Dave Barry's Bad Habits: A 100% Fact-Free Book

For anyone who wonders what Dave Barry what like when he got started, this collection of some of his earliest columns is a must-read. Some of the columns, especially those about the government, are very out-of-date, but it doesn't make them any less funny. I really could relate to him on some of the subjects, and you will too.

Dave Barry has published several collections of his fine humor columns. This collection, one of the earliest, is also the best (I personally find that his material has declined with time). Taking on everything from high school English to barbecuing, Barry turns out one hilarious piece after another. Well worth-reading.

...I felt it best to keep in the spirit of Dave Barry's irreverence. The book DID keep me laughing in spite of myself, and I just couldn't put it down. So, I was laughing and sniggering on the plane (I got it for a long trip), in elevators, and at home, and any other place I could catch a few minutes to savor a bit more delicious laughter until I finally finished the last morsel of wonderfully pointed and silly humor that is Barry's trademark. I read it again in less than a year and still got much joy from it. Now, I've passed it on to my mother (yes, she can read it without tut-tutting over the gross jokes, which are pretty accurate anyway). Every time she mentions the book, she smiles, and she can't help but find something to laugh out loud about in the book each time she picks it up. So, you may not wet yourself, or want to, but it WOULD be a good idea to at LEAST put your cup of tea down before reading this book. I wouldn't want you spilling it and ruining a good guffaw...

I didn't have a clue who Dave Barry was when I checked this book out of a library in 1984. I just saw the disclaimer, "A 100% Fact-Free Book," and was attracted by that kind of truth in advertising. There were three adults living in the house, and you could always tell, day or night, when somebody had picked up Bad Habits by the sounds of choking laughter. We spend two blissful weeks periodically resuscitating each other. Quintessential Dave. Read it.