Life These Days: Stories from Lake Wobegon

by Garrison Keillor

Winner of Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award for Best Short Stories Wherever Garrison Keillor's imagination takes him, the road back to Lake Wobegon is always a delightful one. His story collections about "the little town that time forgot" are his most popular; this Lake Wobegon collection features 11 wonderful stories recorded from live radio broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion.Life these days in Lake Wobegon means shirtsleeve autumns and late-starting winters. Meanwhile, a bus full of Lutheran men attends the Risk Takers convention in Minneapolis to do the express their emotions. Pastor Ingqvist interviews for a job at the Mall of America. The Ingqvists' elderly dog discovers the fountain of youth. The website for the World's Largest Pile of Burlap Bags (www.wlpbb) opens a window on Lake Wobegon to the world.And as a special bonus, Life These Days includes a never-before-available Keillor short story, "Spring." Hits A Raccoon; The World's Largest Pile; My Cousin Rose; The Risk Takers; Pastor Ingqvist at the Mall; Hunting Stories; Sorrows of January; Clarence Cleans His Roof; Miracle of the Pastor's Dog; War of the Krebsbachs; Graduation

Genres: Humor, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook

195 pages, Audio CD

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion (called Garrison Keillor's Radio Show in some international syndication), which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Other creations include Guy Noir, a detective voiced by Keillor who appeared in A Prairie Home Companion comic skits. Keillor is also the creator of the five-minute daily radio/podcast program The Writer's Almanac, which pairs poems of his choice with a script about important literary, historical, and scientific events that coincided with that date in history.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.

Reviews

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 rounded up. Not my favorite collection I’ve listened to recently but still excellent but this had several stories I hadn’t heard before. I can’t find My Little Town on Goodreads (I would only give that collection 3 stars) as that was the weakest link so far. Still, I truly love visiting and hearing these stories.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterical!

[Mbhatia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this in the car. If you are looking for a good dose of midwestern humor, this read is for you. I plan to pass it onto my son when I visit next month.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very funny!!!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

On average, not quite as good as Home on the Prairie, but the first story, "Gladys Hits a Racoon" is worth the whole price of admission. I expect the folks in line of sight of my car during rush hour Friday afternoon thought I was having a seizure when I reached the payoff lines of that piece.

[Daniel Currie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The news from Lake Wobegon has never been my favorite part of the show so listening to 3 CDs full of it was a bit of a stretch, but if you space it out a bit that helps. It is funny stuff for the most part tho.

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes fun easy listening while traveling.