Garrison Keillor Books

At times I really enjoyed Keillor's wit and insight, since I am half-Norwegian and from Minnesota. He is good at painting a picture of Lutherans and the un-emotional makeup of the Nordics who settled Minnesota. However, this book as a whole has a lot wanting. The plot meanders and goes nowhere in the end, it seems that the books is just a semi-autobiographical vehicle for Keillor to stick episodes from his life and observations of the world around him. I think it would have worked better as a series of essays or perhaps short stories.

The characters in the book all describe other people using a ridiculous amount of detail that make them seem totally unrealistic. We are to believe that a small-town, back-woods farmer describes his ancestors using a novelists eye for detail. The descriptions of appearances and clothing are uniformly from Keillor and the characters function as puppets in his world. The voice throughout is his, he has pasted episodes together that allow him to unload his commentary on the world, the episodes themselves don't mesh well. It seems as if the plots of books he never finished are dropped into this book as episodes from the past, narrated unbelievably by these Minnesotans. His obsession with sex is typically modern and liberal, and lessens the impact of the work.

It is fun to see how he skewers modern public radio, I don't know if these are his true thoughts or if he is playing the antagonist. He is quite insightful in his constant observations of a small town Midwestern mentality that is perhaps fading in our day, although I don't know since I don't live there anymore. But as a book, I think this effort fails.

An overly long, silly submergence in all things Wobegonian. Keillor's first attempt at a full-length novel ..., and it shows! There are some inspired passages here and there, there are some entertaining chapters, but mostly it's much ado about very little -- and mostly not very funny. One keeps asking oneself, "Why am I continuing to plow through this book?"

Garrison Keillor's WOBEGON BOY comes from the host and announcer of the radio hit PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, now heard on public radio stations across the country, and follows a young man who lands in upstate New York to manage a public radio station at a college, achieving much success but still feeling his life is empty. His search for such meaning will lead him not back to Lake Wobegon but to the big New York City, where he'll find roots he never imagined possible.

While there are many flashes of the descriptive narratives we have come to enjoy from A Prairie Home Companion, this novel falls in the category of self-indulgence by the author, with long dissertations regarding things of no concern to anyone, and which utterly fail to advance the storyline. Garrison has done much better work prior to this and in my humble opinion needs to stay with what really works for him. That is, the explanation of how life is approached(or avoided)by those Scandanavians of the Lutheran persuasion living in Minnesota. THAT is real life chronicled by a master.

I can't believe how much I'm enjoying this book. I thought Garrison Keillor was famous for kind of funny jokes, sort of corny, jokes that were really were more should-be-funny than funny. I have been really surprised, happily, at the depth of the story and the narrator's (I guess his) comments. Enjoyable.

I just received this book from my wife and 14-month old daughter for Father's Day. The book is a complete joy. It expresses the love I have for my little girl so very well--and without being cheesy or sappy.

From Keillor's writing you can tell that the daughter is clearly the treasure of the father's life, and that he finds every aspect of their relationship fascinating and joyful. From dancing, to eating, to changing diapers, and of course sharing a nap on the couch, the book contains several well-narrated vignettes that feel just like scenes from our own lives.

As an added bonus, the book's language is not overly simplified, and contains some challenging words that will make it interesting for my daughter as her own vocabulary expands.

I thoroughly recommend this book, and look forward to reading it for years to come. It will be a sad day when my little girl is too old to for it. But luckily that's a few years away yet!

I honestly don't understand the negative comments about this book! It is absolutely charming and really brings out the emotions felt by a daddy for his little girl. I received this last father's day (from my mom) and barely got through it due to the fact I got so choked up reading it (and still do!). And to the person who wrote they were somehow offended by the word "ecstasy" is a total moron! The word means "delight and/or joy" you loser! (read a dictionary next time). I think many of these negative comments are from people who are simply emotionally detached! And the person who wants to see this book taken out of schools - Some fanatical religious nut no doubt! Yes there is one strange verse about the girl having fat little legs (or something like that) --- But don't most toddlers? I get the it! It's an endearing reference. The verses are wonderful, the drawings show the joy in both the daddy and the little girl and their delight in being together. Now that my daughter is 18 months old (with brown curly hair I might add) we often read the book together before I go to work. Many of the verses and pictures depict the feelings I have for her and the daily things we do together. When she sees the pictures of the daddy and the girl sleeping she says "shoosh....nignt, night"; she loves the pictures of the girl eating and points to the food naming many of the items. And just like the story, her favorite is bananas! She wiggles and pretends to dance when we come to the part where the dad is dancing with his daughter. And she hugs and kisses me when we get to the end, as they are doing in the book.
Don't believe these morons that are negative over this book! These people are the people who probably would even take their kids to Disneyland because of the "oversized mouse" that is running around!
This is absolutely one of the most charming little books about a dad and his little girl I have ever come across! So there!

