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Vinyl Cafe #2
Home from the Vinyl Cafe
Welcome back to the Vinyl Cafe and to the wonderful, quirky world of its proprietor and his family and friends. Home from the Vinyl Cafe takes us into a year in the life of Dave, Morley, Stephanie and Sam as they bump and stumble from one Christmas fiasco to the next. In between, we learn of Dave and Morley's first meeting, on ice, and Stephanie's own early adventures in love. We hear of Dave and Morley's sometimes misguided, but always heartfelt, efforts at parenting. Whether it's sending the kids to camp, putting up the Christmas lights or losing control at the grocery store, in the hands of master storyteller Stuart McLean, everyday events are seen for all their challenges and hilarious possibilities. Warm, witty and moving, these are stories that will walk right into your life and make themselves at home.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
50 people are currently reading
866 people want to read
About the author
Stuart McLean
106 books268 followersLibrarian Note: There was more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
From the Vinyl Cafe web site: Stuart McLean was a best-selling author, award-winning journalist and humorist, and host of CBC Radio program The Vinyl Cafe.
Stuart began his broadcasting career making radio documentaries for CBC Radio's Sunday Morning. In 1979 he won an ACTRA award for Best Radio Documentary for his contribution to the program's coverage of the Jonestown massacre.
Following Sunday Morning, Stuart spent seven years as a regular columnist and guest host on CBC's Morningside. His book, The Morningside World of Stuart McLean, was a Canadian bestseller and a finalist in the 1990 City of Toronto Book Awards.
Stuart has also written Welcome Home: Travels in Small Town Canada, and edited the collection When We Were Young. Welcome Home was chosen by the Canadian Authors' Association as the best non-fiction book of 1993.
Stuart's books Stories from the Vinyl Cafe, Home from the Vinyl Cafe, Vinyl Cafe Unplugged, Vinyl Cafe Diaries, Dave Cooks the Turkey, Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe and Extreme Vinyl Cafe have all been Canadian bestsellers. Vinyl Cafe Diaries was awarded the Canadian Authors' Association Jubilee Award in 2004. Stuart was also a three-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour for Home from the Vinyl Cafe, Vinyl Cafe Unplugged and, most recently, Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe.
Vinyl Cafe books have also been published in the U.S., the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.
Stuart was a professor emeritus at Ryerson University in Toronto and former director of the broadcast division of the School of Journalism. In 1993 Trent University named him the first Rooke Fellow for Teaching, Writing and Research. He has also been honored by: Nipissing University (EdD(H)); University of Windsor (Lld) and Trent University (DLH). Stuart served as Honorary Colonel of the 8th Air Maintenance Squadron at 8 Wing, Trenton from 2005 to 2008.
Since 1998 Stuart has taken The Vinyl Cafe to theatres across Canada, playing in both large and small towns from St. John's, Newfoundland to Whitehorse in the Yukon.
Close to one million people listen to The Vinyl Cafe every weekend on CBC Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio and on a growing number of Public Radio stations in the United States. The program is also broadcast on an occasional basis on the BBC.
From the Vinyl Cafe web site: Stuart McLean was a best-selling author, award-winning journalist and humorist, and host of CBC Radio program The Vinyl Cafe.
Stuart began his broadcasting career making radio documentaries for CBC Radio's Sunday Morning. In 1979 he won an ACTRA award for Best Radio Documentary for his contribution to the program's coverage of the Jonestown massacre.
Following Sunday Morning, Stuart spent seven years as a regular columnist and guest host on CBC's Morningside. His book, The Morningside World of Stuart McLean, was a Canadian bestseller and a finalist in the 1990 City of Toronto Book Awards.
Stuart has also written Welcome Home: Travels in Small Town Canada, and edited the collection When We Were Young. Welcome Home was chosen by the Canadian Authors' Association as the best non-fiction book of 1993.
Stuart's books Stories from the Vinyl Cafe, Home from the Vinyl Cafe, Vinyl Cafe Unplugged, Vinyl Cafe Diaries, Dave Cooks the Turkey, Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe and Extreme Vinyl Cafe have all been Canadian bestsellers. Vinyl Cafe Diaries was awarded the Canadian Authors' Association Jubilee Award in 2004. Stuart was also a three-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour for Home from the Vinyl Cafe, Vinyl Cafe Unplugged and, most recently, Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe.
Vinyl Cafe books have also been published in the U.S., the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.
