Patrick McManus Books

Anyone go camping or fishing this weekend?  Do you find that not all your outdoor activities always go as well as you planned?  If so, you should check out the humorist Patrick F. McManus.  He has a lot of books, but my favorites are his original first four:

A Fine and Pleasant Misery

They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?

Never Sniff a Gift Fish

The Grasshopper Trap

My family and I often read these books to each other on long road trips, which kept us all entertained, but also made it necessary to stop for extra bathroom breaks because we were laughing so hard.  If you are an outdoorsman, or if you have perhaps a father-in-law like me that is obsessed with hunting and fishing, these are the books for you.  The names he uses for his regular characters gives you some idea of the kind of humor you will find.  Retch Sweeney, the best friend.  His little sister, nicknamed The Troll.  The crotchety old neighbor man/mentor called Rancid Crabtree.  And don't forget about the family dog, Strange.

Even if you have no love for outdoor things, you will still find these stories funny.  I can't remember one family camping trip where we didn't have at least a few things go wrong, which makes these stories so familiar to me.  Such chapters as "How to Go Splat" and "Poof! No Eyebrows" are classics.  But if you hesitate in my recommendation, just pick up the book The Shoot Canoes, Don't They? and skip to the chapter called "My First Deer, and Welcome to It" and then decide for yourself.