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Jun 03, 2010

Eric_W rated it:

I first discovered Garrison Keillor while milking cows in Minnesota in 1972. He had a morning radio show and without fail played "Help, Help Me Rhonda" every single day his show was on. It became a kind of joke. But it was a fun show to help pass the time while having manure swished in my face. Ever since, I've been a devotee of the Lake Wobegon section of his current radio show (can't stand most of the music, so now I get just the Wobegon section as a podcast.) They are a delight, More...

10 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2010

Skyring rated it:

I've long been a fan of Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion" and "Lake Wobegon" tales. He's an entertaining fellow, with his homespun delivery and down to earth observations.

The tale of the Living Flag or yarns from the Chatterbox Cafe, Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery, or the Sidetrack Tap are pure gold.

This book follows familiar territory. Semi-autobiographical in nature, we follow the teenaged progress of a boy with literary ambitions as he navigates More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Becca rated it:

Mr. Keillor I am mad at you. And here's why. This is probably the funniest book I've read in years, and yet I cannot recommend it to anyone I know who would love it (like my dad, for instance) because there are porno stories all through it.

Seriously, this is laugh out loud, mascara dripping off your nose, choking on your tea hilarious. Garrison Keillor has an ability to mock an entire lifestyle with such a gentle sense of nostalgia that you kind of want to move to Lake Wobegon More...

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Dec 17, 2010

Ger rated it:

Garrison Keillor is a great story teller to be sure. But being a liberal he has conflicted feelings about a number of things including religion (which is almost always portrayed as being silly or intolerant) and family members (who are often described in unflattering ways). The story takes place when he is a young teenager full of raging hormones and he is not shy about sharing his fantasies. I really could have done without most of them.

But it seemed an honest treatment from an ado More...

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Aug 06, 2009

Laurel rated it:

Did not finish. I picked this as a Minnesota author (male) for the bookclub. I haven't read any Garrison Keillor, so was looking forward to this. Nobody liked it, and most of us did not finish it. Told from the point of view of a 14-year-old boy, it was like being back in junior high. If you like sex and fart jokes, great. Otherwise, I'd skip this book. I got the impression that it might be a bit autobiographical (sadly). The bookclub (all women) had the reaction "Is this REALLY all guys th More...

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Mar 13, 2010

Linda rated it:

This cassette read by the author, Garrison Keillor, was great fun. It was fun to hear him read dirty words out loud. You don't hear that on the radio show. I don't know if this story feeds into the other Woebegon stories, but is didn't matter. It was about "Gary" the summer he was 14 - his sexual awakening and his cousins "fall for grace". It has all the homey texture of the midwest in 1956.

It was also great to get a cassette instead of reading it even though I w More...

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Jan 14, 2009

Beth rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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May 29, 2008

Jason rated it:

I was going at a pretty good pace, reading books I had been putting off reading for too long and getting through them one per week or so. Until this book came along. I think it took me three months, maybe longer, to finally finish this book. It's not that it's a bad book, but I think I was just a little misinformed.

There's two things that I like that I thought I'd find in this book - fifties nostalgia and a nice coming of age story. I don't really think Lake Wobegon contains either o More...

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Dec 21, 2007

Tracey rated it:

Finally finished listening to Garrison Keillor's reading of Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 - a possibly autobiographical look at a 14-year old boy's summer experiences - mostly vignettes, with a bit of a plot showing up here & there.

It's told in first person; Gary is an aspiring writer, with a smart-ass cousin he's partly in lust with, a crazy aunt and a strictly religious family. If you're familiar with the radio show version of Lake Wobegon - we get to look a little more deeply under th More...

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Jun 05, 2010

Amelia rated it:

Well, gee. I don't know. I love Garrison Keillor, therefore I love Lake Wobegon (and I especially enjoyed young Gary's tendency to describe breasts as "young friendly otters"). But I just couldn't get over the strange way his crush on his cousin was treated -- it was lighthearted until the last forty pages or so, and the way it was both obsessed over and glazed over was awkward and one-dimensional. I was so distracted by this bizarreness that I almost missed out on some fine little More...

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Aug 14, 2011

Ryan rated it:

I picked up the hardcover edition of this book at a thrift store, which I don't normally do, as I find hardbacks more cumbersome than paperbacks, but I am glad that I made an exception. It is a great thing when an author has such a distinct personality and way of expressing themselves that you can't help hearing their voice as you read. There are only a few authors that I have experienced this with, and I heard Garrison Keillor's voice on every page of this one. I highly recommend this book.

