Dave Barry Books

I'm not a big book-reader, and I never thought a book could be laugh out loud funny until I found Dave Barry. You'll find yourself bursting out with laughter... and then realizing that everyone around you is staring at you, wondering what was is so funny.

One of the best Dave Barry books, and one of the funniest books ever. Short, but amazing. I know nothing about Japan and I'm not planning on going there ever, but it was just great. As with most Dave Barry books, what you'll actually learn from the book is pretty limited.

I also recommend Dave Barry's greatest hits, a compilation of his best articles that he's written for the Miami Herald.

I got this as an audiobook for a long drive (South Florida to MD) and it was an excellent choice. Some 'place-related' humor can only be appreciated if you have traveled to that place... but Dave Barry's stories of unfamiliar foods and trying to find an address in a city with no street names... those were stand-alone hilarious! I only wish that parts of it did not have "R-rated" language, because I would love to share it with my sons. If you like Dave Barry's style of humor, you will not be disappointed.

... but at least he admits he's being lazy!

Dave Barry has always struck me as the 'guy' version of Erma Bombeck. You always know when the twist / joke is coming, and a little goes a long way.

If you've ever lived in Japan, like I have, you will find this a bit too light. It was good for a giggle, but that's all. Nothing to take too seriously. I think I finished it in a day or two.

I like Dave Barry's daily columns. I liked Dave Barry's book. I would read more columns by Dave Barry. I would read more Dave Barry books. Dave Barry is a funny-looking, funny-writing individual. In this book, he, his wife Beth and son Robby travel Japan for three weeks and enjoy the sights, beer, pizza with corn on it, more beer, Japanese hospitality and a difference in attitude and culture from America. I snickered more than I laughed, enjoyed the somber and respectful tone of the chapter on Hiroshima and overall didn't feel like I wasted 3 hours of my life reading the book.

I bought this book for my son who is going into 6th grade for summer reading. It's not easy to get him to read in the summer. He loved it and couldn't put it down. Now he's reading the sequel.

If you like the notion of Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, etc. this series is really excellent. I don't use the word WONDERFUL much, but they're a great read. They really do carry on the story of Peter and his friends in a believable and fun way. Really AWESOME and you won't be disappointed. The entire series is highly recommended - all three books so far.

I guess it is a good book, I gave it to my great grandson, because he loves to read.

Peter (of Neverland fame) hitches a ride on a ship filled with Very Bad Men and goes back to London to warn his friend Molly of the danger that races towards her and her family. The Starchasers are in grave trouble this time. This is a great, fun book. Inventive, funny, fast-paced. The characters are fleshed-out and believable. The baddies are very bad.

Fabulous book! My kids and I liked it even better than the first one in this series (Peter and the Star Catchers), which we also loved! These books are prequels to the original Peter Pan and are very well written. It has lots of very short chapters, which makes it easy to read with your children. It gets you very interested in what is going on with one character, then switches back to a different character, which makes you not want to stop reading it! This one is more intense than the first one and might be a little scary for younger children.

This fine humorist tackled a subject that's been done to death and probably sold a whole lot of books doing it because he happens to be Dave Barry. A readable effort, but not a lot of belly laughs. However, there are two chapters where he decided to abandon the humor and go for realism. The result was some surprisingly moving fiction that mirrors life, quite unlike anything else I've read by Dave Barry. I haven't checked the timeline, but this is the guy who abandoned his humor column to be a novelist, and who improves which each novel. I got this at a book swap in Hangzhou, so for me it was definitely worth it. For the book-buying American, I have no idea.

Well, everybody and his dog has already reviewed Dave Barry in Cyberspace, but I had to throw my two cents in: Thanks, Dave, for coining the term "WGU" (Whirring Grinding Unit). Now everybody I know who uses a computer uses that term. Congratulations on making the already over-wordy English language one word wordier - it's a word we desperately needed.

A. You have to like Dave Barry's style of humor.

B. You really have to know something about computers (old ones using Windows 95 more appropriate than you can imagine!).

C. If an Apple user, you must have at LEAST a friend who has complained to you about PCs.


Good book with lots of humor. A few pages rated PG-13 for language (if you know Dave Barry's work, it won't surprise you). This is a good book to drop into a time capsule (Time Capsule seems a good name for a rock band).

This book, as all others by Dave Barry, is definitely good for lots of laughs. The only shortcoming of "Cyberspace" is that it was written quite a few years back and as a result comes across as a bit dated, due to the topic's rapid and continual evolution. All in all, this book is still pretty darn funny, and I would recommend it if you're in need of a chuckle.

Now that Dave Barry has alerted me to the fact that Bill Gates wears a zucchini in his shorts, I will never be afraid of cyberspace again. Hahahahahaha...Oops, I'd better use an emoticon here if I want to be cybercool:

:-D == (a person laughing so hard he or she does not realize that a zucchini is sticking out of his or her pants).

Thanks to Dave, I can now display my feelings online, although I'm not certain how I'm going to work in his emoticon, "person who is none too pleased to be giving birth to a squirrel." Before reading this book, communicating with me via the internet was like trying to strike up a casual conversation with Lieutenant Data. I didn't have a clue about all of those nifty acronyms my friends were inserting into their 'instant messages'. I thought ROTFL had something to do with burying fish heads in the corn field and IMHO was an admission of sexual promiscuity.

I also found out why my boss religiously attends the Comdex convention (Dave calls it 'Geek-O-Rama' and 'Nerdstock in the Desert') in Las Vegas every fall. It has a lot less to do with amazing, futuristic hardware and geeky souvenir tee-shirts than it does with the AdultDex convention down the street.

In the midst of this author's signature adolescent humor about hard-drives, bytes and mega-ram, he uncharacteristically inserts a tender internet love story. Frankly it made me a bit uneasy--rather like watching a Three Stooges movie, and just as Mo is ready to whack Curly over the head with a platypus, the Pope suddenly appears and launches into a homily about family values. It didn't work because I wasn't prepared to stop laughing and segue into tender empathy for two middle-aged losers.

Please Dave, stick to your booger jokes, at least in books with your picture on the cover.

I read this book in about thirty minutes. It would've have made an interesting magazine article, but for ten bucks it feels like an absolute rip-off.

This was another funny one for me! The only reason I gave it 4 Stars is that I was expecting a bigger book with even more reviews. BUT what is there is certainly 5-Star stuff. I loved Dave's remark on the song "Timothy", where he says something to the effect that The Buoys at least had the decency not to call it "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I Got Tim In My Tummy"! LOL!!! Oddly enough, I actually liked some of the tunes mentioned (like 'Timothy' and it's creepy 'Cannibal-Miner-Survival-Tale' subject). But I agree, the ones I kinda liked, I realize, do have STUPID LYRICS! Like Dave says about "Horse With No Name"..."NAME YOUR DAMN HORSE"! If you want to enjoy the silliness of popular music, the misheard lyrics (the skewed 'Achy Breaky Heart' was a hoot) and general silliness, you wont be disappointed!

An earworm is the name some give to those songs that insist on playing in your head over and over, despite your best attempts to forget them. Here Barry gives the reader ample warning that if you read his book, you will soon have "Muskrat Love," and "The Pina Colada Song" on repeat in your brain. But if you are a Barry fan, you will probably go ahead and read the book anyway. The chapters are culled from his columns on bad songs, in which he asked readers to send in their nominations for the worst lyrics ever written.

The book is divided into chapters like "Weenie Songs," "Songs Women Really Hate," "Teen Death Songs," and "Songs People Get Wrong." All the usual suspects are here from "I Am, I Said," by Neil Diamond to "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, (I Got Love in my Tummy) by the Ohio Express. (By now, you've probably acquired at least one earworm. Anyway the book is hilarious, and you may be relieved to discover that you aren't the only one who mishears lyrics.

This is a hilarious quick read (less than 100 pages). My only quibble is that more of the songs aren't from the eighties and nineties. There are plenty of candidates there. Oh well.

If you're one of the lucky ones who actually remember what Rock and Roll WAS before Elvis died and immediately thereafter, disco and punk interbred & killed it - GET THIS BOOK!!! Bro Dave has a tendency to hit the nail right on the head, and I especially enjoy his "interpretetion" of the second line in the Beach Boys' song, "Help Me Rhonda" - they (I THINK) yammer, "I've been out doin' in my head." And Dave heard "There's been owls pukin' in my bed." Sorta improves things, doesn't it? And as an ex-playing-4-nights-a-week-musician myself, I really, REALLY appreciate his list of songs that "cover bands hate to cover," because he mentions "A1 & A2 on the Jukebox-in-hell," "Stairway To Heaven" & "Free Bird."

Before reading this book, one memorable experience with this phenomenon was watching a television show called "Rock Star Supernova" in which one of the contestants sang a song called "Zombie," which I hate. Of course, nothing but this song kept me company for weeks. My mind just would not let the song go. In his hilarious book, Dave Barry tackles just those type of songs that drive you crazy, but you can't get out of your head.

This book is so funny that I kept laughing out loud (this hasn't happened since I read "A Walk in the Woods," another side-splitter by Bill Bryson). Barry notes in his book that he once wrote a column on songs that drove him crazy, and the result was a deluge of reader mail. People loved to share their misery and the songs that just wouldn't go away. In this deliciously small book, Barry cites lyrics of many songs that will have you groaning...and then find yourself singing or just thinking about them endlessly.

This small book is the perfect present (just how I received it...thanks, you know who you are!) or just a great treat for yourself. Pass it along to a friend, so you can share in the misery of bad songs you can't stop singing.

I have given away to my firends at least 12 copies of this wonderfully funny book. One cannot hold the laughter in so don't try to read it in bed if your partner is trying to sleep. Definately do not read it in a library or on an early morning train.

Out of all of Barry's books, he referred to this book the most when he spoke to us at the Speaker Series. This book covers all of those quirky things about guys that all guys know deep down but never have the balls to mention. I relate well with the male urinal strategy that he outlines. I have never had my prostate examined, but I could not hold back my laughter when he described the prostate exam as all men's greatest fear.

Dave Berry's Guide to Guys is the best book out there to read for guys. It is so funny. It makes you wet yourself in laughter. It will make you want to read more to see what will be his next joke. There is a test that you can take if you are a guy or a man. The jokes are not too bad for young kids.

Absolutely, Dave Barry shoots for the middle to low brow here, but he's still exceedingly funny and, as always, silly as can be. I find Barry works better in small doses (i.e. articles), but if you'd like a relaxing, jokey beach read then put this on your list. As a humorist myself, I have to hand it to Dave Barry. He definitely knows how to make people laugh.

Troy Parfitt, author

What I love about Dave is he's a regular guy....and yet, he's so darn funny! Here he is writing about what he knows best - guys. I laughed so hard that tears were rolling down my face........and I wasn't even past the introduction! Seriously though, this book should be required reading for any girl planning to get married or just moving in with a guy. It might save them some grief later on. Heck - it could even save a marriage or two or thirteen! Dave so hilariously shares with us all the mysteries of being a guy - from scratching (still chuckling about that chapter) to urinal etiquette, fear of committment to special medical conditions such as memory lapses. He truly says it like it is and oh, it's said so well. There's only one other humor writer who has made me laugh so hard I peed my pants (thanks a lot, Jarod Kintz) but Dave rates right up there for Guy Most Likely to Make you Pee.

Dave Barry isn't always funny, and I find he's better in small doses than in ... er... large buckets, but when he's good, he's good. Dave Barry's Greatest Hits is something to take to the beach and have a look at after one or two rum cocktails. It's light, jokey entertainment; the intellectual equivalent of watching, say, David Letterman. If you like Barry's Miami Herald column and are looking to read more, where better to begin than with the Greatest Hits?

Troy Parfitt, author

As an Irish person, living in a small town in rainy Ireland, it is unusual to find a book by Dave Barry..(hooray for Amazon). I don't know anyone who has any idea who he is, and why should they.. he is or was(?) a journalist for the Miami Herald, and is a well known funny man in the States, and no singular Irishman or woman has any reason to know of him.. and isn't it a shame. I love funny books. I have some great ones...but Dave is one of the funniest guys I've never met. This book is full of anecdotal ravings and mad perceptions but, you know he is really so funny, you don't care if he talks of giant carnivorous fleas somewhere in the mid-west, or helping his son with a science project waiting for the ants to bite. (ME thinks him an entomologist at heart).. but he has such a funny way of putting things, that no matter what the subject matter, you will read it and enjoy it. Let's face it, in this violent, crime filled world, isn't it still nice that you can have a smile put on your face!

I enjoyed this book partly because it is about 80 separate columns in one book. It's easy to skim the titles and choose one that sounds right for your mood. I read it before going to sleep over the course of a couple of months, one or two chapters most evenings. I didn't really read them in any set order and occasionally had to guess if I'd already read the chapter before looking at the first paragraph or two. Some of the stories are "laugh out loud" funny while others are just okay.

It's certainly reasonably priced even if some of the material is a bit dated.

I would recommend this book to any Dave Barry fan.

My cassette tape version was read by John Ritter who was one of the few people who could actually read Dave Barry correctly - he put the emphasis in the right places and pauses to make the jokes work perfectly.

On to the material -

It was a bit up and down, but mostly up (even the downs weren't down very far). His time-share condo essay is a gem that should be printed off and handed out to people before they go into a time-share condo presentation. His "Diplodocus" essay was funny and touching all at the same time. One of his best ever. The "Can New York Save Itself?" essay was a prime example of Dave taking a joke and running it into the ground. It was mildly amusing but it kept going and going and going and going and ... you get the point.

So, this one gets a B+.

A typical Barry column in this collection is like some Mel Brooks movies I've seen- he throws so much humor (or at least intended humor) at you that even if only 10% of it is funny, you are still laughing at least once or twice per essay. The ideal way to spend time when you are trapped at, say, a haircut appointment or a Greyhound bus (which is where I was when I read this fun little book!)

This book made me laugh out loud! That wouldn't have been such a big deal, but the book made me laugh out loud when I was in a shopping mall food court, reading at a table all by myself, and I attracted more than my fair share of attention when I started laughing so hard that I nearly slid out of my seat! When you're with a group of people and you start laughing that hard, people assume you're just having fun with friends. When you're by yourself, reading a book, and you laugh that hard, people seem to assume that you are mentally unbalanced. Luckily, that doesn't bother me, especially when it comes to reading Dave Barry! I have always loved his nonfiction books and his newspaper columns, but have generally been less impressed with his attempts at fiction. However, this book converted me to Barry fiction, and I only hope he'll come out with more books like this in the future.

This is a great Christmas book. If you have ever loved a dog or were in a Christmas pageant in the 60's and if you can see the humor potential in bat poop you will probably enjoy this little book.

This book strays away from the typical Barry humor. Instead it focuses on the improbable, which makes it a very good story to read to the little ones. It will keep children's attention, and it is not very long. "Walter" seems to be based on some part of Dave Barry's childhood in Armonk, NY.

We read this for a men-women church book club Chirstmas time selection. The women seemed to like it. It's cute, uninformative, with no surpirses, and all the depth of a toy bunny.

This was a very nice, short story for the holiday season. It was not as funny as I expected based on the reviews I'd read and my knowledge of Dave Barry.

I first got a taste of Dave Barry after coming upon an essay of his online, which described his misadventures at one of those silly "self-improvement" seminars. Needless to say the cracks about Tony Robbins being an android & other stuff basically required a quick change of undies. So, I wanted to experience more of aching tummies & soggy panties, so I bought this book. Unfortunetely, the story wasn't in this one BUT I was treated to absolute hilarity such as Dave's trip to Bimini on his boat named "Buster".....and the embarrassment of being around guys with "more manly" names for boats like "Sea Biceps" & "Testosterone Torpedo" (guys are weird). Then there's his son, who makes poor Dave feel old with the former's earring & penchant for cutting-edge music such as the song "Detachable [...]" (this is a real song, by the way...or as Dave would say, "I'm not making this up". My sister used to hear all the time on the radio back in the 90's). So, if you want a blast, get this book. Oh.......and remember to visit the "Porcelain Throne", first.

A collection of amusing anecdotes from the American writer, humorist and columnist Dave Barry. He finds all sorts of weird, crazy, stupid and funny stuff that people do, say or come up with all across the United States of America, and puts them into print.

Dave doesn't mind a drop of the droll, Dave doesn't.

I have read nearly all of Dave's books, and it never ceases to amaze me that he can be hilarious on each and every occasion. He doesn't duplicate any annecdotes, he simply uses his comic genius to make up new ones.. you will never be bored with Dave's ability to make you rush to the toilet to save wetting the floor, or laughing so hard you feel sick, and the back of your head hurts. This book is my favourite. Every story is funny, clever, and even sometimes sentimental. Please buy this one, you won't regret it. He's on top form.

Sorry, my husband and I listened to this for quite a bit and did not find it funny at all and didn't even want to continue listening to it, it just seemed long and boring--I guess we have a different sense of humor than most of the other reviewers.

In addition to following up 1992's "Dave Barry Talks Back" with a collection of his weekly humor columns from the Miami Herald through 1994, this book also includes several longer pieces Dave Barry wrote for other publications, including one about the "natural" birth of his son, an expose of a Western Florida UFO hoax, and a couple of travelogues (of a sort) about a trip to China on the eve of Britain's withdrawal from Hong Kong and a boating trip to Bimini Bay. Also included is a rather serious (for Barry) column about his son being hit by a car while riding his bike, which is actually quite touching.

But of course, the staple of any Dave Barry book is the zany humor, and it is plentiful here, including among many other classic columns the infamous "Bad Song Contest." If you are a Dave Barry fan, you will enjoy this book, and if you haven't discovered him yet, this would be a fine place to start.

"Calvin and Hobbes on crack," is what I can say in one sentence. Before Winick went commercial and started working for DC comics, he wrote this hidden gem. Though not for kids, this graphic novel will make anyone who enjoys Jim Carrey-type humor laugh out loud. The mouth on these characters seem to flow like water and they cuss more than sailors. The situations are engaging and there are pop culture references abound. Very consistently drawn and the comedy insults are hilarious.

I've heard it said before, but i must agree this series is in a class all of its own. One of the funniest, most creative comic book ever written, its thoughtful and will have you laughing to youself all the way through. part's 2 and 3 are equally as good. its a shame this character hasn't gotten the recognition of such water-down kiddie ripoffs like jimmy neutron have received. i think barry ween would make an incredible animated series to air on network such as comedy central. or an r-rated movie. judd winick is truely a comedic genius.

All too few books/comics/films/tv shows/whatever still have the nerve to pull out all the stops, & make your laugh 'til you shriek, laugh 'til you could yourself an injury.

Barry Ween, bless his foul-mouthed tuchus, is one of them.

I wanted a Death Ray at his age!

Buy this!

I actually found this title by chance after reading an interview with Judd Winick and am happy to say that it was very well received.

This book is a grown up version of what comics should strive to be. It's funny, moving, and entertaining in a brilliantly foul mouthed and arrogant package.

Along with Plastic Man and She-Hulk, this comic books bridges the gap between what comics are today and what they can be on their best day. Simply put Winik's work is genius and should be experienced by everyone who has ever picked up a comic book.

I can't recommend this and every other Barry Ween collection enough to you.

One side note, this is not intended for children in any way. Look for other alternatives, like Plastic Man or Power Pack for young reader appropriate choices that are still enteraining for adults.

Before Judd Winick became a writer of superhero comics, he wrote (and drew) this comedy series about a boy with a 350 IQ. Barry Ween is a foul-mouthed, sarcastic, junior mad scientist. Sometimes his experiments go wrong, which is where the humor comes from. Be advised that while this comic is about kids, it's not actually for kids (although it's ok for teens).

This book should be the bible for those considering having kids. I bought more copies of this for gifts then I can count. It's too funny and I highly recommend it.

Purchased as a gift for a close friend shortly after they found out they were expecting, because I purchased this 5 years ago when our son and his wife were expecting and living a great distance away. Both men found this book a laugh a minute. Dave Barry at his best.

Just not funny, I returned the book and got my money back.

This book is very funny, weirdly prophetic and difficult to read if you've got 8lbs of baby pressing down on your bladder!

I have always been a fan of Dave Barry.
When my baby's mama got pregnant I spent the better part of three months in a drunken haze. "WHAT WILL I DO?!" I constantly asked my friends. None of them knew. I had just barely turned twenty one and none of my friends were or ever had been in the same boat.
Truth of the matter is, nobody can tell you what to do in this circumstance. The object is to go with the flow, from the time that chick of yours gets pregnant to ... forever.
I was THRILLED when I found this book, and it did not dissapoint. Without it I may have lost my mind and killed that chick with a hatchet.
Very funny, and it will make you forget that you are in HELL! Must have for suprised "expectants."