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Favourite summer stories from Front Porch Al

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Cover and pages VG. Slight yellowing on pages edges. No spine creases.

307 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

7 people want to read

About the author

Alan Maitland

15 books1 follower

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for Sandy Smith.
31 reviews
Read
February 11, 2020
A collection of stories written by other writers but because they were selected and introduced by Alan Maitland and I had enjoyed him on the radio for so long it attracted me to it.
I often take it down in the summer and pick a story when I feel like reading something short.
Profile Image for Garth Mailman.
2,528 reviews10 followers
May 3, 2025
Favourite summer stories from Front Porch Al
Alan Maitland

The Slip Sheet on my hardcopy version covers all the tropes:

Wicker rocking chair with pillow
Book beside glass of lemonade
Antique cabinet radio
Flowering shrubs
Sleeping dog and cat on the railing
Spindled railing
Gingerbread
Basket with gardening tools & gloves
Bucolic background

The excerpts often have a rather dark tone. Take the conspiracy theorist inspired thoughts on radio waves from a man still adjusting to the idea of the telephone. My own father never used our telephone. If he wanted to talk to someone he got in his pickup and drove over to talk to them in person, face to face. What would this author think of communication from a satellite that has left our solar system; the blue tooth system that puts my tablet online, the signal that penetrates 12 inches of poured concrete to power my smartphone, pushing a button to open my garage door or my entrance door, the button that makes my bed recline, TV, wireless speakers, LED screens, turning on a TV with a remote. Radio signals that cause interference and static, microwave ovens. Magnetic induction stoves.

LM Montgomery supplies the second last excerpt in this collection. I had the Anne stories read to me as a child and am rereading them but her other works seem too gossipy for my taste. This story catches my attention.

In the days before enclosed arenas summer was synonymous with baseball. Home run specialists strike out a lot and so it was with mighty Casey.


Profile Image for Debbie.
47 reviews
September 15, 2024
Turns out I’m not a fan of this type of short story book. Some of the stories could be used for English literary essays for their metaphors etc and I’m not looking for that at this time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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