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Vinyl Cafe Diaries
Why is Morley skulking around with a man named Frank on the eve of her 40th birthday? What grisly secret is Stephanie hiding in her father’s picnic cooler? And exactly what is Dave doing by himself in a Halifax hotel room with a duck? In the pages of the Vinyl Cafe Diaries, humorist Stuart McLean answers these questions and reveals more strange, shocking, and above all, en...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
October 3rd 2003
by Penguin Books Canada
(first published October 1st 2003)
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this book is really comical, especially if you've ever listened to the radio program. you can hear stuart's voice in your head as you read along, you can imagine all the dramatic pauses. you cringe when they do something so utterly embarrassing. it's great.
even if you haven't heard any of the radio programs these books really are something to read. each chapter is like a short story that depicts one day or experience the way it would be seen from a particular family member.... all of it is enter...more
even if you haven't heard any of the radio programs these books really are something to read. each chapter is like a short story that depicts one day or experience the way it would be seen from a particular family member.... all of it is enter...more
More Canadiana that came my way under the Christmas tree. This collection of monologues, not unlike the Lake Wobagon stories,have been broadcast on CBC, Canada's NPR on a program called The Vinyl Cafe. Everyman Dave, a former rock musician and his wife Morley are a sympathetic couple who are the right age of various mid life crises. They have two teenagers. In a set of vignette monologues author Stuart McLean mixes insight and humor in revealing their hidden foibles and fantasies. Sometimes the...more
Jan 05, 2010
Brittany
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who've listened to McLean's shows or enjoy the writing of Rebecca Wells
How I Came To Read This Book: I get a (relatively) random book from my Uncle in Toronto each year. One year he sent my sister and I each our own Stuart McLean collection of short stories.
The Plot: Stuart McLean is best known for his radio variety show, The Vinyl Café. The most famous and popular segments from the show are the ‘Dave & Morley’ stories – tales of a married couple living in contemporary Toronto, along with their two kids Stephanie and Sam, and various pets. This is one of the mo...more
The Plot: Stuart McLean is best known for his radio variety show, The Vinyl Café. The most famous and popular segments from the show are the ‘Dave & Morley’ stories – tales of a married couple living in contemporary Toronto, along with their two kids Stephanie and Sam, and various pets. This is one of the mo...more
Rating 7/10 The author Stuart McLean is most similar to is Garrison Keillor except he is, of course, Canadian. Listening to the Vinyl Cafe on CBC greatly enhances reading McLean because you're reading the book in his voice. Anyway, Dave and Morley. I dunno how these two have actually survived through the years but there is a charm and innocence about how they conduct their lives. The Vinyl Cafe really could exist in Lake Wobegon. I'd be interested in knowing what American readers think of the Vi...more
Good, but I kept comparing the written version to the podcasts which are read by Stuart himself - and the podcasts kept coming out on top. His delivery is what makes it, I think. The stories are good, but it's his reading that makes them so wonderful.
I did like the stories that I hadn't previously heard, so I will very likely look for other Vinyl Cafe books. I will just preferentially buy the audio CDs if the option is available.
I did like the stories that I hadn't previously heard, so I will very likely look for other Vinyl Cafe books. I will just preferentially buy the audio CDs if the option is available.
Nothing like being sick to help me put a dent in my reading list!
I love Stuart McLean, so don't expect an unbiased review. I enjoy his humour and his writing, and I listen to the radio show as well, so some of these stories were already known to me. I would say that this isn't my favourite of his collections, but I still really enjoyed it.
My one complaint is the four "introductions" supposedly written by the real people. They just don't ring true to me. Dave sounded more like Stuart McLean than...more
I love Stuart McLean, so don't expect an unbiased review. I enjoy his humour and his writing, and I listen to the radio show as well, so some of these stories were already known to me. I would say that this isn't my favourite of his collections, but I still really enjoyed it.
My one complaint is the four "introductions" supposedly written by the real people. They just don't ring true to me. Dave sounded more like Stuart McLean than...more
An absolutely brilliant book, The Vinyl Cafe never fails to delight. The only downside to the book, was the lack of Eugene stories but that's just because he's probably my second favourite character after Dave. Apart from that the book was fantastic, however, the only problem now is that I need a new Vinyl Cafe book.