Stuart was a professor emeritus at Ryerson University in Toronto and former director of the broadcast division of the School of Journalism. In 1993 Trent University named him the first Rooke Fellow for Teaching, Writing and Research. He has also been honored by: Nipissing University (EdD(H)); University of Windsor (Lld) and Trent University (DLH). Stuart served as Honorary Colonel of the 8th Air Maintenance Squadron at 8 Wing, Trenton from 2005 to 2008.
Since 1998 Stuart has taken The Vinyl Cafe to theatres across Canada, playing in both large and small towns from St. John's, Newfoundland to Whitehorse in the Yukon.
Close to one million people listen to The Vinyl Cafe every weekend on CBC Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio and on a growing number of Public Radio stations in the United States. The program is also broadcast on an occasional basis on the BBC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
March 18, 2025
What a wonderful read. The book has five sections, one for each season - winter is featured twice.
All the stories feature Dave, Morley and their children Stephanie and Sam & their friends. Reading them brought back memories of my life with my parents, siblings and friends as well, through each of the seasons; trips to the cottage in the summer and Christmas festivities, experiences in school and much more. I'm sure those that have read this felt the same & for those that might read this at some point in the future will find these stories will resonate with them.
And one of the stories told in Dave's point of view, is how me met Morley and it was very cute and romantic. I like hearing about Dave's career working in a record store as between the ages of 18-25, friends and I would head to various record stores while living in Ottawa - key word is "records". I still have about 400 of those circular pieces of vinyl.
Recommend for those that like light reading and want an escape from the troubles of today.
All the stories feature Dave, Morley and their children Stephanie and Sam & their friends. Reading them brought back memories of my life with my parents, siblings and friends as well, through each of the seasons; trips to the cottage in the summer and Christmas festivities, experiences in school and much more. I'm sure those that have read this felt the same & for those that might read this at some point in the future will find these stories will resonate with them.
And one of the stories told in Dave's point of view, is how me met Morley and it was very cute and romantic. I like hearing about Dave's career working in a record store as between the ages of 18-25, friends and I would head to various record stores while living in Ottawa - key word is "records". I still have about 400 of those circular pieces of vinyl.
Recommend for those that like light reading and want an escape from the troubles of today.
February 1, 2020
Stuart McLean is a Canadian National Treasure, and listening to him tell the stories of Dave, Morley, the Vinyl Cafe, their kids and neighbors, is one of life's great delights.
July 29, 2017
This collection of short stories by the late Canadian broadcaster Stuart McLean is the literary equivalent of a helping of strawberries and cream, or perhaps an ice-cold beer on the hottest day of summer. I cannot for the life of me imagine any reader not being bowled over by these amiable and extremely funny tales of the everyday ups and downs of a perfectly ordinary Toronto family. The period covered stretches from one Christmas to the following winter (hence the subtitle A Year of Stories.) Each season of the year in question is allocated a number of stories. This adds to the realistic flow of the book, as we accompany the family from Christmas to Christmas. And what uproarious and catastrophic yule tides they prove to be -- from the hapless head of the family Dave left in charge of the preparation of the turkey (an aparently simple operation that soon threaten to turn into a major disaster), to a rum-spiked bowl of eggnog that finds its way into the circle of children innocently pursuing their own harmless festivities in the basement.
Dave is the owner of the Vinyl Cafe (apparently the smallest record bar in downtown Toronto.) His better half Morley is a housewife at first, but later enters the work market as the manager of the Century of Wind Theatre Company. The rest of the family consists of sixteen-year-old Stephanie and seven-year-old Sam. The stories introduce us to various neighbors and friends who feature in the sometimes true-to-life, sometimes farcical adventures that befall the family. Particularly delightful is Kenny Woo, owner of Woo's Scottish Pies -- a true friend to Dave and the one who has the record store owner's back at all times. Kenny is the one who comes to Dave's rescue when the latter is in serious trouble after his caring for a neighbor's iconic sourdough starter goes sidesplittingly pear-shaped. There are also wonderfully detailed vignettes concerning Dave's and Morley's parents, and richly rendered flashbacks to their own chidhood years, disastrous teenage dates, and the story of how they first met. All of this ensures an extremely easy and palatable mix, leaving the reader in a more-or-less continuous state of hilarity, while being superbly entertained by the author's sparkling wit and inventive storytelling. So persuasively is the world of this one family presented that most readers will end up convinced that they know these likeable people as intimately as they know their own families.
Highlights include young Sam's birthday party where a planned sleepover is ruined for ten little boys as a result of the wrong choice of movie, Dave's surreal encounter with a wilfull blood pressure reading device, and an unenviable situation for our hero while on the roof of his house in sub-zero conditions stringing up Christmas lights.