My nine-month-old daughter loves the singsongy rhymes of this book. (We have the board book without the CD.) We recite the diaper-changing rhymes to distract her on the changing table, and she loves the list of foods-- even though she doesn't know what "souvlaki" is, it's a fun, silly word. Nobody knows what a "wocket" is, either, but Dr Seuss is still a classic!

The content is quite appropriate, and I'm really not sure how anyone could construe this daddy-daughter relationship as pedophilia. Merriam-Webster defines "ecstasy" as "intense joy or delight." My daughter certainly feels that way about bananas! I'm not sure how Keillor's use of the word could be categorized as "deviant", as some of the other reviews contend.

One caveat-- if there are older siblings in the house, they're likely to pick up on the word "[...]" and run with it!

I was really suprised to see so many negative reviews here. My whole family gets a kick out of this book. When I first saw the title "Daddy's Girl", I groaned inside. I was afraid it was going to be sickly sweet and tear jerking sentimental. Instead it is very real to life- this is how it is to have little kids people! You DO talk about wiping their bottoms, because you have to do it about 5 times a day for the next 5 years!(ever heard a parent refer to their little one's cute little "tushie"? Did you ever think they were a sicko for saying it?)

I recommend this as a great book for the modern day, hands-on, involved in parenting like he is supposed to be kind of dad. (and the CD is great too)

This book is very sweet and is written by someone who is old enough to remember what life was like before everyone became so freaked-out about every little thing. When you read a line like, "Lift up her legs and take off the diaper; Get a damp cloth and carefully wipe her," do you really think there is something perverse about that? What planet are you from?? I am lucky to be the daddy of a 2-year-old girl. Diaper changing is a fact of life. Every day for the last 2 years I have lifted her legs, removed her diaper, and carefully wiped her with a damp cloth. If you walked up to me on the street and told me that I'm a pervert for changing my daughter's diaper, I would punch you in the mouth. Anyone uncomfortable with a line like that is a goofball.

Oh, and here is how my dictionary defines the word "ECSTASY":

1. rapturous delight.
2. an overpowering emotion or exaltation; a state of sudden, intense feeling.
3. the frenzy of poetic inspiration.
4. mental transport or rapture from the contemplation of divine things.

Ecstasy is a word that is only 'dirty' for those who WANT it to be dirty. If you insist that there is a sexual connotation whenever the word "ecstasy" is used, you are the weirdo. Like I said before, the author (born in 1942) comes from an era where people used words like "banana" and "nut" and "meatball" and didn't automatically think about sex. Some of these reviewers have watched Austin Powers a few too many times.

One more example -

"Of all the babies you're the fattest one; You big-leg women are a load of fun".

Today when people hear the word "fat" they think about morbid obesity, apparently. Baby-fat is cute and healthy and normal. The whole world loves an adorable little chubby baby. I believe that the author uses the phrase "you're the fattest one" in a loving and proud way, as if saying, "you're the cutest one". And in that context, the phrase "you big-leg women are a load of fun" is just a silly thing to say - and far from inappropriate.

I would agree with the people who suggest reading this book in a library or bookstore first. Why? One reviewer said that they bought the book and hated it so much that they were going to throw it into the trash rather than donate it to charity. If you're that idiotic, please, please, read the book first, and don't buy it. Don't put it into the garbage and send it to a landfill. Don't stage a Nazi-style book-burning. Just leave it in the store and go back to watching your Austin Powers movies.

I may have expected too much from this book, not sure why I was disapointed with it. It was okay, but did not draw me through like I thought it would. If you are a radio-days historian, it is a must read.

