The last time I read a "whimsical" book that just delighted me was The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett, when Janet E. told us

about it in this Forum.   But I have now (serendipitously) come across another one.  It's Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town. by the

famous Canadian humor writer Stephen Leacock.  It's just the kind of book for reading on an August vacation day, say, while lying

in a hammock beneath a shade tree.   It includes twelve "sketches" (not short stories, not essays, but more what might best be called

"anecdotes") that plainly reveal Leacock's sharp eye for his fellow townspeople, coupled with his genuine affection for them, despite 

their foibles. 

Thanks -- I loved Uncommon Reader, will now keep an eye out for Sunshine Sketches.

Thanks for the tip Bonnie. I downloaded it from Project Gutenberg to my Kindle!