Stuart Mclean wrote a string of best-selling books about Dave and his family, besides creating a popular Canadian radio program featuring more of the same. Not being Canadian, this is my first encounter with this phenomenon. I thank my lucky stars that I listened to my gut feeling when I saw this volume sitting quietly and unassumingly on the shelves of my favorite second hand book dealer. It has given me untold pleasure and will continue to do so in retrospect.
Dave is the owner of the Vinyl Cafe (apparently the smallest record bar in downtown Toronto.) His better half Morley is a housewife at first, but later enters the work market as the manager of the Century of Wind Theatre Company. The rest of the family consists of sixteen-year-old Stephanie and seven-year-old Sam. The stories introduce us to various neighbors and friends who feature in the sometimes true-to-life, sometimes farcical adventures that befall the family. Particularly delightful is Kenny Woo, owner of Woo's Scottish Pies -- a true friend to Dave and the one who has the record store owner's back at all times. Kenny is the one who comes to Dave's rescue when the latter is in serious trouble after his caring for a neighbor's iconic sourdough starter goes sidesplittingly pear-shaped. There are also wonderfully detailed vignettes concerning Dave's and Morley's parents, and richly rendered flashbacks to their own chidhood years, disastrous teenage dates, and the story of how they first met. All of this ensures an extremely easy and palatable mix, leaving the reader in a more-or-less continuous state of hilarity, while being superbly entertained by the author's sparkling wit and inventive storytelling. So persuasively is the world of this one family presented that most readers will end up convinced that they know these likeable people as intimately as they know their own families.
Highlights include young Sam's birthday party where a planned sleepover is ruined for ten little boys as a result of the wrong choice of movie, Dave's surreal encounter with a wilfull blood pressure reading device, and an unenviable situation for our hero while on the roof of his house in sub-zero conditions stringing up Christmas lights.
Stuart Mclean wrote a string of best-selling books about Dave and his family, besides creating a popular Canadian radio program featuring more of the same. Not being Canadian, this is my first encounter with this phenomenon. I thank my lucky stars that I listened to my gut feeling when I saw this volume sitting quietly and unassumingly on the shelves of my favorite second hand book dealer. It has given me untold pleasure and will continue to do so in retrospect.
May 2, 2022
Once again, McLean has a great set of short stories, all with some humour or full of humour (some are also reflective and/or poignant, of course.) A few had me laughing out loud which I don't do often when reading even if I find something funny. This one starts with Dave Cooks the Turkey, which has to be heard, ideally, or at least read to be fully appreciated and has stories for every season of the year, which is common in these books.
What I want to know is why four people have shelved this as non-fiction--surely no one thinks that the Vinyl Cafe (smallest record store in North America) has every actually existed :).
What I want to know is why four people have shelved this as non-fiction--surely no one thinks that the Vinyl Cafe (smallest record store in North America) has every actually existed :).
November 12, 2019
This is such a funny book. I don't usually giggle when I read, but this book started and ended with a chuckle.
Having listened to the vinyl cafe on CBC, as I read, I could imagine listening to Stuart McLean's voice.
If there is any complaint it's that the book started with what was probably the funniest story. So it created a bit of an expectation of laughter that wasn't met... until the very end of the book, where I laughed again.
Having listened to the vinyl cafe on CBC, as I read, I could imagine listening to Stuart McLean's voice.
If there is any complaint it's that the book started with what was probably the funniest story. So it created a bit of an expectation of laughter that wasn't met... until the very end of the book, where I laughed again.
May 3, 2017
Last year, our book club experienced challenges as we tried to find a "happy" book to share. If only we had thought of reading a book from the Vinyl Cafe collection of short stories, we would have had a fun discussion! The stories are 'laugh out loud' funny and tell the stories of Dave, Morley and their children, Stephanie and Sam. These heartwarming tales and descriptions of every day antics leave the reader smiling and reflecting on their own family situations.
Many CBC listeners will have listened to Dave tell the stories on the radio but they can also be enjoyed in a series of books. Home from the Vinyl Cafe: A Year of Stories starts in the Winter with the story of Dave's challenges cooking the Christmas turkey and ends the following winter with Dave's escapades as accidentally mixed up the adult and the children's punch bowls of egg nog! My favourite was The Birthday Party which took place in the spring when Dave was left in charge of his son's birthday party. The story began with an incident at the liquor store when Dave left in a huff. When he realized that he had left his credit card behind, he didn't want to face the clerk so he cancelled his card rather than returning. This started an avalanche of issues - the vegetarian boy ate meat pies, the partygoers watched a scary zombie movie and there was a lumpy cake baked by Dave. The sleepover culminated with all but one of the kids being picked up in the middle of the night which is a situation that many parents could identify with!
