January 18th, 2008
Home From The Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean
When I decided to start up a “52 books in 52 weeks” challenge for myself, I headed on over to the good folks at La Maison Anglaise, Québec City’s premier English-language bookstore, for a savvy recommendation which would ween me back into the joys of reading. For you see, it’s not without a certain amount of shame that I have not regularly read since university. So, as you may gather, I have some catching up to do and some habits to re-grow.
So I was suggested that CBC host Stuart McLean’s Home From The Vinyl Cafe was the ticket back into the realm of enjoying the written word. Can’t say I disagree. It’s a wonderful collection of short stories surrounding a suburban Toronto family, full of humour, quirk and sincerity. Spanning a year in the lives of this little foursome, the tales are at times laugh-out funny, other times charming, while others are disarmingly touching. The quandries that well-intended Dave seems to seep himself into channel Larry David at his face-saving best.
It’s a smart and fun read. I’m glad I started off with this one.
Book: Home From The Vinyl Cafe
Publisher: Penguin Canada
Next: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time