{"title":"Books","description":"A collection of Garrison Keillor's written words.","products":[{"product_id":"the-book-of-guys","title":"The Book of Guys","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Guys are in trouble these days,” says Garrison Keillor. “Years ago, manhood was an opportunity for achievement and now it’s just a problem to be overcome. Guys who once might have painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling are now just trying to be Mr. O.K. All-Rite, the man who can bake a cherry pie, be passionate in a skillful way, and yet also lift them bales and tote that barge.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis brilliant short story collection confirms Keillor’s reputation as an ingenious storyteller and very funny guy. 22 classic short stories about guys and men.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1391272886278,"sku":"PH521703","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Book_of_Guys.jpg?v=1523302237"},{"product_id":"liberty-a-lake-wobegon-novel-sc","title":"Liberty: A Lake Wobegon Novel (softcover)","description":"\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eLiberty\u003c\/em\u003e is Garrison Keillor's most ribald Lake Wobegon novel yet, set during a spectacular Fourth of July celebration amid marching bands and circus wagons drawn by teams of Percherons. The Chairman of the Fourth, Clint Bunsen, is in the midst of an identity crisis brought on by a DNA test just as he turns sixty, and he finds solace in the arms of Angelica Pflame, the young beauty who marched as Liberty in last year's parade. Should he remain in Lake Wobegon with his stoic wife Irene or fly to California with Angelica? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLiberty\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is Keillor at his knowing, deadpan, raconteur best.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1391276818438,"sku":"PH612456","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Liberty.jpg?v=1523303003"},{"product_id":"good-poems-sc","title":"Good Poems - softcover","description":"Each day, millions of public radio listeners across America tuned in to T\u003cem\u003ehe Writer's Almanac\u003c\/em\u003e to hear Garrison Keillor read a poem. Invariably, it's a good poem: wise or witty, soothing or passionate, possessed, in Keillor's words, of \"utter clarity in the face of everything else a person has to deal with at 7 a.m.\" This anthology contains classic and contemporary poems selected and introduced by Keillor.","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1391419785222,"sku":"PH519019","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/good_poems.jpg?v=1523306030"},{"product_id":"77-love-sonnets-sc","title":"77 Love Sonnets (softcover)","description":"\u003cspan\u003e“When I was 16, Helen Fleischman assigned me to memorize Shakespeare’s Sonnet No. 29, ‘When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state’ for English class, and fifty years later, that poem is still in my head. Algebra got washed away, and geometry and most of biology, but those lines about the redemptive power of love in the face of shame are still here behind my eyeballs, more permanent than my own teeth. The sonnet is a durable good. These 77 of mine include sonnets of praise, some erotic, some lamentations, some street sonnets and a 12-sonnet cycle of months. If anything here offends, I beg your pardon. I come in peace, I depart in gratitude.”—Garrison Keillor \u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Prairie Home Productions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1391806742534,"sku":"","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/77_Love_Sonnets.jpg?v=1523387752"},{"product_id":"good-poems-for-hard-times","title":"Good Poems for Hard Times book","description":"Chosen by Garrison Keillor for use on \u003cem\u003eThe Writer's Almanac\u003c\/em\u003e, the 185 poems in this follow-up to his acclaimed anthology \u003ci\u003eGood Poems\u003c\/i\u003e are perfect for our troubled times. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHere, readers will find solace in poems that are bracing and courageous, organized into categories such as \"Such As It Is More or Less\" and \"Let It Spill.\" From William Shakespeare and Walt Whitman to R. S. Gwynn and Jennifer Michael Hecht, the voices gathered in this collection will be more than welcome to those who've been struck by bad news, who are burdened by stress, or who simply appreciate the power of good poetry.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1393955569670,"sku":"","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/good_poems_picture.png?v=1563553059"},{"product_id":"homegrown-democrat","title":"Homegrown Democrat","description":"\u003cspan\u003eIn this thoughtful, deeply personal work, one of the nation’s best-loved voices takes the plunge into politics and comes up with a book that has had all of America talking. Here, with great heart, supple wit, and a dash of anger, Garrison Keillor describes the simple democratic values--the Golden Rule, the obligation to defend the weak against the powerful, and others--that define his hardworking Midwestern neighbors and that today’s Republicans seem determined to subvert. A reminiscence, a political tract, and a humorous meditation, \u003cem\u003eHomegrown Democrat\u003c\/em\u003e is an entertaining, refreshing addition to today’s rancorous political debate.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1393956356102,"sku":"","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Homegrown_Democrat.jpg?v=1523657787"},{"product_id":"guy-noir-the-straight-skinny-scon-the-12","title":"Guy Noir \u0026 the Straight Skinny - softcover","description":"On the 12th floor of the Acme Building, Guy Noir looks down the barrel of a revolver as gangster Joey Roast Beef demands to hear what lucrative scheme Guy has with stripper-turned-women's-studies-professor Naoimi Fallopian. Everyone want to know--Joey, Lieutenant McCafferty, reporter Gene Williker, the despicable Larry B. Larry, the dreamboat Scarlett Anderson--and Guy faces them one by one, as he and Naomi pursue a dream of selling a surefire weight-loss method. Softcover book.","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1393964220422,"sku":"PH614283","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Guy_Noir_book.jpg?v=1523659024"},{"product_id":"a-prairie-home-companion-pretty-good-joke-book","title":"A Prairie Home Companion Pretty Good Joke Book","description":"\u003cp\u003eJust when you thought it couldn't get any funnier... This edition of the Pretty Good Joke Book includes all the puns, one-liners, knock-knocks, and knee-slappers of its predecessors, plus dozens more. Includes every joke (yes, even the groaners) from all of the almost-annual fan favorite show, plus many not in the broadcasts. With an introduction by Garrison Keillor on the importance of humor and how to tell a joke. Softcover.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDOWNLOAD FROM Kindle \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Pretty-Good-Joke-Book-6th-ebook\/dp\/B09BRW7QY4?_encoding=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1630864236\u0026amp;sr=8-1\u0026amp;linkCode=ll1\u0026amp;tag=garrisonkeill-20\u0026amp;linkId=be3d93409aa5cd8be65a89a6a0fb79f9\u0026amp;language=en_US\u0026amp;ref_=as_li_ss_tl\"\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOver 2,200 Jokes from America's favorite live radio show\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA treasury of hilarity from Garrison Keillor and the cast of public radio's \u003ci\u003eA Prairie Home Companion\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA guy walks into a bar. Eight Canada Geese walk into a bar. A termite jumps up on the bar and asks, ''Where is the bar tender?'' Drum roll.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eSixth Edition\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eof the perennially popular \u003ci\u003ePretty Good Joke Book\u003c\/i\u003e is everything the first five were and more. More puns, one-liners, light bulb jokes, knock-knock jokes, and third-grader jokes (have you heard the one about Elvis Parsley?). More religion jokes, political jokes, lawyer jokes, blonde jokes, and jokes in questionable taste (Why did the urologist lose his license? He got in trouble with his peers). More jokes about chickens, relationships, and senior moments (the nice thing about Alzheimer's is you can enjoy the same jokes again and again).