Stuart McLean

Bestselling author and radio storytelling sensation Stuart McLean revisits the heartwarming and hilarious friends from his iconic Vinyl Cafe. Dave and his wife Morley would no doubt tell you that life is what you make it. Unfortunately for them, that means a compilation tape of mistakes, miscues, misunderstandings, and muddle. That's not to say that there is anything particularly unusual about the family and friends at the Vinyl Cafe. After all, who wouldn't try to toilet-train a cat? Who hasn't started a small home fix-it job only to set fire to the walls? Created mass hysteria at a school concert? Lost an aging relative while visiting our nation's capital? "Vinyl Cafe Unplugged" is a warm and delightful collection of stories following the common foibles and everyday absurdities of family life.

Vinyl Cafe Unplugged

Stuart McLean was one of Canada's top humourists--even better orally than in writing, but it's great in print as well. He had a radio show for years on CBC radio, which was apparently also aired on the American NPR. I had no idea. If you google vinyl cafe you can still find podcasts of a few of his stories, You might even be able to score a CD with some of his stories on it.

It was my sister who first lent us my niece's Vinyl Café CDs when we were driving our kids on a long day from where I grew up to Osoyoos. It was love at first listen. I had no idea there were books at first since these had come from the broadcast. 

In addition to humour, there are also at least two poignant stories in this (they also have humour). This book focuses on Dave and Morley along with their two kids and their dog, Arthur, although naturally some of his neighbours, et al, show up in it. Some stories in other books don't feature Dave, even though he actually owns the Vinyl Café, but then most of the stories aren't set in that store, either.

This is a rather disjointed review because with my migraine I can't even come close to McLean's humour. Start with a podcast or two--they are easy to find with online searching, and, unlike Dave's Truly Canadian Dictionary (NOT the same Dave--no relation to Stuart McLean that I know of other than that they are both Canadian), you can still access these from Firefox.

Karin

Stuart McLean was one of Canada's top humourists--even better orally than in writing, but it's great in print as well. He had a radio show for years on CBC radio, which was apparently also aired on the American NPR. I had no idea. If you google vinyl cafe you can still find podcasts of a few of his stories, You might even be able to score a CD with some of his stories on it.

It was my sister who first lent us my niece's Vinyl Café CDs when we were driving our kids on a long day from where I grew up to Osoyoos. It was love at first listen. I had no idea there were books at first since these had come from the broadcast. 

In addition to humour, there are also at least two poignant stories in this (they also have humour). This book focuses on Dave and Morley along with their two kids and their dog, Arthur, although naturally some of his neighbours, et al, show up in it. Some stories in other books don't feature Dave, even though he actually owns the Vinyl Café, but then most of the stories aren't set in that store, either.

This is a rather disjointed review because with my migraine I can't even come close to McLean's humour. Start with a podcast or two--they are easy to find with online searching, and, unlike Dave's Truly Canadian Dictionary (NOT the same Dave--no relation to Stuart McLean that I know of other than that they are both Canadian), you can still access these from Firefox.

Vinyl Cafe Unplugged

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