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Dec 10, 2009

Atlantis rated it:

Garrison Keillor is one of my Dad's favortie authors and "Lake Woebegon Days" I consider to be one of my Dad's favortie books but of course the library didn't have a copy of that one. I don't know if my Dad has read this one...As I said in my update I'm not sure if this is a whimsical boyhood summer story or the rambling's of a dirty old man's mind. There were fart jokes and excerpts of porn intermingled with the benefits of being Christian. Kissing cousins locked in the boys' ba More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Terry rated it:

I've always enjoyed Garrison Keillor's radio show, as well as his earlier books, especially "Lake Wobegon Days." In most of his commentary, Lake Wobegon, Minnesota is peaceful and no one ever thinks of sex. Evidently that's not the case. Granted, the narrator of this book is a rather horny 14 year-old boy, but some parts did make me wonder if they were more for shock value than anything else. Still, an enjoyable read; Keillor is a fine spinner or tales.

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Oct 02, 2011

Angela rated it:

A surprisingly good comedy that I didn't expect to like. While a lot of GK fans are like, "Oh, that was JUST like my childhood!" I find that nostalgia isn't the primary draw of this book. For me, 1950 might as well be 1850 and Minnesota the moon. I don't need to vicariously relive the "good old days," but what I do appreciate is a good laugh.

The retro humor I usually see tends to mock housewives, the robot/jetpack "future," or "Duck and cover" More...

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Feb 12, 2010

Joy rated it:

I finished this book last night. If you are a fan of the Stories from Lake Wobegon, you will enjoy this book. It's narrated by 14 year old Gary, navigating the summer of 1956 with dreams of being a writer and experiencing his first love with all of the urges and sensations that this involves. As always, Keillor captures all of the imperfections and humor poignancy of what it means to be human.

I'm about half-way through this and it is, as I expected, hilarious.

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Feb 19, 2010

Derek rated it:

I always enjoy Garrison Keillor even if it sometimes feels like he's telling the same stories over and over. This was a light read with some occasional moments of brilliance. I will be trying to find ways to incorporate the phrase "her gleaming orbs" into my everyday conversation.

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Sep 11, 2009

Tedroy rated it:

Yes, I read a novel by the Prairie Home Companion guy. I happen to like Prairie Home Companion, thank you. This books was funny and sentimental but not saccharine in that way only Keillor can pull off. It was like a long episode of The Wonder Years, but with more dick and tit jokes.

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Jul 12, 2011

Brittney rated it:

This book was highly entertaining. I alternated between reading the book and listening to the audio version on long car trips. Hearing Keillor narrate was definitely a plus- he adds so much personality with his voice.

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Dec 11, 2007

Kate rated it:

This book was actually a tad on the racy side! Young Gary amuses himself with a book, High School Orgies, given to him by his friend Leonard. He spins himself additional fantasies around this book and his cousin Kate, as well as spending time hanging out with his hero, Jim Dandy, member of the Doo Dads singing sensation and announcer at the local ballfield. The book has lots of Lake Wobegon charm and I suspect I'll probably read more in the series, but I was a tad surprised by the constant menti More...

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May 14, 2009

Kristin rated it:

sweet book. I wasn't sure about it at first but quickly got into it. By the time I was finished, I realized I really enjoyed the experience of nostalgia, creativity, thoughtfulness... it was unlike his radio shows in many ways.

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May 09, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

Pretty good book about a dorky boy in the 1950's growing up in an uber religious household. had some funy moments as well as times that made you wanna slap some sense into some of the carachters.

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Jun 26, 2009

Rnlockett rated it:

I would rate this higher, because I love GK's stories, but my feelings about his political opinions cloud my judgement. Lake Wobegone has become a dark place for me. :-(

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Aug 21, 2011

Bears rated it:

I listen to Prairie Home Companion and love to hear Keillor speak. This story reminded me of my own small town and what it was like to grow up there.

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Aug 20, 2010

Keith rated it:

The story of a boy growing into young adulthood. I feel like he portrayed the boy well, but there were parts that were just plain out disturbing, too.

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Jul 12, 2011

Mary Kay rated it:

Keillor reads this fictional account of his summer of 1956 when he was 14, although I bet a lot of the goings-on are true. Very, very funny!

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Feb 22, 2009

Diana rated it:

Garrison Keillor is always entertaining, and this is the first book of his that I have read. I can just hear him reading this!

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Aug 04, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

I really enjoyed this book - it was witty, it had a midwest charm about it, and it was funny. It was a great summer read.

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Dec 05, 2010

Erin rated it:

I'm happy to find a new humorous author in the midst of my bookshelf. The book dragged a bit at the end, but the first half of it was down right funny.

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May 17, 2009

Natalie rated it:

Well-written as usual, but a little oppressive, I thought. Not nearly as fun as some of his other stuff.

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Jan 17, 2009

Wes rated it:

very cute, very Keillor. Readers even get God's perspective on things!

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