As a cat lover and parent, I could certainly relate to the Road Trip story when the cat accidentally ended up in the car. I was literally laughing out loud reading A Day Off when the couple played hooky from their jobs only to have Dave's mother in law arrive to take care of them. These every day stories promote laughter and pleasant reflection.
Unfortunately, Stuart McLean passed away this past February at the age of 68. He died of melanoma but his stories will be enjoyed by Canadians for years to come. He had told his tales at the Sanderson Theatre in Brantford a few years ago and I will always regret missing this opportunity. If you are looking for a quick pick me up, add a Stuart McLean book to your collection and experience his short stories one day at a time!
I am looking forward to discussing Home from the Vinyl Cafe and Vinyl Cafe turns the Page at tomorrow night's book club. It will be fun to see which books and stories are discussed as we share our favourites!
Many CBC listeners will have listened to Dave tell the stories on the radio but they can also be enjoyed in a series of books. Home from the Vinyl Cafe: A Year of Stories starts in the Winter with the story of Dave's challenges cooking the Christmas turkey and ends the following winter with Dave's escapades as accidentally mixed up the adult and the children's punch bowls of egg nog! My favourite was The Birthday Party which took place in the spring when Dave was left in charge of his son's birthday party. The story began with an incident at the liquor store when Dave left in a huff. When he realized that he had left his credit card behind, he didn't want to face the clerk so he cancelled his card rather than returning. This started an avalanche of issues - the vegetarian boy ate meat pies, the partygoers watched a scary zombie movie and there was a lumpy cake baked by Dave. The sleepover culminated with all but one of the kids being picked up in the middle of the night which is a situation that many parents could identify with!
As a cat lover and parent, I could certainly relate to the Road Trip story when the cat accidentally ended up in the car. I was literally laughing out loud reading A Day Off when the couple played hooky from their jobs only to have Dave's mother in law arrive to take care of them. These every day stories promote laughter and pleasant reflection.
Unfortunately, Stuart McLean passed away this past February at the age of 68. He died of melanoma but his stories will be enjoyed by Canadians for years to come. He had told his tales at the Sanderson Theatre in Brantford a few years ago and I will always regret missing this opportunity. If you are looking for a quick pick me up, add a Stuart McLean book to your collection and experience his short stories one day at a time!
I am looking forward to discussing Home from the Vinyl Cafe and Vinyl Cafe turns the Page at tomorrow night's book club. It will be fun to see which books and stories are discussed as we share our favourites!
July 16, 2019
My family started to give me some very bizarre looks by the end of this book, due to the amount of times I just burst out laughing out of nowhere. I liked how this one, rather than changing characters like the previous one did, kept the viewpoint on one family. A fantastic beach book.
February 14, 2023
Dave and Morley have just the craziest life
June 11, 2020
Funny and simple short stories - this family is so loveable. It was exactly what I wanted when I picked this up.
November 7, 2007
These stories made me simply, deeply happy.
"To be that close to a face with that look is something that you never forget. She was sitting on the couch talking to Michael when she noticed that his glasses had begun to fog up - for no apparent reason - and he seemed to be out of breath. Which struck her as peculiar, because he wasn't moving. He was just sitting there with his arm around her shoulders. She wasn't sure how it got there. Then she realized his face, with that faraway look, was moving closer and closer, and she knew what was happening and she knew that it had nothing whatsoever to do with her. It could have been any girl sitting there beside Michael. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - it was like a traffic accident. She didn't dare move, not a muscle, even though the arm of the couch was digging uncomfortably into her back. She was afraid if she even shifted, Michael might take it as a sign of passion. And things could get worse" (32-3).
How am I just discovering McLean? I feel like I'm late to the party, and I'm kind of pissed about it.
"To be that close to a face with that look is something that you never forget. She was sitting on the couch talking to Michael when she noticed that his glasses had begun to fog up - for no apparent reason - and he seemed to be out of breath. Which struck her as peculiar, because he wasn't moving. He was just sitting there with his arm around her shoulders. She wasn't sure how it got there. Then she realized his face, with that faraway look, was moving closer and closer, and she knew what was happening and she knew that it had nothing whatsoever to do with her. It could have been any girl sitting there beside Michael. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - it was like a traffic accident. She didn't dare move, not a muscle, even though the arm of the couch was digging uncomfortably into her back. She was afraid if she even shifted, Michael might take it as a sign of passion. And things could get worse" (32-3).
