Confessions

Okay. I have confession to make.

I don't normally read fiction. But a friend loaned me the Mitford books by Jan Karon and I have to admit I am really enjoying them. They are christian themed so there is no sex, violence, or bad language. And best of all, they are uplifting. Happy. Joyful. They just tell the story of a group of people who love the Lord and each other. I'm hooked.

These are all the reasons I stopped reading fiction years ago. Most books are awful. They have a standard pattern: boy meets girl. They fall in love. Everything is perfect and then one of them dies in some horrifying manner, leaving us to wade through the aftermath until the main character meets someone else and the whole process starts over.

Now I realize many people like this. This is why there are so many books and movies starring this theme. But I, for one, do not enjoy having my chain yanked. Years ago, before I was saved, I had a saying. And now, while I don't fully ascribe to it, the general idea is still there. "Life sucks. Fiction should be happy."

Which, in a long drawn out way, is why I am enjoying the Mitford series so much.

Yes, I do understand bad things happen. And a certain amount of tragedy is to be expected in life. But I don't like being set up for it. Or having the gruesome details spelled out paragraph after paragraph. Quite honestly, I don't really like "surprise" endings. I often read the last page of a book to see who is still there. And when reading an unfamiliar book to my children, I always read ahead in case there is a need to "edit". I have several books that I read over and over and over again. They are old friends and knowing no one is going to pull the rug out from under me is what makes them so enjoyable. And here's a news flash: most of my favorites are childrens books. Old childrens books. "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" is a hands down favorite. Imagine my unspeakable joy at finding out there is a WHOLE series of them! (Any family or friends out there can file that away as a future gift idea) I have read the Little House books at least a dozen times. Probably more. Anybody heard of Beany Malone? By Lenora Mattingly Weber. There is a whole series which I discovered at the library when I was maybe 11 or 12. I continued to check them out of the library about once a year until my husband surprised me and bought me the entire series. As a surprise. Now any man who would go online and find a series of out of print childrens books for his wife is a true prince. But that is a whole 'nother post .

Back to my point (I did have one, I think) I have truly enjoyed these books because they are happy. How many things can you say that about these days?

Blessings.