I've never listened to Prairie Home Companion, but from the little snippets I'd heard about it, I've always associated Garrison Keillor with a sort of relentless wholesomeness. The raciness of this book came as a complete surprise. In WLT, Keillor is giving his readers a glimpse of the more colorful side of working in radio, one that is highly entertaining.
The dirty jokes and the sex are fun to read, but my favorite parts of WLT are the tantalizing bits of the radio soap opera story lines. Any scene in which the plot of The Friendly Neighbor is featured is fascinating. The delightful cheesiness--did people really take these stories as seriously as it appears they did in the novel? I also loved the contrast between the actors' roles on the radio and their personal lives.
Also interesting is the depiction of the American upper midwest farm culture.
I did feel the novel fell apart at the end, particularly the epilogue. Nevertheless, for fast-paced, entertaining, funny, light reading, WLT is a good choice.

WLT: A RADIO ROMANCE also receives Keillor's warm and familiar voice as it tells of brothers who found a radio station to rescue their failing business - and become the Sandwich King of south Minneapolis. Fiction and fact blend in a satisfying story of radio life and its special meaning for both audience and creators.

I love this book, I've read it now several times; in fact, whenever I feel like a spiritual pick-me-up, I will turn to WLT. Soft without being mushy, moral without being preachy and out and out side splittingly funny. Even now, recalling the Dad Benson 'winging it' scene at the family kitchen table ("Yo clematis...what?") and the haemerroid afflicted announcer ("Why can't I hear the music you *******?"), I'm chuckling. I worked for a number of years in radio - after the golden age, well after it in fact - but I recognise behaviour, I recognise characters. An all-round excellent book.

I never laughed so hard!!! And then trying to fall asleep....I'd giggle some more! If you have a good imagination and a little sense of mischief, you will not be able to put it down. By far one of my favorite books.

I seem to be enjoying Keillor less with each book of his I read. Perhaps it's got more to do with me than him - it's not like I've gone through in publication order so it can't be related to a trend in his writing over time. Is it coincidence that the books I enjoyed most, `Wobegon Boy' and `We Are Still Married' were the first two I read?

Keillor can be an inspired improviser, taking a single idea and running to incredible and occasionally surreal lengths with it: `Earl Grey' is inspired riffing on a tea-bag. The danger in his stream of consciousness style - that's definitely the style here - is that while there is plenty of imagination, you may not be lucky enough to stumble into anything particularly wise, funny or touching. There's a level of honesty, sure, but that doesn't always reflect well on Keillor here. What we are restricted to are reflex actions, rather than controlled movement. OK, right, he thinks about sex a fair bit. He wishes he could be like a pagan god, eternally young and constantly moving from seduction to seduction of a train of delectable young babes. Sure. He wants to invest this lust for youth and sexual licence with some profound legitimacy. Uh ... He strives to open his readers up to the insight that responsibility is a tragedy. Sorry Gary, was your point that men should never have to grow up, and women destroy them if they dare try to form a relationship? I mean it's a day-dream, sure, but hardly a particularly new, insightful or powerful one. But there's confusion here: young people living such amoral lifestyles are presented quite negatively - he has nothing but derision for new age psychobabble about denying all accountability in finding yourself. Moreover there's not a hint of awareness that women might have day-dreams that growing up destroys too.

I suspect he wasn't consciously trying to make some grand point, and the day-dreaming thing is at times the charming thing about his musing. He wasn't trying to be fair minded - that's part of the point. But make no mistake, the repeated themes here, however heartfelt and artfully expressed, are selfish and childish. And lame: the Ecclesiast came as close as anyone is going to get to this day dream, and realised it wasn't going to satisfy anyway. I'm sure in his own life he's found some viable alternatives to teenage cravings: there are plusses, but a fair share of minuses too. None of that maturity is refected here.

Sure it's sad that we get older, and we lose some good things when Mum and Dad aren't paying for us to play any more, and every pretty girl isn't a potential fling. But this book seems to be trying to blame someone (generally women) for this. There are alternatives to emasculation and self-pity: an irony is that the masculine types Keillor is lamenting the loss of would never whine like this (cf. Eldredge's appalling `Wild at Heart'). Try Nick Hornby's `High Fidelity' for something touching on these issues but with far more wit, craft and insight.