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt all started back in 1996, when \u003ci\u003eA Prairie Home Companion\u003c\/i\u003e fans laughed themselves silly during the first Joke Show. The broadcast was such a hit that it became an almost-annual gagfest. Then fans wanted to read the jokes, share them, and pass them around, and the first \u003ci\u003ePretty Good Joke Book\u003c\/i\u003e was born. With over 200 new and updated jokes, the latest edition promises countless giggles, chortles, and guffaws anyone -- fans of the radio show or not -- will enjoy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Highbridge\/Recorded Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":1394029363206,"sku":"PH612506","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Joke_Book.jpg?v=1523666862"},{"product_id":"oh-what-a-luxury-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Oh, What a Luxury by Garrison Keillor CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough he has edited several anthologies of his favorite poems,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eO, What a Luxury: Verses Lyrical, Vulgar, Pathetic \u0026amp; Profound\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eforges a new path for Garrison Keillor, as a poet of light verse. He writes — with his characteristic combination of humor and insight — on love, modernity, nostalgia, politics, religion, and other facets of daily life. Keillor’s verses are charming and playful, locating sublime song within the humdrum of being human.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese poems are about places — Kansas, Sunset Boulevard, Seattle (“everything is uphill in Seattle”), Minnesota, Manhattan (“If the Oyster Bar is fresh out of oysters\/ We’ll take the subway up to the Cloisters”) — fatherhood (“That old man in the garage once let loose a great barrage”), and odes to Mozart, onion soup, plumbers, the importance of honking your own horn, and the Republican lady from Knoxville who bought her brassieres by the boxful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd of course love:\u003cbr\u003e“Love is the universal sport\u003cbr\u003eThe night is dark and life is short\u003cbr\u003eThe heart is open, always willing,\u003cbr\u003eThe touch of skin is so fulfilling.\u003cbr\u003eDarling, when I look at you\u003cbr\u003eTouch is push and push is shove\u003cbr\u003eI’m in love.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver 1 hour on 1 CD.  Recorded live at the Fitzgerald Theater.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8671859933294,"sku":"","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Luxury.jpg?v=1528309876"},{"product_id":"pontoon-a-lake-wobegon-novel-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Pontoon: A Lake Wobegon Novel  by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe first new Lake Wobegon novel in seven years is a cause for celebration. And Pontoon is nothing less than a spectacular return to form—replete with a bowling ball-urn, a hot-air balloon, giant duck decoys, a flying Elvis, and, most importantly, Wally’s pontoon boat. As the wedding of the decade approaches (accompanied by wheels of imported cheese and giant shrimp shish kebabs), the good-loving people of Lake Wobegon do what they do best: drive each other slightly crazy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Keillor has always been a great cataloger, equal parts Homer and Montgomery Ward, and rarely to better effect than in \"Pontoon\"\" - New York Times Book Review\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8684559302766,"sku":"","price":12.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Pontoon.jpg?v=1529435644"},{"product_id":"good-poems-american-places-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Good Poems American Places by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cspan\u003eGreatness comes in many forms, and as Garrison Keillor demonstrates daily on \u003cem\u003eThe Writer’s Almanac\u003c\/em\u003e, the most affecting poems in the canon are in plain English. Third in Keillor’s series of anthologies, \u003cem\u003eGood Poems, American Places\u003c\/em\u003e brings together poems that celebrate the geography and culture that bind us together as a nation. Think of these poems as postcards from the road, by poets who’ve gotten carried away by a particular place-a town in Kansas, a kitchen window in Nantucket, a Manhattan street, a farm in western Minnesota. Featuring famous poets and brash unknowns alike, the verses in this exhilarating collection prove that the heart can be exalted anywhere in America.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8684563464302,"sku":"","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Good_Poems_Am_Places.jpg?v=1529436516"},{"product_id":"me-by-jimmy-big-boy-valente-as-told-to-garrison-keillor-hardcover","title":"Me by Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente as told to Garrison Keillor Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eLong before the age of Trump, citizens of Minnesota were subjected to a governor cut from a similar cloth: Jesse Ventura. Garrison's clever satirical novel feels as relevant today as it did back then! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbandoned by his mother at birth, little Clifford Oxnard grows up in south Minneapolis, tormented by bullies and chased by big dogs until an encounter with the Wild Man of Borneo and a mail-order body-building course changed his life. Transformed into the six-foot-four 300-pound he-man Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente, he enlists in the U.S. Navy’s elite Walrus program and is trained to use explosives, speak in code, navigate unfamiliar terrain, and know the darkness of the human heart — and is sent to Vietnam.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Vietnam, his Walrus unit vanquishes hordes of Viet Cong, fighting off tanks and artillery and even the Lost Squadron of the Rising Sun (the last surviving Japanese unit from World War II), assisted by Jimmy’s defector buddy, Victor Charlie, better known as The Rodent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReturning to the States, Jimmy finds his way to Alaska, “man’s country, ” where, after a few wrong turns, he joins a professional wrestling troupe, replacing the Duke of Dubuque and the Dauphin Louie de Louie, embarking on a career that takes him to the pinnacle of International World Wrestling, bringing him fame and fortune and introducing him to his hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it also brings him into conflict with a dangerous death-dealing foe who stalks him relentlessly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRaw, Explosive, Steamy, marked by searing action and bold thought,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMe\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003estands head, shoulders, and torso above Dan Quayle’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eStanding Erect\u003c\/em\u003e, Newt Gingrich’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThings I Finally Figured Out\u003c\/em\u003e, and Colin Powell’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMy Trips Around the U.S.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8724105068654,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Me_by_Jimmy_Big_Boy.jpg?v=1531253116"},{"product_id":"we-are-still-married-stories-letters-by-garrison-keillor-hardcover","title":"We Are Still Married: Stories \u0026 Letters by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1990, three years after Garrison took a break from hosting \"A Prairie Home Companion\" and went to live in Denmark \u0026amp; New York, this collection is a love letter to fans, reassuring them that even though \u003cem\u003eAPHC\u003c\/em\u003e was off the air, Garrison was still producing stories. This eclectic collection contains tales of love fumbled and recovered, satiric social comment, and letters on marriage and fatherhood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the time of publication,\u003cem\u003e The\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eWashington Post Book World \u003c\/em\u003ewrote: “Garrison Keillor made it possible, after twenty years of black humor…to be both funny \u003cem\u003eand\u003c\/em\u003e nice, hip \u003cem\u003eand\u003c\/em\u003e winsome, scathing \u003cem\u003eand\u003c\/em\u003e loving, all in the flick of a single many-barbed quip.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd \u003cem\u003eThe Village Voice\u003c\/em\u003e said: “Keillor’s literary style is as flexible and assured as his vocal delivery. It can slip from mood to mood so subtly and quickly you’re never quite sure where you are…. [His] writing has the silvery slip of running water, so graceful and easy it’s hard to believe it can carry so much that is jagged and unresolved. His integrity lies in his not smoothing away those rough edges in the swift current of his prose; they’re bruisingly, sometimes cuttingly there.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8740333518958,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/We_are_still_married.jpg?v=1531846782"},{"product_id":"wobegon-boy-a-novel-softcover-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Wobegon Boy: A Novel (Softcover) by Garrison Keillor","description":"A promising young man, John Tollefson, last seen leaving home in Lake Wobegon Days, lands in a lovely town in upstate New York, the manager of a public radio station at a college for the academically challenged children of financially gifted parents.  He buys a fine house, finds a wonderful girlfriend named Alida, launches a restaurant, puts on good parties, is presented with radio's coveted Wally Award, and then it dawn on him that his life is empty, without grandeur.  And that grandeur is to be found in the life that his Lutheran parents brought him up to live.  Which leads him, not back to Lake Wobegon, but to New York City.  That's the story of Wobegon Boy.","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":12458366140488,"sku":"","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Wobegon_Boy.jpg?v=1533056675"},{"product_id":"77-love-sonnets-book-cd","title":"77 Love Sonnets Book \u0026 CD","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“When I was 16, Helen Fleischman assigned me to memorize Shakespeare’s Sonnet No. 29, ‘When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state’ for English class, and fifty years later, that poem is still in my head. Algebra got washed away, and geometry and most of biology, but those lines about the redemptive power of love in the face of shame are still here behind my eyeballs, more permanent than my own teeth. The sonnet is a durable good. These 77 of mine include sonnets of praise, some erotic, some lamentations, some street sonnets and a 12-sonnet cycle of months. If anything here offends, I beg your pardon. I come in peace, I depart in gratitude.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— Garrison Keillor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"If you've occasionally wished that the news from Lake Wobegon contained more erotic poetry - and really, who hasn't? - then you'll want to get your hands on Garrison Keillor's 77 Love Sonnets . . . Keillor's original poems of courtship, heartbreak and frank carnal desire, all of it well suited to the author's folksy, avuncular voice\" - New York Times\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":12521483698248,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/77_Love_Sonnets_Bk_CD_Combo.jpg?v=1533670881"},{"product_id":"wlt-a-radio-romance-book-by-garrison-keillor","title":"WLT: A Radio Romance Book by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Mr. Keillor is at his best…. Every bit of his huge storytelling talent is here,” \u003cstrong\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the spring of 1926, the Soderbjerg brothers, Ray and Roy, launch the radio station WLT (With Lettuce and Tomato) in an effort to rescue their failing restaurant and become the Sandwich Kings of South Minneapolis. For the next quarter century, the “Friendly Neighbor” station produces a dazzling array of shows and stars, including Leo LaValley, Dad Benson, Wingo Beals, Slim Graves and Little Buddy, chain-smoking child star Marjery Moore, and blind baseball announcer Buck Steller. Francis With, a shy young radio fan from North Dakota, gets into WLT through his uncle Art and quickly becomes the Soderbjergs' right hand guy. Soon Francis is a budding announcer adored by Lily Dale, the crippled nightingale of WLT kept hidden from her fans, whose firing contributes to the downfall of the station. And then comes television.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":13043592036424,"sku":"","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/WLT_Bk.jpg?v=1540322336"},{"product_id":"a-christmas-blizzard-by-garrison-keillor-sc","title":"A Christmas Blizzard by Garrison Keillor (SC)","description":"\u003cdiv id=\"product-long-desc\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“A Christmas Blizzard is the story of James Sparrow who dreads the holiday and the poignant memories it dredges up and who longs to spend December in Hawaii. But his wife adores Christmas and cannot bear to miss it.  A phone call from cousin Liz in James's hometown of Looseleaf, N.D. — his uncle Earl is dying — brings James out of the doldrums and he flies to Looseleaf just in time to be snowed in by a major blizzard. There is a ghost, a wise man of San Francisco, a genial uncle, an undercover FBI agent, a steamy sauna scene, and the singing of Christmas carols. And several feet of snow. ” - Garrison Keillor\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGarrison Keillor spins a whimsical tale about contemporary life and the American holiday season. In it, a wealthy but unhappy Midwesterner is trapped in a North Dakota blizzard on his way to a resplendent tropical holiday. When the electricity fails, ghosts and spirits begin to appear, leading our character into a series of magical and ultimately redemptive experiences. Distinctively packaged and bound in a sweet, compact size.  Softcover book has been slightly revised and updated.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":15432835760200,"sku":"","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Blizzard_SC.jpg?v=1542227404"},{"product_id":"the-joke-show-collection-book-cds","title":"The Joke Show Collection (Book \u0026 CDs)","description":"\u003cp\u003eHave you heard the one about the Joke Show? Most years, the staff of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Prairie Home Companion®\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efinds the latest knee-slappers and groaners for the almost-annual Joke Show.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Joke Show Collection\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003egathers together all of the jokes from the 12\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Prairie Home Companion®\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ejoke shows and delivers them via book or CD.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 5th Edition of the joke book contains all of your favorite jokes sorted by category.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlenty of Good Jokes\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a 4 CD set containing all of the jokes from the first 8 joke shows while\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eEven More Pretty Good Jokes\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a 2 CD set containing all the laughs from the four most recent editions. Combined, they make a great companion for any occasion!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":15447028203592,"sku":"","price":49.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Joke_Show_Collection.jpg?v=1542666703"},{"product_id":"lake-wobegon-days-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003eLearn why Lake Wobegon never made it onto the map and meet “the last honest men in America”–Norwegian bachelor farmers. The book follows a novel format but includes several of your favorite stories from the live radio program\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Prairie Home Companion\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"What has always hooked me … is Keillor's ability to tread a line delicate as a cobweb between satire and sentiment. He never romanticizes the past, nor small-town virtues. In the great tradition of humorists, he is a moralist, who perceives the incredible mixture of little vices and virtues that everyone has, including himself …: The book is not simply 337 pages of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNews from Lake Wobegon\u003c\/em\u003e®. It is fuller, richer, more serious, but also funnier and franker.\" –The Cleveland Plain Dealer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“A comic anatomy of what is small and ordinary and therefore potentially profound and universal in American life … Keillor’s strength as a writer is to make the ordinary extraordinary.” –Chicago Tribune\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eListen to a sample \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/highbridge-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/mp3-samples\/9781565113145.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":15937697218632,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Lake_Wobegon_Days.jpg?v=1548114783"},{"product_id":"leaving-home-a-collection-of-lake-wobegon-stories-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLeaving Home\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis the first collection of Lake Wobegon short stories. The book includes 36 fan favorites taken from the live broadcasts of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Prairie Home Companion\u003c\/em\u003e. The short stories are mostly from shows performed during the late 80's. There is a wonderfully funny tale about a septic tank in Homecoming, a gathering of Lutheran ministers on a Pontoon Boat, an usher convention in Hawaii, news from the State fair and a fond farewell to a favorite son’s hometown taken from what was, at that time, the final in 1987. Softcover, 288 pages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"In the first collection of Lake Wobegon monologues, Keillor tells readers more about some of the people from\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eLake Wobegon Days\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand introduces some new faces.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eLeaving Home\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a book of exceptional charm … delightful … genuinely touching\" -\u003cem\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":16082498846792,"sku":"","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Leaving_Home.jpg?v=1550603365"},{"product_id":"love-me-a-novel-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Love Me: A Novel by Garrison Keillor","description":"In this charming departure from Lake Wobegon, bestselling author Garrison Keillor tells a hilarious and heartwarming tale of ambition, success and failure, and the virtues of real love. Aspiring writer Larry Wyler leads a quiet, decent life with his do-gooder wife, Iris, in St. Paul, Minnesota, but he wants more. When his literary debut becomes a hit, he departs for a Manhattan apartment, a job at the New Yorker, and three-martini lunches with the great editor William Shawn. But when his second novel bombs and he finds himself in the grip of writer's block, Wyler discovers that success––and the New York publishing scene––is a fickle mistress, indeed. Creatively barren, nearly destitute, and longing for Iris, he accepts a job writing \"Ask Mr. Blue,\" a column doling out advice to the lovelorn. It may not be glamorous work, but through it Wyler discovers what's really important and sets out to win back the woman he left behind.","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":28156462268488,"sku":"","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Love_Me.jpg?v=1556650847"},{"product_id":"lake-wobegon-summer-1956-a-novel-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Lake Wobegon Summer 1956: A Novel by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first novel in four years from \"the funniest American writer still open for business\" (Time) depicts the most harrowing time of life in Lake Wobegon: adolescence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmerica's finest storyteller spins his latest Lake Wobegon tale. This hilarious coming-of-age novel is the world according to Gary: a 14-year-old geek, \"tree toad,\" and aspiring writer whose best friends are his Underwood typewriter and his rebellious cousin Kate. Droll, bittersweet, full of Garrison Keillor's trademark wit and brilliant insights into love, heartbreak, and growing up in post-war America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith his trademark gift for treading \"a line delicate as a cobweb between satire and sentiment\"(Cleveland Plain Dealer), Garrison Keillor brilliantly captures a newly minted postwar America and delivers an unforgettable comedy about a writer coming of age in the rural mid-west.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":28279724277832,"sku":"","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/LW_Summ_56.jpg?v=1559073121"},{"product_id":"living-with-limericks-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Living with Limericks by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRadio personality and author Garrison Keillor delights and astounds in this hybrid memoir\/poetry collection that combines anecdotes from his childhood and his \"A Prairie Home Companion\" years with literary limericks, darkly humorous limericks, extended limericks (aka limericks with porches), and so much more. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLimericks are the poems that can be written in the empty spaces between life, Keillor posits, and this compact book illustrates the full range of the form's utility: thank-you notes to doctors, odes to \"Prairie Home\" performers, postcard greetings from exotic places, succinct biographies of favorite writers, and scribbles in the margins of Sunday church programs. Readers who have always pined for the perfect limerick hinging on the place name \"Schenectady\" will at long last be placated. Meanwhile, longtime Keillor fans will gain insight into a whole new side of the bestselling author, whose obsession with limericks goes all the way back to when the bespectacled, lanky youth wearing hand-me-down jeans (from his sister) recited to his Anoka High School class:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere was a young man of Anoka\u003cu\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWho tried to write a great limerick.\u003cu\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe tried and he tried\u003cu\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd some were not bad,\u003cu\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut something seemed to be missing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":30963257180232,"sku":"","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/hi_res_final_cover.jpg?v=1571845782"},{"product_id":"homegrown-democrat-read-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Homegrown Democrat read by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this thoughtful, deeply personal work, one of the nation’s best-loved voices takes the plunge into politics and comes up with a book that has had all of America talking. Here, with great heart, supple wit, and a dash of anger, Garrison Keillor describes the simple democratic values--the Golden Rule, the obligation to defend the weak against the powerful, and others--that define his hardworking Midwestern neighbors and that today’s Republicans seem determined to subvert. A reminiscence, a political tract, and a humorous meditation, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eHomegrown Democrat\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is an entertaining, refreshing addition to today’s rancorous political debate.  over 4.5 hours.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Highbridge\/Recorded Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":34853921095830,"sku":"","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Democratcd.gif?v=1592929095"},{"product_id":"the-lake-wobegon-virus-recorded-by-garrison-keillor-7-cds","title":"The Lake Wobegon Virus CD Audiobook, narrated by Garrison Keillor (7 CDs)","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBestselling author and humorist Garrison Keillor returns to one of America's most beloved mythical towns, beset by a contagion of alarming candor.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA mysterious virus has infiltrated the good people of Lake Wobegon, transmitted via unpasteurized cheese made by a Norwegian bachelor farmer, the effect of which is episodic loss of social inhibition. Mayor Alice, Father Wilmer, Pastor Liz, the Bunsens and Krebsbachs, formerly taciturn elders, burst into political rants, inappropriate confessions, and rhapsodic proclamations, while their teenagers watch in amazement. Meanwhile, a wealthy outsider is buying up farmland for a “Keep America Truckin’” Motorway and Amusement Park, estimated to draw 2.2 million visitors a year. Clint Bunsen and Elena the hometown epidemiologist to the rescue, with a Fourth of July Living Flag and sweet corn feast for a finale.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn his newest Lake Wobegon novel, Garrison Keillor takes us back to the small prairie town where for so long American readers and listeners have found laughter as well as the wry airing of our most familiar fears, desires, and beliefs—a town where, as we know, \"all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMusical interludes arranged and performed by Richard Dworsky - piano.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNarrated by Garrison Keillor. Over 7 hours on 7 CDs.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skyhorse","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":35946716496022,"sku":"","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Audiobookcover-frontonly.jpg?v=1598297753"},{"product_id":"happy-to-be-here-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Happy To Be Here by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eHappy to Be Here\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the first collection of short stories, originally published in 1981. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e It is Keillor's first attempt at publishing a full-length book. Many of the stories first appeared in magazines Keillor wrote for between 1969 and 1981.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRead an excerpt \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.garrisonkeillor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/9780140131826_HappytoBeHere_Jack-Schmidt_Excerpt-pp3-4.pdf\"\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“Keillor’s best stuff is clean (in the sense that lines are clean), down to earth, exquisitely good-hearted, highly ludicrous, and as labored as nitrous oxide…. This book will either leave you dumbfounded or happy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ealmost deservedly happy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eto be anywhere” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e—The New York Times Book Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“His humor is cerebral and complex, a blend of romance and nostalgia; it sparklingly parodies the American (and human) condition…. His stories and satires glow with a sense of time and place.”\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e—The Washington Post\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":38272654540999,"sku":"","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/happytobehere.jpg?v=1613412354"},{"product_id":"the-lake-wobegon-virus-softcover","title":"The Lake Wobegon Virus softcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eNow in paperback—bestselling author and humorist Garrison Keillor returns to one of America's most beloved mythical towns, beset by a contagion of alarming candor.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA mysterious virus has infiltrated the good people of Lake Wobegon, transmitted via unpasteurized cheese made by a Norwegian bachelor farmer, the effect of which is episodic loss of social inhibition. Mayor Alice, Father Wilmer, Pastor Liz, the Bunsens and Krebsbachs, formerly taciturn elders, burst into political rants, inappropriate confessions, and rhapsodic proclamations, while their teenagers watch in amazement. Meanwhile, a wealthy outsider is buying up farmland for a Keep America Truckin’ motorway and amusement park, estimated to draw 2.2 million visitors a year. Clint Bunsen and Elena the hometown epidemiologist to the rescue, with a Fourth of July Living Flag and sweet corn feast for a finale.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn his newest Lake Wobegon novel, Garrison Keillor takes us back to the small prairie town where for so long American readers and listeners have found laughter as well as the wry airing of our foibles and most familiar desires and fears—a town where, as we know, \"all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003e\"\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eIt sure is great when a writer can help readers like me get through a difficult subject with humor, and Garrison manages to do this with four to five out-loud laughs per page. . . . The poetry Garrison included in this slim volume about our second favorite small town in America, Lake Wobegon, is great fun.\"—\u003ci\u003eCholla Needles Arts \u0026amp; Literary Library\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40925853581511,"sku":"","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/SoftcoverViruscover.jpg?v=1631553021"},{"product_id":"serenity-at-70-gaiety-at-80-why-you-should-keep-on-getting-older-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Serenity at 70, Gaiety at 80: Why you should keep on getting older by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eCreated just for fans as a keepsake from Garrison.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Here is a short preview:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“My life is so good at 79 I wonder why I waited this long\u003cbr\u003eto get here,” writes Mr. Keillor. “I look at the front page\u003cbr\u003eof the paper and think, ‘Not My Problem.’ The world\u003cbr\u003ebelongs to the young, I am only a tourist, and I love being\u003cbr\u003ea foreigner in America.I enjoy it as I would enjoy Paris or\u003cbr\u003eCopenhagen, except I mostly know the language. I don’t\u003cbr\u003eknow who famous people are anymore and I’m okay with\u003cbr\u003ethat.” You learn that Less Is More, the great lesson of\u003cbr\u003eJesus and also Buddha. Each day becomes importan after\u003cbr\u003eyou pass the point of life expectancy. Big problems vanish,\u003cbr\u003esmall things make you happy. And the worst is behind you\u003cbr\u003ebecause you lack the energy to be as foolish as you might\u003cbr\u003eotherwise be.\u003cbr\u003e“We arrive at old age by luck; virtue is not crucial. Luck\u003cbr\u003eis crucial. If you took time to plan your life carefully,\u003cbr\u003eyou’d be 90 by the time you turn 25.So aim for adequacy.\u003cbr\u003eBe good enough”.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith a chapter of 23 rules for aging, including\u003cbr\u003e“Enumerate your benefits,” “Enjoy inertia,” “Get out of\u003cbr\u003ethe way,” “Tell your likely survivors absolutely not to use\u003cbr\u003ethe words “A Celebration of Life’ (you already did that\u003cbr\u003eyourself), “Don’t fight with younger people; they will be\u003cbr\u003ewriting your obituary,” and finally, “Ignore rules you read\u003cbr\u003ein a book. Do what you were going to do anyway.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlso including the Five Stages of Aging, for those who like\u003cbr\u003elists, and Mr. Keillor’s account of 24 hours in a New York\u003cbr\u003eER, in which he saw clearly his own good fortune and\u003cbr\u003ealso got an EEG and a lesson in contentment from Bob\u003cbr\u003ethe Buddhist. And a few poems for no extra charge:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEvery day is a beautiful gift,\u003cbr\u003eTender and precious and swift.\u003cbr\u003eThe light and the sound,\u003cbr\u003eThe sky and the ground,\u003cbr\u003eEvery hour cries out to be lived.\u003cbr\u003eThough I may be over the hill,\u003cbr\u003eStill I think I can and I will.\u003cbr\u003eI’ve forgotten just what\u003cbr\u003eI can and will, but\u003cbr\u003eThey remain a goal of mine still.\u003cbr\u003eEvery year I pass the date\u003cbr\u003eWhen my balloon shall deflate.\u003cbr\u003eMy mom entered heaven\u003cbr\u003eAt age ninety-seven,\u003cbr\u003eAnd I aim to reach ninety-eight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eOld folks like Lena and Ole\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e Choose to dance sprightly and slowly\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAnd thus stay upright\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eBut the gentle delight\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThey find is quite joyful and holy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eRULE 12\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eDon’t fight with younger people, even if you’re right, which you probably are. When they tell you outrageous things, say, “That’s very interesting, I’ll have to think about it.” These people will be writing your obituary, and why give them a reason to put “contentious” or “embittered” in the second paragraph or accusations of cultural appropriation or insufficient anger at power imbalance. If you enjoy dispute, go after your elders if you still have any who are of sound mind. Poke them in the stomach. This will amaze them, seeing as everyone else pities them to death, and they will relish combat and rise to the challenge and it will improve their respiration. And a day later they’ll forget the whole thing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lulu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41306735050951,"sku":"","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/serenityjp.png?v=1635795535"},{"product_id":"boom-town-a-lake-wobegon-novel-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Boom Town: A Lake Wobegon Novel AUTOGRAPHED by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWith Boom Town, Garrison Keillor returns to his hometown of Lake Wobegon, which is in the midst of a rising economic tide driven by millennial\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eentrepreneurs. “I go back home mainly for funerals, which these days are for people my age, 79, which gets my attention, an obituary with my number in it,” he writes, as he sits at the bedside of Arlene Bunsen dying with humor and grace, and recalls a teenage love affair with Marlys Gunderson and observes the millennial culture, a stark contrast to the Lutheran farm town of the radio monologues. He spends the summer in the old Gunderson lake cabin, reliving the past, postponing his return to New York and his wife Giselle.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGarrison Keillor wrote Boom Town during the pandemic lockdown in New York,\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ereading drafts of it to his wife, Jenny, sitting across the room. He did parts of the book in monologues for audiences in Boston, New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Virginia, along with the story of how, in the 8th grade, his shop teacher Orville Buehler, worried about the boy’s carelessness with the power saw, sent him up to LaVona Person’s speech class, thus changing his life. Keillor says, “For many people, the key to success is discipline and education, but for me, it was ineptitude with power tools.”\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHis twice-weekly columns appear on Substack (garrisonkeillor.substack.com).\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“Keillor’s laughs come dear, not cheap, emerging from shared virtue and good character, from reassuring us of our neighborliness and strength. . . . His true subject is how daily life is shot with grace. Keillor writes a prose that can be turned to laughter, to tears . . . to compassion or satire, to a hundred effects. He is a brilliant parodist.” —San Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“One of the things that makes him popular is that he doesn’t seem so\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003every different himself from the parallel-world Minnesotans whose lives\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ehe describes with such forlorn fondness. They are judged not from above,\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ebut from the side, in a way that seems neighbourly.” —The Guardian\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Prairie Home Productions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41874637553863,"sku":"","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Boomtown.jpg?v=1645858464"},{"product_id":"lake-wobegon-days-read-by-garrison-keillor-cds","title":"Lake Wobegon Days READ by Garrison Keillor (4 CDs)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGarrison Keillor is the consummate storyteller, gifted with the rare ability, both in print and in performance, to hold an audience spellbound with his tales of ordinary people whose lives contain extraordinary moments of humor, tenderness, and grace. This exclusive recording of Garrison Keillor reading a carefully edited abridgement of the book also includes a few segments taken from live performances recorded during a fundraising tour for public radio stations in 1985.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLearn why Lake Wobegon never made it onto the map and meet “the last honest men in America”–Norwegian bachelor farmers. The book follows a novel format but includes several of your favorite stories from the live radio program\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Prairie Home Companion\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"What has always hooked me … is Keillor's ability to tread a line delicate as a cobweb between satire and sentiment. He never romanticizes the past, nor small-town virtues. In the great tradition of humorists, he is a moralist, who perceives the incredible mixture of little vices and virtues that everyone has, including himself …: The book is not simply 337 pages of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNews from Lake Wobegon\u003c\/em\u003e®. It is fuller, richer, more serious, but also funnier and franker.\" –The Cleveland Plain Dealer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“A comic anatomy of what is small and ordinary and therefore potentially profound and universal in American life … Keillor’s strength as a writer is to make the ordinary extraordinary.” –Chicago Tribune\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eListen to a sample \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/highbridge-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/mp3-samples\/9781565113145.mp3\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u0026gt;\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42022602670279,"sku":"","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/LWDayscd.jpg?v=1648509127"},{"product_id":"copy-of-boom-town-a-lake-wobegon-novel-autographed-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Boom Town: A Lake Wobegon Novel by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWith Boom Town, Garrison Keillor returns to his hometown of Lake Wobegon, which is in the midst of a rising economic tide driven by millennial\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eentrepreneurs. “I go back home mainly for funerals, which these days are for people my age, 79, which gets my attention, an obituary with my number in it,” he writes, as he sits at the bedside of Arlene Bunsen dying with humor and grace, and recalls a teenage love affair with Marlys Gunderson and observes the millennial culture, a stark contrast to the Lutheran farm town of the radio monologues. He spends the summer in the old Gunderson lake cabin, reliving the past, postponing his return to New York and his wife Giselle.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGarrison Keillor wrote Boom Town during the pandemic lockdown in New York,\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ereading drafts of it to his wife, Jenny, sitting across the room. He did parts of the book in monologues for audiences in Boston, New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Virginia, along with the story of how, in the 8th grade, his shop teacher Orville Buehler, worried about the boy’s carelessness with the power saw, sent him up to LaVona Person’s speech class, thus changing his life. Keillor says, “For many people, the key to success is discipline and education, but for me, it was ineptitude with power tools.”\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHis twice-weekly columns appear on Substack (garrisonkeillor.substack.com).\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“Keillor’s laughs come dear, not cheap, emerging from shared virtue and good character, from reassuring us of our neighborliness and strength. . . . His true subject is how daily life is shot with grace. Keillor writes a prose that can be turned to laughter, to tears . . . to compassion or satire, to a hundred effects. He is a brilliant parodist.” —San Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“One of the things that makes him popular is that he doesn’t seem so\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003every different himself from the parallel-world Minnesotans whose lives\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ehe describes with such forlorn fondness. They are judged not from above,\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ebut from the side, in a way that seems neighbourly.” —The Guardian\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Prairie Home Productions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42081136148679,"sku":"","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/Boomtown_8e8c7641-7958-4723-b6de-27543d15943f.jpg?v=1649731633"},{"product_id":"that-time-of-year-a-minnesota-life-softcover-by-garrison-keillor","title":"That Time of Year: A Minnesota Life softcover by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFrom the author:\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"x_ContentPasted0 x_elementToProof\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eI sat down and looked at my memoir THAT TIME OF YEAR when it came out and was put off by the sadness, the opening chapter about how much I missed doing “A Prairie Home Companion,” so I sat down to fix it. That’s why a writer shouldn’t read his own work. But I did and so I sat down to cheer it up a little and wrote a new first paragraph.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"x_ContentPasted0 x_elementToProof\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eI am a Minnesotan, born, bred, well-fed, self-repressed, bombast averse, sprung from the middle of North America, raised along the Mississippi River, which we spelled in rhythm, M-i-ss-i-ss-i-pp-i, a sweet incantation along with the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 and our school fight song about v-i-c-t-o-r-y. We sang it with a sense of irony, knowing we weren’t winners in the eyes of New York or L.A. or even our football rivals, but we were proud of our North Star State, the flatness, the fertile fields, the culture of kindness and modesty, our ferocious winters, when white people become even whiter, and to top it all off, we were the origin of the Mighty Miss. Wisconsin wasn’t, nor North the Dakota. It was us and strings of barges came up to St.Paul to haul our corn and beans to a hungry world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"x_ContentPasted0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eI wrote a new preface and a cheerier first chapter, which came (literally) from the heart I having undergone heart surgery at Mayo to replace a leaky mitral valve and I felt good. I did this for readers who missed the hardcover edition, to give them a lift, and also myself. The revision led to SERENITY AT 70, GAIETY AT 80 and a new book in progress, CHEERFULNESS. It’s a happy phenomenon, an author still ambitious at 80, and I give credit to my wife Jenny. If I were teaching Creative Writing today, I’d teach my students the importance of marrying the right person.\" - Garrison Keillor\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the Publisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the warmth and humor we’ve come to know, the creator and host of \u003ci\u003eA Prairie Home Companion\u003c\/i\u003e shares his own remarkable story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThat Time of Year\u003c\/i\u003e, Garrison Keillor looks back on his life and recounts how a Brethren boy with writerly ambitions grew up in a small town on the Mississippi in the 1950s and, seeing three good friends die young, turned to comedy and radio. Through a series of unreasonable lucky breaks, he founded \u003ci\u003eA Prairie Home Companion \u003c\/i\u003eand put himself in line for a good life, including mistakes, regrets, and a few medical adventures. PHC lasted forty years, 1500 shows, and enjoyed the freedom to do as it pleased for three or four million listeners every Saturday at 5 p.m. Central. He got to sing with Emmylou Harris and Renee Fleming and once sang two songs to the U.S. Supreme Court. He played a private eye and a cowboy, gave the news from his hometown, Lake Wobegon, and met Somali cabdrivers who’d learned English from listening to the show. He wrote bestselling novels, won a Grammy and a National Humanities Medal, and made a movie with Robert Altman with an alarming amount of improvisation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe says, “I was unemployable and managed to invent work for myself that I loved all my life, and on top of that I married well. That’s the secret, work and love. And I chose the right ancestors, impoverished Scots and Yorkshire farmers, good workers. I’m heading for eighty, and I still get up to write before dawn every day.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn the Press:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\"\u003e\n\u003cb class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e\"Keillor is . . . sharing with readers a lifetime of success and regrets. His book is funny, sad, poignant, and sometimes wistful, especially when he recalls good times on the PHC tour bus, traveling to performances all over the country.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003ePioneer Press\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\"\u003e\n\u003cb class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e\"\u003ci class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003eThat Time of Year \u003c\/i\u003eis a major work: a thoroughgoing portrait of its artist as both a young man and a somewhat sad but grateful oldster. Each period of Keillor’s life is recounted, frequently in novelistic detail, with humor and humility.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003eWashington Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\"\u003e\n\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e\u003cb class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e\"Die-hard fans will treasure stories with Keillor as the central character, rather than trying to discover him behind that Guy Noir mask.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003eStar Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\"\u003e\u003ci class=\"x_ContentPasted2\"\u003e\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\"\u003e\u003ci class=\"x_ContentPasted2 x_elementToProof\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"x_ContentPasted3\"\u003e\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb class=\"x_ContentPasted3\"\u003eHe writes in a style that is reminiscent of his \u003ci class=\"x_ContentPasted3\"\u003ePrairie Home \u003c\/i\u003estories, rambling, self-deprecating and true to life. If you grew up in a small town, you’ll instantly identify with some of his stories and experiences.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan class=\"x_ContentPasted3\"\u003e . . . An enjoyable, light read.\"—Lutheran Ladies Connection\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"x_ContentPasted3\"\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\"\u003e\u003ci class=\"x_ContentPasted2 x_elementToProof\"\u003e\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"x_ContentPasted3\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"x_ContentPasted3\"\u003e\"A literary cartographer would find it necessary to trace, in forceful blue lines, tributary streams running from Mark Twain and Sherwood Anderson to the Wobegonian river of stories and novels that has issued from Garrison Keillor for more than twenty years.\"—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci class=\"x_ContentPasted3\"\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\"\u003e\u003cbr aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"x_elementToProof x_ContentPasted1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43021141278919,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/ThatTimeofYear.jpg?v=1674579910"},{"product_id":"cheerfulness-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Cheerfulness by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eCheerfulness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, veteran radio host and author Garrison Keillor reflects on a simple virtue that can help us in this stressful and sometimes gloomy era. Drawing on personal anecdotes from his young adulthood into his eighties, Keillor sheds light on the immense good that can come from a deliberate work ethic and a buoyant demeanor. “Adopting cheerfulness as a strategy does not mean closing your eyes to evil,” he tells us; “it means resisting our drift toward compulsive dread and despond.” Funny, poignant, thought-provoking, and whimsical, this is a book that will inspire you to choose cheerfulness in your daily life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"yj6qo\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43141802590407,"sku":"","price":21.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/3dmockup1.png?v=1681536067"},{"product_id":"autographed-copy-of-cheerfulness-by-garrison-keillor","title":"AUTOGRAPHED COPY of Cheerfulness by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eCheerfulness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, veteran radio host and author Garrison Keillor reflects on a simple virtue that can help us in this stressful and sometimes gloomy era. Drawing on personal anecdotes from his young adulthood into his eighties, Keillor sheds light on the immense good that can come from a deliberate work ethic and a buoyant demeanor. “Adopting cheerfulness as a strategy does not mean closing your eyes to evil,” he tells us; “it means resisting our drift toward compulsive dread and despond.” Funny, poignant, thought-provoking, and whimsical, this is a book that will inspire you to choose cheerfulness in your daily life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"yj6qo\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43183033647303,"sku":"","price":21.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/files\/3dmockup1_e4f06831-ec71-4c66-9d4c-95b70b8038dc.png?v=1682608408"},{"product_id":"a-prairie-home-companion-the-screenplay-of-the-motion-picture-by-garrison-keillor","title":"A Prairie Home Companion: The Screenplay of the Motion Picture by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe day of reckoning has come to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, home of A Prairie Home Companion. The show is closing, the theater is going dark. Radio station WLT has been sold to a broadcasting conglomerate in Texas. The wrecking ball is poised to swing as the regulars arrive for the last broadcast in a state of disbelief - the Johnson Girls, Yolanda and Rhonda, and the singing cowboys, Dusty and Lefty, crooner Church Akers, and announcer Garrison Keillor. But when the Dangerous Woman appears with her golden Botticellian hair and dazzling white trench coat, the final curtain catches them all by surprise.