Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon

Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon (Viking, 2003), 304 pages

This is book 8 in Karon’s Mitford Years series.

This, along with A Common Life, is one of the two shorter books in this nine-book series. Whereas A Common Life tells the story of Father Tim’s wedding, Shepherds Abiding tells the story of a particular Christmas. Other books in the series cover a much longer period of time — about a year each, if I’m remembering correctly.

I quite enjoying reading this Christmas book on the way home from hot and muggy Florida! I found myself smirking about it on the plane more than once. It’s probably dumb, but I enjoyed the thought of transitioning to a slightly more manageable climate (although not this week) while reading a book that details Christmas and snow and more snow. I guess I’ve heard people talking about cooling down by watching wintery movies or reading wintery books, but I don’t recall ever actually doing something along those lines. And since this wasn’t even intentional, it was all the better!

I really love this series. This book is simply another stellar installment of this great series. Homey, cozy, friendly, warm, cheery — all without being cheesy or over the top, and certainly not presenting a life without trials and struggles.

My reviews of the previous books in the series:

1. At Home in Mitford
2. A Light in the Window
3. These High, Green Hills
4. Out to Canaan
5. A New Song
6. A Common Life
7. In This Mountain

The Mitford books website.

Other reviews:
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