Again I see the sex obsessed version of Keillor. I believe there is only one of these stories that doesn't include some type of sexual moment. He is probably the best storyteller that I have ever heard, yet I am repelled by his books that cover topics outside the wholesomeness of his radio show. I can see how books can give him a creative freedom that can't be had on public radio. After reading them, it makes me wonder why he even tries going away from his comfort zone. A short story must grasp you from the beginning to the end. There is no room for slow, uninteresting periods. Yet, I only found a few of the stories in this book that captivated me throughout.

prefer lake wobegon but always enjoy mr. keillor's stories and his readings of them. he has issues, but that is not always bad, sometimes he is just differant.i always like to see a geek make good. if you are lucky in married life, the odds are pretty good, you married a geek. carry on mr. keillor

Yep. As Tony Soprano would say, whatever happened to the strong, silent type? You know, Gary Cooper.

You don't talk endlessly about how unfair today's world is to men. You don't complain about midlife problems, especially if you're Dionysus and have had memories like his.

Nope.

If you can get past this fundamental disconnect, the book's OK. Some conceits are stretched too far and too long, but by and large it's fun and funny stuff.

Other reviewers are more than informative about the book's contents, so I'll be brief.

This book is for middle-aged men. As a guy leaving my own youth behind and headed into the middle years, the book is more relevant and funnier than it would have been even three years ago.

If you are a fan of Prairie Home Companion, be warned! This is NOT his usual sappy fare. A couple of pieces have that Garrison Keillor sheen we know and love, but for the most part, these pieces expose another side of Mr. Keillor's talent. Though his style has not changed, his subject matter does.

The book is at turns, funny, sappy, sad, disturbing. The honesty of his phrases, whether in a comedic or tragic moment, is very refreshing. His words get right to the truth of the matter and don't dress it up much. Not a bit of it is bad writing; it's all good, but you must be prepared for a wider definition of "good" than you might expect from works like Lake Wobegon Days and such.

And, finally, delivery is key. I found I "got it" when I imagined Mr. Keillor reading it to me, which is perhaps a weakness of his writing -- it must be delivered in his voice. So consider buying the audiotape of it -- you won't miss anything and you'll have the added benefit of experiencing these tales exactly as Mr. Keillor intended.

I bought this book for my daughter-in-law, a sixth grade English teacher.
I thought that the poems were written by Keillor, however, this is not the case. He collected the poems, and his choices are good. But the book title is accurate, they are GOOD poems, not great ones. I think it would have been more helpful if the purchaser knew that Keillor didn't write the poems. The title makes it look like it is his work.

Louis Untermeyer certainly has nothing on Keillor. Is that a good thing? I don't think so.

The Conde Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great PlacesThe Conde Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places

this makes a great gift, i purchased 6 copies of this book for friends as a going away present. the poems are all-purpose, i think the title is a misnomer... i'd recommend to anyone who likes unpretentious quality poetry

I started this, which was edited by this "place" saying my reviews are just getting slews of negative votes and this causes a feeling of hopelessness for me around trying to write here. I also said it should be addressed by this "place" as the personalized issue it is. It was edited out as an introduction so this then became almost completely undecipherable. I put in the name of the company, not allowed it seems which is ridiculous.. What could I have done for such no voting sentiment? Was I that big a pig to anyone ever?

So a part of me wants to run far away and lay the burdens of communicating at the feet of someone, somewhere else. It's a slow dying feeling for me, a kind of loss of hope going on. Coinciding with other areas of depleted confidences. Writing is a kind of act of hope. A desire to share. This is a burial of my hopes to be able to show a book here and say to another, "Please try this, it changed me." Instead each day I look on in horror in the AM for fear my writing about a thing/book is holding it up there so it will instead of being honored, actually my presence will bloody the thing and dirty it. It feels as if I'm a being hated. This then introduces miles of self-examination, fears, it's ridiculous. But the real issue I think is this person, persons that would be so unrelentingly mean. And of course a company allowing it.
It has become a battle to deal with feeling if I'm there, it has ruined the beauty of the work I so like. I work to understand all this. It's a profound loss of wanting to be involved and in the last four to five months since this started truly painful. That may seem melodramatic to another, it is how I feel.
Utterly antithetical to what I'd want to do ever.

I've become hurt through this and deal with feelings that I might never again find those who think I have anything worth sharing through writing. It has stopped me in that process to a great degree. Additionally it has taken a rough time and made it rougher. I wonder about this. I'm specifically telling this no voter this, and they continue. I have my issues, but they clearly have theres.

Yet in a funny way this directly relates to this book of poetry, which is why I would ever mention it.

