I decided to read through the Mrs. Pollifax series again.  What fun these books are!  It's exactly what I need right now; we're having a stressful time in our family, and I need something fun, fast, entertaining...well, you get the idea. 

Mrs. Pollifax is just so darn cute.  I'm glad I pulled these out again!

What book(s) have you recently revisited...and loved just as much the second time around?

I'm reading the Mrs. Polifax series for the first time. I'm on the 5th book now, Mrs. P. Goes on Safari. Mrs. P. is my new hero. I am turning 60 this year and I love this gal's attitude! She's not letting age stop her from doing anything, that's for sure.

As far as revisiting, I haven't done that lately, but I'm feeling an urge to pick up The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher again. It's my favorite book of all time. I never watched the movie, because I didn't want to ruin my own visual picture of the scenes and the characters in the book.

Jill, I've often said I want to be Mrs. Pollifax when I grow up!!  :P

Didn't they make a movie of Mrs. P. with Angela Lansbury?  I wouldn't watch it.  Angela is fine, but she's NOT Mrs. P.  She's too tall, or something.  I like my own visuals with the Pollifax books, so I understand what you mean about Shell Seekers. 

I'm only on the second book right now, but I'm going to work tomorrow (I'm a librarian) and I'm going to check out the next four or so...

ETA:  Good grief...Angela Lansbury was in the Shell Seekers too!  The woman is everywhere!!  LOL

Lol, Vicky. I laughed when you said there was a movie about Mrs. P. and it had Angela Lansbury in it. Get that visual out of my mind!! To me Mrs. P. looks like a really saucy white-haired, twinkly -eyed little old lady who has iron grit and is witty and fun. Just like me!! Ha ha! I wish! I have been setting her books aside when I'm done, thinking I should post them back on here, but I don't think I'm going to be able to do it. They are just too fun to read. They also fit in a purse, can go anywhere, and can be read in a day. I love 'em!

I love Mrs. P I found her through the readers digest condensed books. As short as they are there really wasnt any abridging done in that one. Ive been reading them for about 10 years now. When I joined here one of the first things I did was start building my collection of Mrs P. books up. Ive got the whole series now so I decided that it would be cool to set the goal of reading the whole series this year amoung my other goals. Im up to 4 or 5 now.

I still have not read the whole series of Mrs P but I do love it. I had a library patron loan me her copy which was so worn and old.  I found a copy at borders and bought it so she could keep her well loved version (turned out it was a first edition) and read it again using the new copy.   I have only read the first two books, but intend to read another soon when I have time to read all through the weekend without interuption.

One book I have revisited lately was Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park, an aussie book I read as a child and then as a teen and now as an adult . Each time I have seen it in a new light and learned something.

Jill, I have Mrs. P pictured as short, gray-haired, sweet face...just a little muffin!!  I think I'm picturing an actress from years ago, but I can't think of her name.  In a pinch, Ruth Gordon would do...provided her hair is gray.  I always picture her with red hair, and that ruins it a bit for me. LOL...

Pam, I love reading books at different ages and reacting to them differently!   It's such fun...as long as the reaction is still positive.

Chris...I'm glad you're reading them too!  Mrs. P is just plain fun..

My DH and I just found the Mrs. P books last year and read all of them together. We love them. Were really sorry to read the last one. I've tried to find anything similar but haven't been successful. I've started reading Dorothy Gilman's other  books but they sure aren't the same. I have liked all of them but one which I hated. But none of them hold a candle to the Mrs. P books.

Elaine, there have been a few other mystery series about "little old ladies"....like Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, of course.  But she didn't have the chutzpah (sp?) Mrs. P has!!

I liked the Mrs. Pargeter books by Simon Brett.  Mrs. Pargeter was always speaking of her late husband as "dear Mr. Pargeter" but eventually the reader realizes that Dear Mr. Pargeter was a very shady character!  She solves mysteries with the help of some of his former colleagues. 

There was another series...I can't quite remember the character or author right now.  (It's B.C.....Before Coffee).  Anyway, again, she was a little old lady assassin.  But she only killed bad people, you know.  People who really deserved it.    Was it Miss Melville?  Hmmm...I'll have to look around.

Still...Mrs. P is the best. 

Vicky, thanks for the tip about the Mrs. Pargeter books I am going to check them out. The assassin sounds interesting also if you think of of it is. Just what I need, more books for my TBR pile!!

I found Mrs P earlier this year. I just finished Mrs P pursued. I only have 3 left to read.

I will be sorry to finish the last one as I am enjoying them so much.

Maybe I will need to re read Miss Marple to continue my fix of white haired sleuths.

Oh, my. More little old lady sleuths! I just gotta read 'em! Never heard of Mrs. Pargeter, but I'll have to check her out. Also the Miss Marple books. I've not read any Agatha Christie in a long time. If anyone knows the name of the little old lady assassin, please post it! Like I need more books. Since joining PBS, my bookshelves are full of TBR books and I've got 3 boxes under a bed! I'll never get all this reading done. And yet, I look for more!

Okay, I've got them now!

Evelyn E. Smith wrote the Miss Melville mysteries.

Miss Melville Regrets ~~ Miss Melville Returns ~~ Miss Melville's Revenge ~~ Miss Melville Rides a Tiger ~~ Miss Melville Runs for Cover.

Simon Brett wrote the Mrs. Pargeter series.

A Nice Class of Corpse ~~ Mrs. Presumed Dead ~~ Mrs. Pargeter's Package ~~ Mrs. Pargeter's Pound of Flesh ~~ Mrs. Pargeter's Plot ~~ Mrs. Pargeter's Point of Honour.

I think Miss Marple started it all, didn't she?  Oh, and has anyone read Agatha Raisin, by M.C. Beaton?  Is Agatha old enough to join this club?  ;P

ETA:  Jill, I know.  It's a sickness.  I have WAY too many books to read now...and yet, my shelf has just had books flying off it lately (thanks Elaine!!) and I have 20 credits waiting to come in!!  So what am I doing?  Prowling the Book Bazaar, of course!  Somebody stop me...

Great job of research, Vicky! Thanks. I'm jotting down all those titles and authors and will be on the prowl (sleuthing?) for them!

 And I frequent the Book Bazaar in spite of everything I have hoarded all ready. Yes, very much a sickness and it's just getting worse with time!

Thanks Vicky, the Miss Melville books sound great, I am going to try them. Most of them are wish listed so I put my name on the list. The second one is available so I might just order it now even though I like to read them in order.

Im reading Mrs P On Safari right now.

I'm getting ready to start book 3, Elusive Mrs. P. 

Miss Seeton is cute.  Heron Carvic wrote the first five.  Then they were written by others - I believe the Hampton Charles ones aren't so good; the others are written by Sarah J. Mason writing as Hamilton Crane (per Wikipedia).  There's another list of them somewhere.

DD and I like both Mrs. Pollifax and Miss Seeton, but they're different. 

Well I just ordered a Miss Melville book and got a Mrs. Pargeter from the Library (which means I have to read it quickly). I already like the Mrs. Pargeter from the first two chapters. can't wait to get the Miss Melville. I have to read 3 or 4 books at a time to get all of them in but it sure is fun.

I just finished the first Mrs. Pollifax book and really enjoyed it.  I ordered the second one.

I so miss the excitement of Mrs. P. She will always hold a place in my heart...I keep wishing that there will be more, but I guess it's not meant to me. Mrs. P's legacy died along with Dear America books, I guess...

I could never get my hands on all of them - I think I missed the one about the county fair, the only one that took place in the USA. My absolute favorites were the first and the last.

As far as an actress - I've always thought that a gray haired Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett from the Facts of Life) would be perfect. Either that or Robin Williams in drag (think Mrs. Doubtfire) or Dustin Hoffman in drag (think Tootsie). I know Mrs. P's not a drag queen but those two were really, really good at being little old ladies.

LOLOL...Oh, I vote for Dustin Hoffman in Little Old Lady drag!!  But he needs to be a bit sweeter...

I'm on the fifth book now, Mrs. P on Safari.  You know how, when you're reading a series you can get rather tired of the characters, the author's writing style, whatever?  This just isn't happening with Mrs. P!  I'm posting the ones I own as I go...but I own mostly later books in the series. 

I can't wait to get home and get reading.  Man, work sure cramps my style!  :P

I read all of the Mrs. P books with my DH and neither one of us ever got tired of them. I'm envious you are just now reading them. We so enjoyed this series!!

haha Vicky! Right on.

Emily Pollifax forever!!!!! Someone should go petition Ms. Dorothy Gilman-Butters to write us some more! Or at least give us closure or sell the rights to someone else to make more stories.

I'd rather read a crappy Mrs. P than...another crappy piece of litereature any day.

Jacob,

I looked it up and Dorothy Gilman is 85 years old.  Chances are....she's done.  I wonder what someone else (some other author, that is) would do with Mrs. P?

Elaine,

I think I read up to book 5 when they first came out, and then never finished the rest...so I'm having fun!  It's been long enough that I don't remember details, so this is really like reading them anew...

Okay...off to Africa! ;P