Category: Books

Make it a McManus Christmas

Ten Stories to Make Your Christmas Merrier

As we come to the close of one of the worst years most of us have experienced I thought you’d enjoy the gift of laughter as a small respite.

Here are ten stories about Christmas that are found in Pat’s story collections.

  • “A Brief History of Giving (1942-89)” in Real Ponies Don’t Go Oink!
  • “Christmas Over Easy” in The Horse in My Garage
  • “Christmas Shopping” in The Horse in My Garage
  • “Letter to Santa” in Rubber Legs and White Tail-Hairs
  • “Mean Gifts” in The Good Samaritan Strikes Again
  • “The Christmas Hatchet” in Never Sniff a Gift Fish
  • “The Gift” in They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?
  • “The Magic Tree” in The Bear in the Attic
  • “Tin Boat” in The Bear in the Attic
  • “Why Wives on Christmas Mourn” in The Grasshopper Trap

If you find you’re missing any of these books here is a complete list with links where you can purchase them. I’ve also made this list available as a bookmark to help you keep track.

Share some laughter with your loved ones and please stay safe!

Audiobooks: George S. Irving Reads Pat McManus Stories

On the Quick-Find a Story page, Andrew asked:

“I have a question:  what happened to George S. Irving?  He was the best voice ever and I can’t even hardly listen to the audio any more with the new guys being used. Is there any way to get a hold of the originals of audio?”

If you search on Audible.com for Pat McManus stories you will see they are narrated by quite a few different people—none of whom are George S. Irving.

I have frequent inquiries about George S. Irving. Sadly, he passed away last December (2016). Here is the obituary.

For those interested in tracking down the audio cassettes of Patrick’s stories read by George S. Irving, here is the most helpful info I can provide:

  1. Here is a link to all Patrick’s books that can be found on Amazon.com.
  2. When you click on a book title and go to the Amazon page, under the title info you’ll see a link that says “All formats and editions.”
  3. Click “All formats and editions” and you’ll see if there are audio tape versions available. They are from third-party sellers since they have been long out of production.

Downloadable versions of George S. Irving’s recordings are not available. I’ve been trying to research how I might find them but the company that produced the audio cassettes has gone out of business and I’d have to hire a lawyer to track down the rights and permissions. Someday when I’m richer I plan on tackling that!