Generally speaking there is something about Garrison Keillor that just sets my teeth on edge. It's not his politics. I'd move them further to the left. The deft and keen observations he makes opening this volume of poetry on the positively revolting state of the times are so spot on I have to acknowledge the clarity and wisdom of his thoughts. It's not the show he does on radio really because after I buckle down on a car ride and listen, I usually admire the convoluted story lines and musical pieces. Recently on hearing a piece on the school bus drivers of old, a little journey back to our days of going to school when we kept things "to ourselves," it was such a funny piece I still smile. I knew drivers as insane as that and more, it might be his folksiness getting to me, but I'm as butter churned coming from rural West Virginia roots. Just something....gets to me...and that might make me say something gut unkind, if I don't take a little self control and consider this. Or in my sour puss-ness I might just look at this book, if received as a gift with a "well sure."
Perhaps my massive negative voter has that feeling about my drivel.
I guess so.

However I'd be very wrong about that feeling concerning this particular book. I've spent weeks reading his poem choices placed here in this anthology. Anthologies are especially fascinating to me, how they are sectioned, what poems are chosen, how they relate poem to poem seems to me a quiet kind of art. One day I'd like to create one. It would be a very exciting project. Just the thought is exciting. What seems really great about this work is that it unfolds a kind of serious insight into Keillor's mind's eye. No, he did not write them, as one reviewer pointed out, but he surely told you a great deal about the long dark night of his heart and soul looking at life, love, our country/world, and the thoughts one finds binding you to your humanity. The choices are stunning. It is a book I do want to suggest you consider for someone who understands "hard times." Keillor clearly does.

In a section titled Deliberate Obfuscation ( wonderful section) we find a poem, "In Paris With You" by James Fenton. It is placed so perfectly starting with the lines,
" Don't talk to me of love. I've had an earful
And I get tearful when I've downd a drink or two.
I'm one of your talking wounded I'm a hostage. I'm marooned.
But I'm in Paris with you."

It goes on but it is a poem that is just a ridiculously good one.No light love song here.
Sections like Kindness to Snails, This Lust of Tenderness, Let It Spill, I Feel Our Kinship might give you insight into how this just might be a little different kind of collection. He selected poetry to show you the breath of the field. A part of me wishes to start placing poems here to hook you into buying the book. But, that is really unnecessary, it will be a volume you are glad you found.

I have decided something from this. I have decided that inside of Keillor is something very wondrous. I glimpsed it here in his thoughtful selection and the incredible journey he allowed me to take within the pages of this collection. He is obviously intelligent and tuned on an intuitive level to be able to pull together works that really do reflect the difficult struggles, that speak to hard times on so many levels, he has something in that power of mind very human, very much like his story telling pulls me into a place of listening despite myself. But in many of these works I'm able to hear them more clearly, differently, due to how they were arranged juxtaposed, and in their inclusion revisit an author in another light. It is a very good thing to experience, eye-opening.

A long time ago as a child we ( my family) were in an art museum in Pittsburgh looking at modern works, Rothko, DeKooning, others. My father was looking, and I believe I said something like, well I don't like that one, but that might have been my echoing what I thought Dad might be thinking. Dad said, I'll always recall this, "Our job here isn't so much about that today. We are in this space considering the relationship we have to this work, the relationship the work has to this space, to our understandings. Perhaps rather than negating it, we need to figure out what it can tell us. Can we learn something?"

How about...
"This Is How Memory Works"
Patricia Hampl

.....
"The girl is yours,
the flowery dress, the walk
to the streetcar, a fried egg sandwich
and a joke about Mussolini.
You can have it all:
you're in that world, the only way
you'll ever be there now, hired
for your silent hammer, to nail pictures
to the walls of this mansion
made of thinnest air."

Ah perhaps one needs the whole piece. The book felt like odes in my life.

I'll remember that. I think this is a really great collection of poems, and Keillor really outdid himself collecting it together, for it sustains us in very hard times as only poetry can.

The title is a little misleading, as A Prairie Home Companion: 25th Anniversary Collection is essentially a collection of Garrison Keillor's closing "News from Lake Wobegon" monologues from over the years. And for a supposedly representative collection, there are only about fifteen of them with a good quarter of the time taken up with musical interludes (which are not my favorite part of the show).