I couldn't stop laughing when I read "Dave and the Duck." If you don't read any other essays in this collection, your time will not be in vain.
I also enjoyed all the essays about Sam. A 10-year old who knits, prefers Legos over school dances, and makes Mac&Cheese topped with truffles is a character I would love to meet.
I also enjoyed all the essays about Sam. A 10-year old who knits, prefers Legos over school dances, and makes Mac&Cheese topped with truffles is a character I would love to meet.
I can't get enough Stuart McLean. I love everything he writes, even the stuff that isn't Vinyl Cafe material. We read his Vinyl Cafe stuff at the campfire every summer. It's tradition.
I enjoyed this second volume of Dave's screwball Canadiana adventures far more than the first one I read...there's a bit more maturity and sophistication to the storytelling to be found here.
this collection of stories is a great way to read things that are short. it helps me ot read quiker.
people who like Stuart Mcleans sunday radio show should read this cool book.
people who like Stuart Mcleans sunday radio show should read this cool book.
Summer of 2004 while visiting and living on Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, CA, I became a fan of CBC Radio http://www.cbc.ca/listen/index.html and especially a program called The Vinyl Cafe http://www.cbc.ca/vinylcafe/ This year's Christmas stocking contained a couple of Stuart McLean's books (Thanks Mom-in-law and Annette); tales taken from his humorous radio broadcasts where often Dave gets himself deeper and deeper into often predictable but still hilarious situations. Because I have l...more
Another masterful book of stories from McLean - many of these I had heard on The Vinyl Cafe, a few I didn't know at all. As always with his stories, laugh-out-loud funny, but usually with a twist of nostalgia, poignancy, or home-truths that give the stories a thoughtful, memorable aspect.
endearing, funny, very family friendly, pretty much every story ends with a wholesome fable.
The stories always make me laugh but after awhile they start to feel like a formula. My favorite stories were of Morely and Sam.
Gentle, not overly keen & ambitious humour makes this book quite a nice read.
I wish it was longer! That's why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.
More laugh out loud hilarity from Dave and Morley.
I enjoyed these stories. A humorous, light read.
I cried I laughed so hard at times.
I just love these books.
My favourite Vinyl Café book so far!
All the Vinyl books are guaranteed to make you laugh.
This author is a gifted storyteller on the CBC radio network in Canada. On Saturday mornings his show "the Vinyl Cafe" contains a story that has the characters of this book.
It is extremely funny, touching, and will leave one with a sore side from laughter. I literally had tears rolling down my face with laughter at some of the stories.
It is extremely funny, touching, and will leave one with a sore side from laughter. I literally had tears rolling down my face with laughter at some of the stories.
Laughing so hard, neighbours must think I have a screw loose. Americans, get this book. True Canadian humour. Seem like an oxymoron? Think of Jim Carey, Dan Akroyd, Rick Moranis, Bill Murray, William Shatner, Samantha Bee, Michael J Fox, Mike Myers, Leslie Nielson, Martin Short, Lorne Michaels. Get the idea?
1 like · like · see review
I absolutely loved this one! One of my favourite stories was in this collection - "Best Things". More than one of these stories made me laugh out loud and every one of them made me smile at the end :)
I laughed so hard..it was my first of this author and at first it took me a bit to get into it and figure out what was going on..and then I just giggled my way through it...and look forward to reading more. Morley's birthday party was just hilarious...
loved it!
Jun 05, 2013
Mark
added it
Enjoyed this book very much. The characters are likeable and the varying life twists and turns make this a page turner. Overall a very nice, light hearted read.
The vinyl cafe stories remind me why I love Canadiana! Fun, humourous and well told stories, they are a treat to come back to again and again!
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
From the Vinyl Cafe web site: Stuart McLean is 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 hi...more
More about Stuart McLean...
From the Vinyl Cafe web site: Stuart McLean is 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 hi...more
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Aug 20, 2010 04:33pm