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The Horse in My Garage and Other Stories
The Horse in My Garage and Other Stories is a hilarious addition to Patrick F. McManus’s existing work in humor. The author weighs in on his childhood, everyday life, and outdoor tales with his typical exaggerated commentary that will elicit a belly laugh from all types of readers.Read about the antics of Patrick’s friends Rancid Crabtree and Retch Sweeney in such stories as “Shaping Up for the Hunt” and “Bear Hunters.” McManus plays off the recent obsession with hoarders in his surprising story “The Lady Who Kept Things.” In the titular story, meet Patrick’s horse, Huckleberry, and enjoy the experience of all the problems that come along with owning your own horse—or keeping him in the garage.
Other great stories include:
“Catch-And-Eaters,” about the importance of a forked stick when fishing
“$7000 TV Historical Extravaganza,” a look at one director’s loose interpretation of historical accuracy and political correctness
“A Lake Too Far,” concerning the woes of Patrick and his wife, Bun, on a fateful birding trip in Australia
“Chicken Chronicles,” which involves Patrick’s memory of wandering around naked in the chicken yard when guests came to call
So pull up a chair, sit back, and enjoy laughing to the hilarious adventures of Patrick F. McManus in The Horse in My Garage and Other Stories.
Other great stories include:
“Catch-And-Eaters,” about the importance of a forked stick when fishing
“$7000 TV Historical Extravaganza,” a look at one director’s loose interpretation of historical accuracy and political correctness
“A Lake Too Far,” concerning the woes of Patrick and his wife, Bun, on a fateful birding trip in Australia
“Chicken Chronicles,” which involves Patrick’s memory of wandering around naked in the chicken yard when guests came to call
So pull up a chair, sit back, and enjoy laughing to the hilarious adventures of Patrick F. McManus in The Horse in My Garage and Other Stories.
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First published October 1, 2012
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About the author
Patrick F. McManus
56 books417 followersPatrick F. McManus is an American outdoor humor writer. A humor columnist for Outdoor Life and other magazines, his columns have been collected in several books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
October 24, 2020
Hilarious, warm, and entertaining.
July 19, 2013
An absolute delight! This is a collection of short writings that McManus pulled from his discard pile (apparently did not edit at all) and put in print. I'm glad for it; as a fan, I enjoyed reading the odds and ends stories that previously didn't make the cut. I gave it four stars because that is what the book was worth to me and because it seems to have very adequately fulfilled its stated purpose. These are not his best pieces, and there are plenty of typographical errors and repeated chunks of story here and there. If you're looking to read his very best writing, find an older collection. If you're just a fan who wants to read some more Pat McManus and get a few good laughs, then you will enjoy this.
October 21, 2017
I've been a long time McManus fan.
He can turn an ordinary event into a funny tale.
For me the bonus is many of his essays take place
in North Idaho. I love that I know the area and
the places mentioned. It's a little like going back
in time and visiting home.
He can turn an ordinary event into a funny tale.
For me the bonus is many of his essays take place
in North Idaho. I love that I know the area and
the places mentioned. It's a little like going back
in time and visiting home.
May 23, 2017
finished this on this morning, 23 may 17, good read, 4 stars, i really liked it. have always enjoyed reading mcmanus, look for his piece in the back of one of the outdoor magazines when i visit the dentist. don't know if he still writes for them. depends on the dentist, say if he has some old copies lying around. if he does, you know you have a good dentist. came across this one at the digital library. so, i grabbed it. or clicked on it, did that dance step.
December 17, 2021
McManus is always good for a laugh. This collection spans the length of his career so the reader gets a pretty comprehensive view of his writing. It also surprised me with tidbits of information such as his wife being the niece of his old friend and father-figure, Rancid Crabtree. As usual, the book is fun all around.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
May 28, 2017
I may have enjoyed this book more if I were a fisherman, a hunter, an old guy, or all of the above. Alas, I am none of these, therefore I found it boring overall with a few instances of mild amusement. If you are an old fisherman, you should probably buy this immediately.
January 27, 2024
I became a McManus fan years ago when my wife and I were visiting her parents. I had run out of stuff to read and discovered a book of her Dad's on a side table called Real Ponies Don't Go Oink. It was a hilarious read and I soon read almost every book he wrote. Since I had read of of them except for the cookbook, I forgot about McManus. Only recently, for one reason or another, I decided to Google him. I was saddened to learn he had passed away in 2018, but happy to learn he had written more books since I last read them. I picked up three of his more recent books from Amazon.
The Horse in My Garage is an entertaining collection of stories from over the last fifty years that, for one or another reason, had never been compiled into one of his books. Some of them are truly hilarious in the inimitable McManus style, but others are just so so. There are couple he wrote as non-fiction, but even these have traces of his wit and humor.
Favorite stories include Basic Lying Made Easy, which has me thinking about writing my own humorous essays about politics. As he notes in the story, the biggest liars in the world are fishermen and politicians who walk the extra mile to keep the fine art of lying going on.