But, even given that, A Prairie Home Companion: 25th Anniversary Collection is an excellent collection. Keillor's humor has obviously matured over time and this is a "time capsule" with which to revisit those older days. Although I would have liked a few of the funny commercials and some Guy Noir episodes sprinkled in for good measure, I really enjoyed listening to Keillor's soothing baritone tell about the ostensibly fictional but so real-feeling people of "my hometown."

Now you don't have to wait for Saturday evening (or Sunday afternoon) to enjoy A Prairie Home Companion. Just pop this in whenever you yearn for that homespun feeling and want to revisit the town "where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and the children are above-average."

great product, LOVE this series and it came packaged wonderfully, excellent seller, would buy from again

Great fun
Garrison Keillor is easy listening.

Not only did this collection arrive ahead of predicted time (as a Christmas surprise), but the content has been savoured and appreciated so much by the recipient. The dialogue is excellent and the leads to further recommendations by Garrison Keillor were very good - particularly as there are no recordings of his currently available in Australia.

Make no mistake about it-- the stories were not disappointing at all. What is misleading and lacking is the sense of a radio show. The music and connecting conversations were edited out. A "music only" CD was made in addition to the "story" CD. The "collection" therefore made the sum much less than its parts. Very disappointed in not getting a sample of the best shows.

This is not only funny, and I mean at times very funny. It was relaxing and interesting. It held my 19 year old daughters attention and that was nice to be able to share something our whole family could enjoy. The stories are something we all could relate to. Rare

This CD is great for a long drive, or long flight, it is entertaining and better than a book on tape. It can be a little boring at times.

I love to give these collections of monologues to folks who are experiencing a long recovery from surgery or undergoing medical treatment. The monologues are funny to listen to, and after they have listened to them a time or two, just hearing Garrison Keillor's soothing voice has a calming effect. The stories from Lake Wobegon are the best sleeping potions available--and there are no side effects other than falling asleep with a smile on your face.

Garrison Keillor has a wonderful way with words, but this CD was disappointing. The stories dragged on too long and sometimes with no purpose in the end or sentiment to remember. Keillor can do much better. He is usually a great story teller. He seemed to run out of steam on this 4hour tape. This will still not deter me from buying and listening to other news from Lake Wobegon.

My purchases were made for Garrison Keillor fans. I'm sure They Loved Them All.

This collection of "Guy Noir" routines, lifted from A Praire Home Companion, are very funny. Garrison Keillor and his merry band of actors give a sense of the old time radio drama? with these. The sound effects are excellent and the theme is pretty cool. Both series are great.

The FIRST Guy Noir release was more faithful to the original conceit of Noir - as a hard-boiled detective talking tough with his clients, his friends and his women.

Here, you get something else: Guy's much more self-conscious. While interacting with PHC guest stars would normally promise some greater variety, it is honestly not too forthcoming. He has become fussy and self-absorbed, and a lot of the great tough talk present in earlier episodes is missing here.

It's a good listen - and I love PHC, too. It's just not as good as the very first release...

I am a long time listener of A Prairie Home Companion. I always look forward to Saturday evenings at 6, when my local station airs APHC. The show is great and pokes fun at politics, headline news, and just old funnies in a non-threatening way.

Guy Noir is my second favorite part of the show, following Garrison Keillor's "News from Lake Wobegon." Each week the theme song is played and Guy Noir is involved in a wonderful sketch filled to the brim with laughs as he goes and solves mysteries, for he is Private Eye.

What great, good, smile provoking fun! Fans of Garrison Keillor and a Prairie Home Companion will thoroughly enjoy this 11 episode collection of detective stories originally heard in live broadcast.

If you missed these sketches on the radio, not to worry - now you can meet Guy, the intrepid gumshoe who chases crime from St. Paul. Sam Spade and Hercule Poirot would duck their heads in shame to learn of Guy's exploits. After all, he never knows whether the knock on his door means a fish has been filched or Henry Kissinger needs help.

In this parody on the old-time private eyes, we can't resist the guy or Guy who keeps his vigil on "A dark night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets but high above the empty streets, on the 12th floor of the Acme building, one man is still trying to find the answers to life's persistent questions."

Keillor is supported by members of the Prairie Home companion cast, thus "Guy Noir" is a terrific ensemble performance. Among the sketches are

Gotham Gets The Girl
Operator
Bad Grits
Gotta Go
Bad Blood
Picnic Plaid
Movie Shoot
Hotdish Hangover
Renata Flambe
Snow Job
Missing Fish.

