The Horse in My Garage and Other Stories

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 o [...]

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.

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 placein 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.

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.

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.

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.

Feel goodIf you want a good laugh and feel good stories this is a must read for you. Laughed out loud and had to share.

I'm a fan. There is little else to say.

Not McManus's best, but still an entertaining read.

I'll be honest - there isn't much here for new readers. Much of his older stuff is much better (for new readers I highly recommend 'The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw' as your starting point - watch for a Nostalgia Review coming soon to this blog!) But there are a few gems nestled among the un-edited roughs that make up most of the stories.The Lady Who Kept Things is the shining jewel of this collection. An original piece of comedic horror, you'll see the end coming but still love every minute of it [...]

At one point McManus was one of my favorite writers. I've lost track of him a little, but have still enjoyed what I've come across over more recent years. This is a complete odds and sods collection, with very little editing or information about when and where these pieces came from (or if some of them were previously published at all). It's easy to see why they haven't been collected: they're mostly his scraps.There are a few hilarious moments, and quite a few smiles, but it's a lot of McManus- [...]

Collection of McManus's short stories not published before. They span his career, and it is a delightful romp thru the pleasure and challenges of fishing, marriage, and all sorts of other things.Why I started this book: I remember laughing out loud the first time I read The Good Samaritan Strikes Again back in junior high. I immediate ran into the other room and proceeded to read the whole story to my Mom. Although she didn't find it quite as funny as I couldn't stop laughing to read it properly [...]

A Scholar of WormsShaping Up for the HuntA Bit about My Writing LifeBig$7,000 TV Historical ExtravaganzaWild Life in a Room with a ViewRisk Assessmentthe Forty-Pound Brown TroutBear HuntersA Lake Too Farthe Chicken ChroniclesSecret Athletethe McManus PrinciplesBasic Lying Made EasyA Chainsaw Kind of Guythe Lady Who Kept ThingsSeptember Songthe Longest Marchthe Stalkthe Horse in My Garagethe TentTo Smoke a Steelheadthe Teachings of Rancid CrabtreeChristmas ShoppingWho Ate My Shakespeare?Romantic [...]

An amusing, easy read. This collection of short stories was purportedly complied from older stories that were discarded from being published previously. Probably not the best as a first introduction to McManus' work, but still enjoyable. He could have done with a bit of editing; there were a couple of instances where pieces were repeated from one story to the next, and a couple of stories had proofreading errors. I think, too, that he's probably more appreciated by a male audience. My husband sh [...]

After over 30 years of writing I wondered what McManus had left. In the intro, he specifically stated there might be overlap in some of the stories. Well, he was telling the truth, and while I found the almost identical paragraphs a bit annoying, my overall reaction was sadness. Here is an author who never fails to bring a smile to my face because his his humor and creativity always seemed boundless. Aside from this issue, some of the stories were as hilarious as ever. I especially enjoyed the o [...]

I have really liked McManus's other books, but this one has a lot of repetition. You'll find the same paragraphs in two or three of the stories--word for word. That leads me to believe that nobody proofread the entire book before it was published--that McManus just found a bunch of stories he hadn't put in a book before and submitted them, and nobody read through them.I found most of the stories kind of boring--not the laugh-out-loud stories of his previous books. Even though over all I was pret [...]

McManus' stories are always so wonderful. These are shorter ones, some seem more like sketches than anything, but they were brilliant and I loved spending time in his book.

I prefer McManus's other humor story collections. This one appears to have been put together from cast-offs that he never bothered to submit for publication. It's kind of repetitive -- sometimes passages appear word-for-word the same in different stories -- and I don't think the stories are as funny as in his other books. (Perhaps that's why he did not have them published originally.) I would recommend this only for McManus completists.

Great book for fun reading. I liked this book, but it's definitely not his best. It says in the beginning that some of the stories have overlap, but you wouldn't expect 2-3 paragraphs of identical material. All in all, I liked about 75% of the stories. Reads fast, so you won't feel like you've wasted time on the stories you don't like.

Our five dogs lay in front of me on the living room floor, heads raised, and brows furrowed, as I guffawed over “The Horse in My Garage”. I could not stop. Just thinking about it makes my smile twitch. This collection of outdoorsy stories by Patrick F. McManus is a go-to, especially if you find yourself wondering whatever happened to your sense of humor.

This book was recommended by me for our library monthly reading group to discuss. I really enjoyed reading a book of short stories, for a change, and the author was very humorous in his telling of his fishing, hunting, and other adventures.

I enjoyed a couple of the stories but couldn't quite get into the humor of this author. I should probably read one of his other books. These were short stories, some left over material he put in a book.

Is there a category for embellished memoirs? If so, this would be in it! All kinds of funny stories, with much more of the "what really happened" than some of his other work. I enjoyed getting the biographical insights. I like his older books better, but hey, this was a quick, fun diversion.

My favorite chapters were about how McManus became a writer, and about the US Forest Service lookout stations, along with the low-budget filming of a historical drama in Spokane -- so easy to imagine it in that place!

Three laugh out loud sections but not PFMs best work. I felt it was a collection of leftovers, with some essays repeating paragraphs from another essay.

Hysterical set of short stories by one of the best outdoor humorists of all time.

Typically funny Patrick McManus!I read this in small chunks while waiting at the bus stop for my kids over a span of two years never failed to make the afternoon a little happier.

Some funny stuff but nothing great. The best story was the one about the volunteers in the fire towers. Funny and informative.

not one of McManus's best collections, but it was nice to read some new stories.

Typical McManus. Enjoyable read. Likely to be his last book :(