The Horse in My Garage is an entertaining collection of stories from over the last fifty years that, for one or another reason, had never been compiled into one of his books. Some of them are truly hilarious in the inimitable McManus style, but others are just so so. There are couple he wrote as non-fiction, but even these have traces of his wit and humor.
Favorite stories include Basic Lying Made Easy, which has me thinking about writing my own humorous essays about politics. As he notes in the story, the biggest liars in the world are fishermen and politicians who walk the extra mile to keep the fine art of lying going on.
August 18, 2018
Among the many books my wife brought to our marriage were a couple of Patrick McManus's, and they've given me many a chuckle, so when I saw this on sale on BookBub I hardly hesitated before picking it up.
It's a collection of some of his uncollected pieces from his long career as a freelance writer, mostly of outdoor humour; and, sadly, it's obvious why these pieces didn't make it into his other collections. They're a little bland, a little weak, land a little too lightly. They aren't as funny as his best work. The editing could be better. All the familiar characters are here: Rancid Crabtree the old mountain man, the author's buddy Retch Sweeney, his long-suffering wife Bun (revealed here to be a cousin of Retch's), his neighbour the city councilman, and so forth. But they don't sparkle to the same degree as in his other books.
The introduction includes an apology if there has been any duplication of material, since he sometimes reused stories at different times, and this book covers multiple decades of his work. However, the most obvious, longest, and closest to word-for-word duplication occurs in that same introduction.
For completists only, I'm afraid.
It's a collection of some of his uncollected pieces from his long career as a freelance writer, mostly of outdoor humour; and, sadly, it's obvious why these pieces didn't make it into his other collections. They're a little bland, a little weak, land a little too lightly. They aren't as funny as his best work. The editing could be better. All the familiar characters are here: Rancid Crabtree the old mountain man, the author's buddy Retch Sweeney, his long-suffering wife Bun (revealed here to be a cousin of Retch's), his neighbour the city councilman, and so forth. But they don't sparkle to the same degree as in his other books.
The introduction includes an apology if there has been any duplication of material, since he sometimes reused stories at different times, and this book covers multiple decades of his work. However, the most obvious, longest, and closest to word-for-word duplication occurs in that same introduction.
For completists only, I'm afraid.
November 11, 2019
McManus is Like a Clone of Will Rogers or Mark Twain … I have just discovered Author Patrick McManus and am wondering why it took me so long. The personal stories from his childhood and adult life in the Pacific Northwest are immensely entertaining. His humorous take on life makes me seriously suspect he must be a clone of Will Rogers or Mark Twain. I highly recommend this author for all readers. His writings are pure delight. – David B. Crawley, M.D. – Author of “Steep Turn: A Physician's Journey from Clinic to Cockpit” and “A Mile of String: A Boy's Recollection of His Midwest Childhood.”
December 26, 2025
In my family, four generations of Blounts have enjoyed the outdoor humor stories of Pat McManus (who passed away around 2018). So discovering an unread collection of stories is quite the treat. This collection, which McManus published from decades of stories lost in his collections, was a blast to read. True, the stories aren't all up to his published standards, and there are some repeated themes/stories (which is actually part of the appeal - like an archaeologist, you can see how one childhood event created the mental conditions to ripen into multiple gems years down the road).
So, if you've never read Patrick McManus, don't start here - The Good Samaritan Strikes Again , or The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw are the best places to start. But this book will still be a treasured addition to my library.
So, if you've never read Patrick McManus, don't start here - The Good Samaritan Strikes Again , or The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw are the best places to start. But this book will still be a treasured addition to my library.
December 2, 2019
Sort of cheated
I liked the writing a lot, even laughed often, at this little anthology. anthology. But whole sections were included TWICE in slightly altered form in several chapters! The intro said, essentially, hey, sorry about that ... ut good heavens, a high school newspaper copyeditor would have caught these! I don’t like feeling tricked into buying what looked a lot like a hastily assembled book thrown out there to make money without the rudimentary proof-reading I’d have flunked a beginning reporting class student for. Lost all respect for the author and a publisher who would think this sloppiness is OK, and it’s a shame ... I thought I’d found a new author to follow.
I liked the writing a lot, even laughed often, at this little anthology. anthology. But whole sections were included TWICE in slightly altered form in several chapters! The intro said, essentially, hey, sorry about that ... ut good heavens, a high school newspaper copyeditor would have caught these! I don’t like feeling tricked into buying what looked a lot like a hastily assembled book thrown out there to make money without the rudimentary proof-reading I’d have flunked a beginning reporting class student for. Lost all respect for the author and a publisher who would think this sloppiness is OK, and it’s a shame ... I thought I’d found a new author to follow.
March 27, 2021
The first few chapters, including a long-form autobiographical piece, are excellent.
Unfortunately it falls off a cliff after that. Several of the pieces are repetitious, and the self plagiarism is to numerous to ignore. Some of this is expected I guess in a career retrospective of previously uncollected work, but it feels like a bit of a cheat to the book buyer- -not only is he getting paid again for work he already sold in magazine form, but a lot of that work was barely rewritten and sold to multiple magazines as well. You can't blame the author for the business model but....wait, you can blame the author.
