Maybe I've found my books for winter reading

     For quite a while now I've been thinking about starting a series.  I like reading about a person or a group of people and following them through a series of several books.
     I did that with the Laura Childs "tea shop" mysteries and with Alexander McCall Smith's series about "The Number One Ladies Detective Agency."  And there were a good many more series before that. 
     There's something comforting about reading a series.  It's like going home and being on familiar ground.  In the tea shop mysteries I learned all about Charleston, South Carolina, the historic sites and festivities, the little shops and restaurants, as well as a ton about the different kinds of teas.  In the detective mysteries, I learned about Africa and Botswana, the customs and dress, the beauty of the land, and the politeness of the people.
     Yesterday I wondered if I'd found my books for winter reading.  The best way for me to be sure was to log onto the Pines Catalog and see how many of the books in this special series we have here at our library.  Also, if we don't have them, can I get them through our Interlibrary Loan System.
     Sure enough, after all that checking, it looks like I have a winner.  I'm going to start the Fairacre series and the Thrush Green series, both by Dora Jessie Saint, best known by the pen name of Miss Read.
     Saint is an English novelist, by profession a schoomistress, using a pseudonym derived from her mother's maiden name.  Her series of novels centered on two fictional English villages, Fairacre and Thrush Green.  The principal character in the Fairacre books, Miss Read, is an unmarried schoolteacher, a sharply severe yet compassionate observer of village life.  Her books are laced with gentle humor and subtle social commentary, as well as observations about nature and the changing seasons.  She retired in 1996 and in 1998 was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature.
     Her first Fairacre book was published in 1955 with the last in 1996, understandably titled "A Peaceful Retirement."  There are 20 books in this series.
     The Thrush Green books first began in 1959 with the last published in 2009.  There are 13 in that series.
     That's a total of 33 books in both series.  Don't you think I've found my books for winter reading?  Maybe even into the early months of spring.
     If you'd like to begin a series, why not stop by the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library and talk to a few of us who like to read series about quilts, needlework, English ghosts, candlemaking, and lots of other topics.  I'm sure there is someone here to help you.
(Source: Pines 2000-2010, Wikipedia Dictionary)