Wednesday, February 08, 2012

No Holly for Miss Quinn


Another delightful story by Miss Read and how this book came into my possession is just as delightful to me, so I'll come back to Miss Quinn in a moment.
Several Sundays ago, when everyone was still happy and healthy, we were all in church together sitting in our pew,(yes, the one we always sit in at the back for quick escapes with unhappy or chatty children) and as Niki and her husband Rob walked past us on their way to their pew, she wiggled two slim books out of her bag and gently laid them on my lap, barely slowing her step. I smiled at her and and then as I glanced down to see what they were, I broke into an excited part-whispering, part-squealing, part-gasping explosion of "They're vintage Miss Read books!"
Several months back in a phone conversation with Niki's daughter, Vanessa, my friend and Sunday School co-teacher, I mentioned to her that I was excited when I saw her Mom blogging about Miss Read books. And so very thoughtfully, Niki surprised me with two titles from her own library. Thank you again, Niki!
And now about the story.
Honestly, I did not think I would like the story as much as other Miss Read books, because I found Miss Quinn herself, not the most endearing straight off. But as she finds herself away from home over Christmas, doing tasks away from her usual routines, I think her change of perspective caused me to change mine of her, which may be precisely what Miss Read hoped for from the reader.
It is a shorter story than most Miss Read novels and of course that is never a good thing, but shorter stories can be read again and again much quicker than longer ones, even during busy times like Christmas! So I definitely can recommend it to you and again thank you, Niki, for your thoughtful and generous gift. You and Vanessa are both treasures to me.



*updated to add a real photo of the books. I love those vintage Penguin orange covers!

4 comments:

  1. you are so welcome :) I've come to love Miss Quinn, and this is one of my annual Christmas reads.

    hugs,
    Niki

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  2. This is one of my favorite Miss Read books.

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  3. It is good to find you here, Heather. Miss Read is a new book series for me; I'm excited to check it out. It looks like something my daughters would really love.

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  4. Brenda, thank you for telling me that. I think I can see why. :)

    Amy, so nice of you to take time to come here. Miss Read is truly a delight. I so hope your girls enjoy her stories, she is well loved by many people around the world.

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