Very highly recommended - don't miss it!

- Gail Cooke

I am a professional truck driver from Quebec and I discovered the wonderful world of Garrison Keillor two years ago while listening to NPR Radio. It took me several months to find out who he was and finally found Prairie Home Companion via the Internet and listened to many of the programs from the archives. Since then I have religiously tuned in to its weekly program with News from Lake Wobegon and Guy Noir, Private Eye. When I bought the CD "The Adventures of Guy Noir" about the famous Private Eye; my wife and children all fell in love with its hilarious stories. I regularly listen to his adventures in my truck while travelling all over Canada and the USA. Guy Noir a.k.a Garrison Keillor, you are the best. I can't wait to get "the rest of the stories."

If you can't commit to a actual novel these quick stories will keep your attention.

As a short story lover and and die hard fan of THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES collections, I was surprisingly disappointed by this year's edition. With the exception of a couple stories ("Cosmopolitan" and "People Like That Are the Only People Here"),I found the stories to be boring, bland, and generally lacking any spark of life. I refer anyone interested in reading authors that push limits, bring unique points of view, and take risks to Scribner's Best of the Fiction Workshops 1998 by Carol Shields (Editor), John Kulka (Editor), Natalie Danford(Editor).

In this collection the focus is on great storytelling. You won't find lots of stylistic acrobatics and clever postmodern narrative techniques but you will find stories that are consistently moving and a joy to read. This is the most enjoyable collection of Best American Short Stories that I have read.

The audiotape is also fantastic with many of the stories being read by Garrison Keillor.

In this collection the focus is on great storytelling. You won't find lots of stylistic acrobatics and clever postmodern narrative techniques but you will find stories that are consistently moving and a joy to read. This is the most enjoyable collection of Best American Short Stories that I have read.

The audiotape is also fantastic with many of the stories being read by Garrison Keillor.

The honest reason why I pick up the Best American Short Stories series is because I typically don't like to make the commitment of reading a full length novel (read: lazy!). I figure if I really don't want to go through the hassle of reading good, classic fiction, then what should be the next best thing? Short stories are more immediate and if they're really written well, as is usually the case in these compilations, the reader is immediately submerged into another world, place and time. And when time's up, you can go on to the next story and plunge into another reality.

I've been collecting the Best American Short Stories series for quite a few years now and they've never disappointed me. The special standouts in the 1998 series include Lorrie Moore's humorous and frightening account of a mother's ordeal with her toddler's life-threatening illness, as well as John Updike's wonderful short story on his tribute to his father. When you need quick brain nourishment, pick up this book and read some great writing from some of today's best authors.

Garrison Keillor -- NEVER BETTER -- is very entertaining and keeps you smiling for the entire CD.

If you've never heard of Garrison Keillor or Lake Wobegon, well are you in for a treat.
Sit back and put on your head phones and be prepared for people around you to think you're out of your mind when they glance in your direction and hear you laughing.

The CD stories were absolutely and truely stories from Lake Wobegan. They were tasteful and full of humor

...but not of my favorite stories. I fell in love with Lake Woebegone about ten years ago. I used to do a lot of driving between Georgia and Tennessee and Garrison's hilarious stories made the drive go by fast. I tried to listen to this CD several times, but I noticed that it wouldn't really hold my attention. The stories aren't bad. It's just as a collection, it didn't pop. But I'll continued to listen to his work.

Like another reviewer, many driving hours have been happily spent listening to Keilor's incredibly engaging tales of Lake Wobegon. When I saw a new collection, my heart raced as I stood at the checkout....only to be sorely disappointed. These aren't stories, they are just newsy ramblings. And they aren't all that funny either. It sounds like Garrison is getting tired of Lake Wobegon, as evidenced by the bored tone of his voice and the superficial news tidbits he plies us with in this collection. If you love his older stories from collections such as Mother, Father, Aunt, Uncle or Summmer, Winter, Spring, Fall, these will not live up to your expectations. But, us Lake Wobegon junkies take what we can get, and any new stories are welcomed. But, jeez, Garrison, there must be some good ones left in you. Although I'm giving this a 3-star rating, it's really more a 2.5 star when compared to his older stories.