How am I just discovering McLean? I feel like I'm late to the party, and I'm kind of pissed about it.
August 8, 2013
I'm not really one for short stories; I want a book with a single plot. I feel like short stories are sort of a rip-off because you get so invested in them, and whammo, they're over, just like that. But this book is ideal. Yes, it's a collection of short stories, but they all revolve around the same family, so you get to know everyone over the course of a year. The night I started this book I stayed up till 1:30a and got halfway through it. It's a fun, quick, enjoyable read, and I found myself laughing out loud several times.
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
March 6, 2017
Like eating a bowl of warm homemade soup. But as a book.
May 14, 2020
This is what I'm here for: classic Vinyl Cafe that blends the sentimental, the funny, and the far-too-real-and-relatable. Compared with book #1 of the series (previous review), this is an order of magnitude better. Dave, Morley, and family are brought to the fore in all the stories... stories that have aged much better than the previous volume.
A review is a little silly here: just read it. There are delightful tales of sourdough starters, of lost credit cards, of botched family vacations, and of parties gone awry. They're short, engaging, and easy to read. As my partner says, this is the first book that's led to me actually laughing out loud while reading in the evenings.
I was underwhelmed by volume one, but in volume two, we're back to the rightful order of things. Vinyl Cafe is a delightful bit of Canadiana; an easy read amid difficult COVID times.
A review is a little silly here: just read it. There are delightful tales of sourdough starters, of lost credit cards, of botched family vacations, and of parties gone awry. They're short, engaging, and easy to read. As my partner says, this is the first book that's led to me actually laughing out loud while reading in the evenings.
I was underwhelmed by volume one, but in volume two, we're back to the rightful order of things. Vinyl Cafe is a delightful bit of Canadiana; an easy read amid difficult COVID times.
March 29, 2025
An improvement from the first book in the Vinyl Cafe Series mainly due to the organization of the format. For starters, the shorts were only about Dave and Morley this time, which elicited a stronger connection to the characters in combination with the greater development of the characters and the family dynamics. Along with that, organizing the shorts by seasons made it flow so much better and made it feel like a complete story. It felt like episodes in a season rather than just random entries. Overall, it made for a more enjoyable and complete read.
I'm learning that Dave is kind of the dumb dad archetype that you see in shows like Simpsons or Family Guy though. His pride, forgetfulness, incompetence, or just naivety results in very over-the-top ridiculous situations. It's funny, although sometimes a little bit of an eye roll, but it certainly makes for the most memorable shorts of the bunch, with Dave Cooks the Turkey or Burd being the highlights. But I'd say the best writing is the less ridiculous stuff like Holland or most of the summer section when they are on trips and you see the family dynamics. The stories also work as a reminder that women literally hold the fabric of community, family, and households together. No idea what we do without women, and what Dave would do without Morley.
I'm learning that Dave is kind of the dumb dad archetype that you see in shows like Simpsons or Family Guy though. His pride, forgetfulness, incompetence, or just naivety results in very over-the-top ridiculous situations. It's funny, although sometimes a little bit of an eye roll, but it certainly makes for the most memorable shorts of the bunch, with Dave Cooks the Turkey or Burd being the highlights. But I'd say the best writing is the less ridiculous stuff like Holland or most of the summer section when they are on trips and you see the family dynamics. The stories also work as a reminder that women literally hold the fabric of community, family, and households together. No idea what we do without women, and what Dave would do without Morley.
January 4, 2019
This is a compilation of short stories compiled to complete a year. Every chapter (or story) was humorous, however the last chapter was laugh out loud throughout. This will not be the last Stuart McLean book I read.
September 2, 2021
canadian author. good book really funny
May 18, 2023
Another gem from Canadian, Stuart McLean. I laughed out loud so many times, it started to annoy my husband. Highly recommended.
February 11, 2025
Everything I like in a book. So warm and cozy and personal and beautiful.