Unfortunately it falls off a cliff after that. Several of the pieces are repetitious, and the self plagiarism is to numerous to ignore. Some of this is expected I guess in a career retrospective of previously uncollected work, but it feels like a bit of a cheat to the book buyer- -not only is he getting paid again for work he already sold in magazine form, but a lot of that work was barely rewritten and sold to multiple magazines as well. You can't blame the author for the business model but....wait, you can blame the author.
August 14, 2021
I was grossly disappointed. I normally love reading McManus. His older books, I.e.: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9..., https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4..., and https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... are spectacular and great examples of McManus' talent as an outdoor humorist. This book, not so much. It seemed rushed, abbreviated, repetitive and simply put out there for the sake of putting something out there. If you want to read something by this author at the top of his game, then I suggest one of the above. Forget this one. It is a waste of your time.
December 17, 2018
It's hard to give a rating of 3 for my favorite author of outdoors humor. But, in comparison to all of the other books I've read by him, I'd have to say this one rated a solid 3.5 (a rating option that wasn't offered to me). As I read each of his other books, I ended up laughing so hard my wife would ask me to try to explain what is so funny. This book simply resulted in a few smiles. Still, it's worth reading - but if it's your first book by McManus, be sure to try some of the others, too.
February 19, 2019
Not up to expectations...
I have long been a fan of this author and was excited when I saw this collection since his others were so great. Unfortunately this group of stories are less exceptional than the others. A few repeat, but mostly as parts of other tales. There are several “laugh out loud” stories so the reader gets value for their time and money, just not as much as expected. I recommend this author and his other works wholeheartedly, and this book half-heartedly.
I have long been a fan of this author and was excited when I saw this collection since his others were so great. Unfortunately this group of stories are less exceptional than the others. A few repeat, but mostly as parts of other tales. There are several “laugh out loud” stories so the reader gets value for their time and money, just not as much as expected. I recommend this author and his other works wholeheartedly, and this book half-heartedly.
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April 9, 2021Outdoor humor at it's best!!
I've enjoyed Pat McManus' books for about 40 years and we own many of them. His stories makes me laugh til tears roll down my cheeks. I can see the cabin, the farmhouse with it's white picket fence where he spent his childhood, and witness his struggles as tries to load that canoe...His stories are priceless!! I hope he keeps writing so I can keep laughing!! Thanks Pat for the memories...
I've enjoyed Pat McManus' books for about 40 years and we own many of them. His stories makes me laugh til tears roll down my cheeks. I can see the cabin, the farmhouse with it's white picket fence where he spent his childhood, and witness his struggles as tries to load that canoe...His stories are priceless!! I hope he keeps writing so I can keep laughing!! Thanks Pat for the memories...
March 13, 2019
It isn't bad, but it isn't his best either. This is a collection of stuff the author (who writes humor articles for magazines) never had published prior to this collection. Some of the stories reuse parts of others so there's some repetitiveness, and some of the stories seem a bit short or unfinished. Despite this, it's an entertaining enough read.
January 23, 2020
Patrick McManus wrote some hilarious outdoor stories of camping, fishing and hunting.
One star reduction due to some of the negative inferences to women by one of his neighbors which he quoted from time-to-time.
Sean Pratt, narrator, did an excellent job!
One star reduction due to some of the negative inferences to women by one of his neighbors which he quoted from time-to-time.
Sean Pratt, narrator, did an excellent job!
July 4, 2021
Well, dang. Come to find out McManus dies in 2018 and no one ever told me! My son and I are very sad--we've so enjoyed his books over the years. This one was okay...not like the first 5 or 6 that left me crying with laughter. And they read aloud so well!
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May 30, 2025Books by Pat McManus were a staple for me when I was a teenager. I hadn’t read one in a couple of decades, but this one was on Libby. Apparently built from McManus’s discard pile, it was still a series of fun reads (as well as being somewhat nostalgic for me).
May 27, 2017
Not McManus's best, but still an entertaining read.
September 2, 2017
I'm a fan. There is little else to say.
September 4, 2017
Great collection of short stories that is sure to keep you in stitches. If you need a good laugh and you enjoy the outdoors this collection is perfect for you.
October 2, 2017
Feel good
If you want a good laugh and feel good stories this is a must read for you. Laughed out loud and had to share.
If you want a good laugh and feel good stories this is a must read for you. Laughed out loud and had to share.
December 11, 2017
I'd give 5 stars to two of the stories that had me laughing out loud: "The Horse in My Garage" and "To Smoke a Steelhead." The rest of the book was entertaining, but these two were the best.
August 9, 2018
Fun read that will get you laughing out loud. Maybe not as good as his older books, but still very, very fun.
January 19, 2019
Short & sweet little humourous essays.
May 27, 2019
Outdoors
Patrick McManus has a way of making even simple things in life funny. A must read for people who like the outdoors.
Patrick McManus has a way of making even simple things in life funny. A must read for people who like the outdoors.
June 20, 2019
Parts of this are laugh out loud funny. Reminds me of "My Life with a Dog Show Wife".
March 17, 2020
great short stories if you want a laugh.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews