"Lake Wobegon Days" by Garrison Keilor

"Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known." -Garrison Keillor

When I first picked up "Lake Wobegon Days" in 2004, I was young, ignorant and starving for adventure.  The pages did not turn easy as Garrison Keilor described Lake Wobegon's layout and history, and that was as far as I got.  Seven years later, I set out to read it again.  Still young, ignorant and starving for adventure, I didn't expect to make it past the opening quote:

"Dogs don't lie, and why should I?
Strangers come, they growl and bark.
They know their loved ones in the dark.
Now let me, by night or day,
Be just as full of truth as they."

But I did, and without noticing drove into a small American town, took a right on "Main Street toward the town's one traffic light, which is almost always green," and settled in at The Chatterbox Cafe for the daily lunch special.  Four-hundred and twenty pages later (not kidding), I wished I had another four-hundred and twenty pages of Lake Wobegon.  I can't articulate the magical feeling of the Midwest Garrison Keilor put into words.  I can, however, recommend that anybody who's grown up here take a visit to your local library and check out this marvelous book.  

The story starts out slow, and for much of the book stays slow, but that's how life is in the Midwest and the gems Keilor hides in each chapter are well worth the hours spent uncovering them - even if you have to read the book twice. Without further ado, I loose you unto the world...

Good day and good luck,
 

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• "Lake Wobegon Days" by Garrison Keilor