I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
November 18, 2025
feel good, sufficiently silly short stories that weren't too short or unrelated. nice book to read in run up to christmas and as we edge near the end of the year😌
September 23, 2020
I don't usually enjoy short stories that much as I always feel they are just a teaser, and wish they were fleshed out more, but these stories are delightful. I think it helps that they are all about the same cast of characters. Dave and Morley are a very relatable couple, and the situations they encounter are all too familiar. Stuart McLean had a gift for making the mundane hilarious. I knew I was in for a treat when I read the first story, and laughed out loud at Dave's attempts to cook the Christmas turkey. The story about the vacation cottage that didn't quite live up to expectations was fantastic, and brought to mind some of my own family's vacation mishaps that nonetheless yielded treasured memories. And what parent hasn't suffered through their own children's birthday party nightmares. The Valentine's Day story was very touching, and I was impressed by McLean's ability to write about teenage girls and their first awkward attempts at romance. I remember my mom enjoying Stuart McLean's radio show, and I think I will have to find some recordings online and listen to some of these tales in his voice.
June 9, 2021
A book with family stories starring Dave, the owner of the smallest record store in the world, his family and the people around them. Nice and light. Fun to read. Written by Canadian radio broadcaster Stuart McLean who passed away in 2017. This book is highly recommended for times when you need a pick-me-up.
January 18, 2009
Sometimes you never know what you might find in the bargain bin. I grabbed this about a year ago because I liked the title (shallow, I know). Motivated by my personal history as an obsessive LP collector I was lured to the "Vinyl Cafe" for whatever stories were available. Turns out, Stuart McLean is Canada's answer to Garrison Keilor. The book is loaded with heartwarming short stories that are all centered around a single family facing many of the same life challenges we all experience, only its written with a folksy wit that makes it fun and fresh.
Upon further exploration I discovered that the author, Stuart McLean, broadcasts a weekly show where he tells his stories and invites musical guests. Several "Vinyl Cafe" podcasts are available on iTunes for free. I highly recommend checking them out if you enjoyed even one of the stories in this book. I've listened to several and you can't help but laugh out loud or be touched.
All in all, a nice discovery.
Upon further exploration I discovered that the author, Stuart McLean, broadcasts a weekly show where he tells his stories and invites musical guests. Several "Vinyl Cafe" podcasts are available on iTunes for free. I highly recommend checking them out if you enjoyed even one of the stories in this book. I've listened to several and you can't help but laugh out loud or be touched.
All in all, a nice discovery.
April 16, 2008
I got this book for Christmas and had several other books in line ahead of it. When I started it, it seemed a little dry and difficult to get into. However, once I had read a few chapters and became acquainted with the characters it was a very fun, lighthearted read. The four family members each have their own unique personalities and each chapter tells the story of some quirky incident that one or all of the family members are involved in, and include many flashbacks that are interesting and add perpective and humour.
I read the majority of this book while on vacation in Mexico - it was an odd juxtaposition to be reading a book set in Canada while on the carribbean.
I read the majority of this book while on vacation in Mexico - it was an odd juxtaposition to be reading a book set in Canada while on the carribbean.
April 23, 2017
Rating - 7.6
More of a humanistic approach in the writing but still a healthy morsel of Dave laughs and family magic - a series that can be read over and over as readers genuinely care about the family
Very appreciative of how McLean lures the reader into his world - the writing is very descriptive and you do not realize how engaged you have become - you feel like you are there
Top Stories
Dave Cooks the Turkey
Sourdough
Emil
Birthday Party
Labor Days
Polly Anderson Xmas Party
More of a humanistic approach in the writing but still a healthy morsel of Dave laughs and family magic - a series that can be read over and over as readers genuinely care about the family
Very appreciative of how McLean lures the reader into his world - the writing is very descriptive and you do not realize how engaged you have become - you feel like you are there
Top Stories
Dave Cooks the Turkey
Sourdough
Emil
Birthday Party
Labor Days
Polly Anderson Xmas Party
January 29, 2016
This entire book was a delight to read, from the first page. Stuart McLean really is a master storyteller. He has created characters and a community that make you feel like you're a part of it. I love every character, and reading about their escapades. At one point I was laughing so hard that I was crying! I don't think a book has ever made me laugh that hard before!
December 27, 2013
Wonderful stories for every season. A must-keep book for me which is rare. As the stories are short, I can see myself reading some again (or at least lending it out to others). Having heard Stuart McLean on the radio it was great to read a whole series of stories.
August 1, 2014
absolutely loved this book! story is written as a year passes by in the life of the main character and his family. almost fell off the chair laughing about cooking the turkey and the squirrel on the bird feeder.
June 1, 2011
What a fantastic book! I loved every minute of it. Laughed out loud throughout and also teared up a few times. I need to find more of these books!
July 24, 2025
Just a little too folksy.
September 21, 2016
I'd heard most of these on the radio programme, but it was still a good collection.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews