Read More Dave Barry

I don't read as many books as I should, but when I do, I stick with non-fiction things related to history or finance or humor.  In the latter category, my favorite humorist has always been Dave Barry.  In the 80s and 90s, Barry wrote a hilarious, weekly syndicated column for the Miami Herald, which I always read because it was printed by the Des Moines Register.  At the same time, he authored many humor books that I read, some original and some a collection of his Miami Herald columns or essays.

Unfortunately, Barry dropped off my map in the late 90s when he gave up his weekly column, at which time he continued to write a variety of fictional books.  In the past several years, he's been using social media more, and gone back to writing more non-fiction again.  He's published a new humor book in each of the past two years.

With that as background, I recently took his newer books with me on a trip, and it was just like old times.  It is very, very hard to write in a way that's laugh-out-loud funny, but Barry and his books will do it.  It's impossible to fully describe his observational writing style, but he gets help from his "many alert readers" who send him crazy newspaper stories.  Among his favorite topics are exploding or flaming items (including cows, toilets, Pop-Tarts, and Barbie dolls), and the emotional differences between men and women.

He also has a few common sayings.  For example, when distinguishing fact from hyperbole, Barry frequently asserts, "I am not making this up."  Also, "would be a good name for a rock band" is a statement Barry often applies to certain phrases.  (This reminds me of a softball team I once coached, where the first name had to be a color and the nickname was an action.  Our team drew the name 'Purple Riot' which I immediately said would be a good name for a rock band.)

If you have a chance, and you want a good laugh, read more Dave Barry!