Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up

I have yet to read a Dave Barry book I didn't like. Although I had already read some of the stories in previous books - they were still funny. I usually have to watch Mystery Science Theater 3000 to keep from getting bored while walking on the treadmill, but this book had me laughing hysterically. Two thumbs, way up!

If you have never read Dave Barry this is a wonderful place to start. The guy is hilarious and while I can respect say Dennis Leary it is nice to read a guy who can be funny without swearing every 5th word. Highlights of this book include Dave Barry goes to China Dave Barry checks out Graceland Dave Barry's list of the worst song ever Overall-If you want to laugh get this now

Being a huge Dave Barry fan, I had to read this book, and I was not disappointed. The book is a collection of columns he wrote, mostly from the early 1990's; presumably, these are his funniest and the ones that got the most responses from readers. And you'd be surprised the kind of responses he gets from readers, some of whom can't seem to grasp that Dave's columns are supposed to be funny. I, unlike those readers, had no trouble finding the humor in this book. I've probably read it 100 times, and parts of it still crack me up. He writes mostly about unusual news stories sent in by "alert readers" regarding exploding toilets and other such oddities. Its format-short essays of about 2 or 3 pages each-makes it ideal for people with short attention spans, but others will enjoy it too. If you've never read a Dave Barry book, you need to start, and I'm guessing this one will help get you hooked.

If you're already familiar with Dave Barry, all I need to say is that this book is unquestionably one of his best, along with "Dave Barry Talks Back", "Dave Barry Turns 40", and "Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need". If you aren't familiar with his work, all I can say is that he's one of the funniest writers I've ever encountered, and as long as you don't object to irreverence (read 'intentionally immature for effect') you will probably love his writing, too.Ironically, this book contains my all-time favorite Dave Barry column, which happens also to be one of two of his columns I've ever read that are not humorous, but are decidedly serious. This column is "Uneasy Rider", the column about his twelve-year-old son having a semiserious bicycle accident; it is an immensely powerful description of what it feels like to be a parent in that situation. The book also contains the two or three columns that were the genesis of his later book, "Dave Barry's Book Of Bad Songs". If you have read that book, you'll have seen these columns, but if you haven't, you're in for a treat. (He runs a reader survey, and does two columns on the results, asking "what is the worst rock/pop song ever written?")Marvellous book; I can't recommend it any higher.

I remember picking up this book on a whim, never expecting to be as taken with it as I ended up being.Dave Barry is an original writer, and his takes on everything from consumerism to war are funny, and true! Everything that spews out of that man's pen ends up becoming a mental statement-- "Hey, I've thought that too!"If anything, this book gets kudos for Dave's angst from being a lonely lefty peon in the world of right-handers ("Left-handers should not even be allowed to purchase a chainsaw"). As a fellow lefty, I about died laughing about Dave's lumberjack attempt, and his thinly-veiled "horror" about dying seven years earlier than the average right-hander.In closing, this book is worth the purchase, and I guarantee it won't collect cobwebs on the shelf after reading it for the first (or second or third) time.