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A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities

A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities - Barbara Venkataraman Note: Even though this is Book 2 in the series, it stands alone just fine.

This collection of humorous essays captures snippets of real life. From the hardware store trip, to debt collection, to a failed dinner party, and the finance among friends, these little stories provide amusement.

I can see myself in several of these essays. I especially liked the dinner party story, Dinner Is Served. The narrator goes to great lengths to serve a tasty and impressive dinner. However, all her friends have dietary restrictions – allergic to nuts, avoiding gluten, etc. The tale ends on an amusing note of everyone deciding to order pizza, only to disagree on the toppings!

Your Account Is Past Due was my second favorite with silly little stories from a debt collector’s point of view. People tell the collector all sorts of things about their personal lives while explaining why they haven’t paid their bill.

Finally, the title piece, A Trip to the Hardware Store, gave me a giggle mostly because a confused pet dog became so flustered he piddled on fresh cement, creating quite a lot of rework for the owners. Yep, that would be my dog.

Over all, the collection was fun but not brilliant. It is suitable for all audiences with no cussing, no violence, and no adult situations. Basically, it was inoffensive. However, if you have a shared commute and want to listen to something besides your carpool snoring, this could be a fun listen. I did prefer her Jamie Quinn murder mystery over this book but this can serve as a good intro to the author’s sense of humor.

Narration: Carrie Lee Martz provided humor and surprise to the various characters in these essays. Her clear voice provided a nice narration.