the idea that they were probably "women's" books, but nothing could be further from the truth. Any really good book is above such pigeonholing. This one certainly is. Like Mr. Reid's books they explore what a minister I once knew called the "mystery of kindness." Ms. Karon's Episcopalian minister, Father Tim, is one of those gentle souls who seems a little clueless in the ways of the world but who turns out to be as wise as anyone. Surrounding him are a host of memorable characters, a lot of small town skullduggery, and the possibility of middle-aged romance. It is amazing how many of these elements describe the Moosepath novels, though the writing styles of the two authors are very different! Mr. Reid's is a little more old fashioned. There's some basis for comparison with the Andy Griffith Show, too.
So if you're a guy! And if you like a good chuckle and you don't need to have someone being murdered on every other page, don't let the cozy covers and all the women raving about these books keep you away.
But now that I've read "Mrs. Roberto," after I read all the Mitford books, what do I read next?
Rating: 
Summary: One visit is more than enough
Review: I agree with the negative reviews ... poorly written, boring, flat characters, utterly predictable and annoying. However, I also somewhat understand the appeal of this book. Warm, safe and comfortable.It is a chore to "keep caring" up until the end. One of my problems was I hated Cynthia. (Tim's love interest) WHAT A SILLY PUTZ. "You were wonderful" she coos to Father Tim after he plays the "knight" and rescues her cat (again) because "oh Lordy pooor Violet" "You're lovely" she says to Father Tim. Who goes around saying "you're lovely" to people they hardly know? She acts like a child half the time. She actually cried when she burnt supper and knightly Tim has to rescue her once again. Blech and double blech. I kept hoping she'd die or fall in love with someone else. I am utterly aghast that this book has turned into an actual SERIES. YIKES. THAT is going TOO far. I would never read another Mitford book.
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Summary: The simple joys of Mitford
Review: I apparently have stumbled onto the town of Mitford late. But my delight is complete with each page unfolding the lives of the people in Mitford. Father Tim is the town's priest. Through his life we meet all the character's of the town and grow to love all of them. Mitford is the town who takes care of their own, where the town cafe has all the news, gardens flourish, and the church is the town's social center. The pace is relaxing, sweet, and full. Father Tim is struggling in his own faith but yet leads his flock with unerring strength and grace. While he frets over his human foibles, he is stretched by new relationships, first a dog, who only responds when scripture is quoted to him, then a boy, who is struggling to find love and acceptance, and finally in the neighbor who lives next door. Father Tim and Cynthia's relationship grows in fits and spurts together. Reading this book was like going on a vacation. I became relaxed and refreshed chapter by chapter. I can't wait to read on about Mitford while sipping my cup of tea.
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Summary: Come on home!
Review: Jan Karon creates an absorbing cast of characters in this novel, the first of the Mitford series. Central to the story is Father Tim Kavanaugh, bachelor priest at the Lord's Chapel Episcopalian church in the small mountain town of Mitford, North Carolina. Father Tim leads a quiet life. That is until Barnabas the dog and Dooley Barlowe the pre-adolescent enter his life, and he begins to develop a friendship with his neighbor Cynthia Coopersmith, and countless professional and personal concerns intervene. The plot is interesting, but the book stands out for its likable, true-to-life characters, and for the peaceful atmosphere that permeates it. Father Tim, with his unflagging devotion to God, is an inspiration. Jan Karon's books have entered my canon of "comfort reading," perfect for a pick-me-up when I tire of the darkness and dysfunction of many modern novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Relaxing...Not Overly Stimulating
Review: I liked this book, but felt that there could have been more of a plot or story behind the town. All of the things that seemed like big mysteries didn't turn out to be that way. It was a nice peaceful story of a town that I would like to visit. However, that's all it was, and a little long to have no purpose.
Rating: 
Summary: Cozy Read
Review: At Home in Mitford is the first in a series of books written by Jan Karon about a small town in North Carolina. The main character is Father Tim who has a parish in Mitford, and the book is filled with wonderful characters from the town. It is a cozy and enjoyable ride getting to know Father Tim and the rest of the townspeople -- from stray dogs to a boy in need of direction, romance to encounters with a jewel thief, and a lovable but definitely offbeat little old lady.
Jan Karon left her successful career in the fast-paced world of advertising and moved to Blowing Rock, North Carolina which she credits as the inspiration for Mitford, not the actual characters but the feel of a small village. She is able to make you feel like you've been to the main street grill and that you can actually smell the flowers in the town gardens.
The character development of the townspeople was very good; you want to know them more and more and what happens to them. Father Tim is both pleasantly multi-dimensional and not totally predictable.
The "bad guys" characters could have been developed more thoroughly, but perhaps that will come further into the series.
I recommend this book for a happy and comfortable read, somewhat like drifting around a swimming pool on a float, peaceful and agreeable with a splash of excitement
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Summary: A refreshing perspective!
Review: This is the first in the six-book (so far) Mitford series of novels by Jan Karon. Her stories are refreshingly decent. The protagonist is an Episcopal priest, Father Tim Kavanagh. He believes what he preaches, and not only talks the talk--he walks the walk. The stories take place in a small North Carolina village of approximately 200 population, Mitford--the kind of place everyone would like to live, if they could. Karon keeps your interest, as evidenced by the fact that she is a best-seller with this series, but she does not resort to foul language--the nastiest word in the book is 'poop'--violence, explicit sex or car chases to keep her readers interested. These are thoroughly decent stories, written by an author who has decorum and restraint, and whose tales you would not be ashamed to read to your children or your mother. In this story, Father Tim--a never-been-married bachelor--takes in an eleven-year-old boy from his disabled, poverty-stricken grandfather who has him because his drunken mother is unfit. He also adopts a nondescript dog "as big as a sofa," deals with the many problems of his parishioners, and begins to fall in love with his neighbor--at the age of sixty. In this series it would be well to start with this book and then immediately proceed to book number six in the series, "A Common Life," which for some unknown reason was published out of chronological sequence. If you are like a great many others, you will quickly become a fan of Karon, who has written children's stories as well, most notably "Jeremy," the story of a stuffed rabbit which she wrote for her own daughter--a book which has received much acclaim. Joseph Pierre
Author of The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity
Rating:
Summary: A cozy mystery
Review: At Home in Mitford is the first book in the Mitford series. It introduces you to the major characters (and quite a few minor ones) that Karon develops in the later Mitford books. I didn't continue to turn the pages of this book because the plot was so riveting I couldn't put it down. I kept reading because I needed to know what happened to Father Tim and the other citizens of this charming little town. Karon does a wonderful job of making the reader care about these lovable characters.
Think of this book as a cozy mystery with no dead body. It does, however, have a jewel theft, a kidnapping, a runaway and several medical crises to keep you turning the pages. If this isn't enough, there is also a romance and an old secret that comes to light, so it has something for everyone. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
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Summary: A Gentle Read
Review: I've been interested in the reviews I've read, being in agreement with them most of the time. Those who complain about a lack of reality, etc., miss the point all together. There is enough so-called reality everywhere we turn. A reality of crudeness, selfishness, and disdain for anything gentle. Hooray for Jan Karon, and her wonderful world of Mitford. I have even missed my favorite TV shows (Law & Order, and CSI), for a few hours of delight in the pages of Mitford. Father Tim and all the rest have won my heart!
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