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43189744238791,"sku":"","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/files\/PHCScreenplaybook.jpg?v=1683142573"},{"product_id":"brisk-verse-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Brisk Verse by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003eBRAND NEW IN 2024.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eBRISK VERSE \u003c\/em\u003eby Garrison Keillor, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003ea collection of original invigorating verse. Read it to yourself or aloud to friends, family, or passersby. One hundred and thirty-two poems in all — diverse topics, including Brevity, Thongs, Minnesota, Manners, Mozart, Marilyn Monroe, Failure, Fatherhood, Episcopalians, Plumbing, Spaghetti, Spring, Online Love, Eighty, and the National Anthem as it might’ve been written by Whitman, Dickinson, Eliot, Frost, and other poets. Illustrated with quirky antique advertisements for tonics and gizmos. With a foreword by the author. 239 pp.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso available via Amazon Kindle\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eAnd it’s the perfect gift.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lulu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43977106030791,"sku":"","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/files\/BriskVersefrontcover.png?v=1712515126"},{"product_id":"brisk-verse-autographed-by-garrison-keillor","title":"Brisk Verse AUTOGRAPHED by Garrison Keillor","description":"\u003cp\u003eBRAND NEW IN 2024.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eBRISK VERSE \u003c\/em\u003eby Garrison Keillor, \u003c\/strong\u003ea collection of original invigorating verse. Read it to yourself or aloud to friends, family, or passersby. One hundred and thirty-two poems in all — diverse topics, including Brevity, Thongs, Minnesota, Manners, Mozart, Marilyn Monroe, Failure, Fatherhood, Episcopalians, Plumbing, Spaghetti, Spring, Online Love, Eighty, and the National Anthem as it might’ve been written by Whitman, Dickinson, Eliot, Frost, and other poets. Illustrated with quirky antique advertisements for tonics and gizmos. With a foreword by the author. 239 pp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eAnd it’s the perfect gift. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lulu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43977153380551,"sku":null,"price":21.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/files\/BriskVersefrontcover_c4c6fa68-4c19-430d-8baa-16b6a7c51142.png?v=1712515851"},{"product_id":"serenity-at-70-gaiety-at-80-why-you-should-keep-on-getting-older-by-garrison-keillor-autographed","title":"Serenity at 70, Gaiety at 80: Why you should keep on getting older by Garrison Keillor AUTOGRAPHED","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eCreated just for fans as a keepsake from Garrison.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Here is a short preview:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“My life is so good at 79 I wonder why I waited this long\u003cbr\u003eto get here,” writes Mr. Keillor. “I look at the front page\u003cbr\u003eof the paper and think, ‘Not My Problem.’ The world\u003cbr\u003ebelongs to the young, I am only a tourist, and I love being\u003cbr\u003ea foreigner in America.I enjoy it as I would enjoy Paris or\u003cbr\u003eCopenhagen, except I mostly know the language. I don’t\u003cbr\u003eknow who famous people are anymore and I’m okay with\u003cbr\u003ethat.” You learn that Less Is More, the great lesson of\u003cbr\u003eJesus and also Buddha. Each day becomes importan after\u003cbr\u003eyou pass the point of life expectancy. Big problems vanish,\u003cbr\u003esmall things make you happy. And the worst is behind you\u003cbr\u003ebecause you lack the energy to be as foolish as you might\u003cbr\u003eotherwise be.\u003cbr\u003e“We arrive at old age by luck; virtue is not crucial. Luck\u003cbr\u003eis crucial. If you took time to plan your life carefully,\u003cbr\u003eyou’d be 90 by the time you turn 25.So aim for adequacy.\u003cbr\u003eBe good enough”.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith a chapter of 23 rules for aging, including\u003cbr\u003e“Enumerate your benefits,” “Enjoy inertia,” “Get out of\u003cbr\u003ethe way,” “Tell your likely survivors absolutely not to use\u003cbr\u003ethe words “A Celebration of Life’ (you already did that\u003cbr\u003eyourself), “Don’t fight with younger people; they will be\u003cbr\u003ewriting your obituary,” and finally, “Ignore rules you read\u003cbr\u003ein a book. Do what you were going to do anyway.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlso including the Five Stages of Aging, for those who like\u003cbr\u003elists, and Mr. Keillor’s account of 24 hours in a New York\u003cbr\u003eER, in which he saw clearly his own good fortune and\u003cbr\u003ealso got an EEG and a lesson in contentment from Bob\u003cbr\u003ethe Buddhist. And a few poems for no extra charge:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEvery day is a beautiful gift,\u003cbr\u003eTender and precious and swift.\u003cbr\u003eThe light and the sound,\u003cbr\u003eThe sky and the ground,\u003cbr\u003eEvery hour cries out to be lived.\u003cbr\u003eThough I may be over the hill,\u003cbr\u003eStill I think I can and I will.\u003cbr\u003eI’ve forgotten just what\u003cbr\u003eI can and will, but\u003cbr\u003eThey remain a goal of mine still.\u003cbr\u003eEvery year I pass the date\u003cbr\u003eWhen my balloon shall deflate.\u003cbr\u003eMy mom entered heaven\u003cbr\u003eAt age ninety-seven,\u003cbr\u003eAnd I aim to reach ninety-eight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eOld folks like Lena and Ole\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e Choose to dance sprightly and slowly\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAnd thus stay upright\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eBut the gentle delight\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThey find is quite joyful and holy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eRULE 12\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eDon’t fight with younger people, even if you’re right, which you probably are. When they tell you outrageous things, say, “That’s very interesting, I’ll have to think about it.” These people will be writing your obituary, and why give them a reason to put “contentious” or “embittered” in the second paragraph or accusations of cultural appropriation or insufficient anger at power imbalance. If you enjoy dispute, go after your elders if you still have any who are of sound mind. Poke them in the stomach. This will amaze them, seeing as everyone else pities them to death, and they will relish combat and rise to the challenge and it will improve their respiration. And a day later they’ll forget the whole thing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lulu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46128831824071,"sku":null,"price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/products\/serenityjp.png?v=1635795535"},{"product_id":"the-selected-verse-of-margaret-haskins-durber","title":"The Selected Verse of Margaret Haskins Durber","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe poet laureate of Lake Wobegon whose poems were regularly featured on LIVE broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion in the early '80's.  This is her first collection of verse and includes 'The Finn Who Wouldn't Take A Sauna,' 'O The Fair,' 'Song of the Exile,' and more.  Published by Jack's Press.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Margaret Haskins Durber wrote some celebratory odes years ago that were published in the paper and now I forget what they were about, but I’m sure they were perfectly OK.\" - Garrison Keillor\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46132218626247,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/files\/MargaretDurberHaskins.jpg?v=1769541224"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0003\/6801\/7414\/collections\/Books.jpg?v=1572906065","url":"https:\/\/shop.garrisonkeillor.com\/collections\/books\/gift.oembed?page=2","provider":"ShopGarrisonKeillor.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}