Vinyl Cafe Unplugged

Bestselling author and radio storytelling sensation Stuart McLean revisits the heartwarming and hilarious friends from his iconic Vinyl Cafe. Dave and his wife Morley would no doubt tell you that life is what you make it. Unfortunately for them, that means a compilation tape of mistakes, miscues, misunderstandings, and muddle. That's not to say that there is anything particularly unusual about the family and friends at the Vinyl Cafe. After all, who wouldn't try to toilet-train a cat? Who hasn't started a small home fix-it job only to set fire to the walls? Created mass hysteria at a school concert? Lost an aging relative while visiting our nation's capital? Vinyl Cafe Unplugged is a warm and delightful collection of stories following the common foibles and everyday absurdities of family life.

Welcome to the world of the Vinyl Cafe. Meet Dave, the proud owner of the world's smallest record store. Meet his pal, Kenny Wong, who runs Wong's Scottish Meat Pies. Meet Dave's wife and their children. Watch while they all bump and stumble through a hilarious year of mistakes, miscues, misunderstandings, and muddle. The adventures begin in December with Dave's disastrous yet inspired attempts to cook the family turkey. And they move through the seasons to the following Christmas's fiasco, when Dave accidentally spikes the kids' punch bowl at his neighbor's Christmas soiree. Home from the Vinyl Cafe also explores the tender awkwardness of first love, the challenges presented by a dying guinea pig, and the answer to the question of why a teenager would rather eat vegetables and clean his room than go on a family vacation. Whether it's the mystery of sending kids to camp, the dangers of putting up Christmas lights, or the potential for mayhem at the grocery store, in the hands of humorist and master storyteller Stuart McLean the chaotic melody of daily life is underscored by the harmonious sounds of family, friends, and neighbors. Warm, witty, and moving, these stories will walk right into your life and make themselves at home.

The further adventures of Dave and Morley.

Dave and Morley would no doubt tell you that life is what you make it. Unfortunately for them, that means a compilation tape of mistakes, miscues, misunderstandings and muddle. That's not to say there is anything particularly unusual about the family and friends at the Vinyl Cafe. Like the rest of us, Dave, Morley, Stephanie and Sam are just doing their best to respond to the challenges of modern life. After all, who hasn't started a small home fix-it job only to set fire to walls and destroy whole rooms? Who wouldn't try to toilet-train a cat? Who hasn't created mass hysteria and utter pandemonium at a school concert? Who hasn't lost an aging relative while visiting our nation's capital? With Vinyl Cafe Unplugged, fans of Stuart McLean's previous story collections will be delighted to meet again with the folks from the Vinyl Cafe neighbourhood in fourteen hilarious hymns to common foibles and everyday absurdities.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER From Canada's much-missed, nationally bestselling storyteller, a must-have collection featuring ten never-before-published stories and ten classic favourites, perfect for old fans and Vinyl Cafe newcomers alike. From the unforgettable Christmas classic “Dave Cooks the Turkey” to the tender tribute to ice-cream-loving, potato-sitting Arthur the dog in “Morte d’Arthur”; from the joys and challenges of marriage in “The Canoe Trip” to the celebration of childhood adventure in “The Waterslide.” From the beginning of life (the hilarious “Labour Pains”) to the end (the touching “Love Never Ends”) and all the moments—big and small—in between, these stories remind us that there are occasions to celebrate every day. For more than two decades, Stuart McLean entered the hearts and homes of Canadians via The Vinyl Cafe radio show, his many tours across the country, and multiple nationally bestselling books. His charming, humane, and side-splitting stories brought the trials and triumphs of Dave, Morley, Sam, and Stephanie to life, and made their memorable circle of friends, family, and neighbours as real as our own. This collection is both timely and timeless, a rich celebration of Stuart McLean's inimitable voice, and of the importance of love, community, kindness, and the healing power of laughter.

Every family has its secrets.Morley, for example, is reluctant to talk about her beauty parlour betrayal and that other man in her life: Mathieu.Stephanie hasn't been entirely open about what she was doing in the woods last summer.Sam is keeping mum about his dark powers of prophecy and why he is going by the alias "Samantha."And Dave tries to avoid mentioning his attempted break-and-enter at the Turlingtons'.Who can blame them? When you commit acts of arson during Christmas dinner, attempt to start a life of crime by shoplifting a lipstick or sink your false teeth into the forbidden pleasure of corn on the cob, it's hard to come clean.These are the stories that no one knows, the stories Dave and Morley wouldn't tell you themselves: lies, white and otherwise, aliases, double lives and all manner of petty crimes and everyday transgressions. These are the secrets from the Vinyl Cafe.

A wonderful collection of Vinyl Cafe stories, from the inimitable Stuart McLean, featuring a worldlier and wiser Dave and Morley Dave and Morley are growing older, Steph and Sam are growing up. Moving out and moving on. Dave and Morley's marriage has mellowed and deepened like a fine wine, Sam has developed a palate for girls and Gruyere, and Steph's found happiness with an artist who photographs roadkill. Everyone's growing wiser and worldlier--well, almost everyone. Yes, Dave still has trouble with the automatic car wash, defibrillators, and hot yoga, but he's come to appreciate Mary Turlington, and that's saying quite a bit. In this brand new collection of Vinyl Cafe stories, the more things change, the more things stay the same...

Tired of going hungry while her parents get drunk and fight, thirteen-year-old Luli, who has just discovered the power of her sexuality, leaves Palmyra, Nebraska, for Las Vegas, Nevada, to find a "sugar daddy, " and soon meets two grifters who use her while teaching her how to get by.