Showing posts with label Dave Barry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dave Barry. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Book Review: Dave Barry's Lessons from Lucy (2019)

I've been following Dave Barry since his nationally syndicated column in the Miami Herald as a teenager. (For those of you who don't want to research the timeline, that's about 20 years ago.) I wasn't expecting much from Barry's latest book--after all, it's marketed as "self-help," and Barry excels when he notices and mocks the ordinary. "Mocking" and "earnest self-help advice" don't mesh well, so I figured Barry was just cashing in on his name and reputation to pay for his daughter's college tuition. Boy, was I wrong. This book is one of Barry's best. 
First, if you are a dog lover, you have to get this book. Second, if you're not a dog lover, don't worry--Barry refers to Lucy after his usual storytelling, using her as a sort of canine muse. The book does get overly sentimental in places, but only three or four times total. (e.g., "Do not be afraid to say these words: I was wrong. I made a mistake. I'm sorry. I apologize.") 

More common are the following thoughts, such as when Barry participates in a corporate pro-diversity program: "Inside we were seething. We were ready to go out and join the [Ku Klux] Klan. Even the black employees." 

I'll end with one of Barry's best paragraphs: "So what I'm saying to you, especially if you're getting up in years, is: Don't settle for contentment. Don't just stand around grinning. Get out there. It's a wonderful world." 

© Matthew Mehdi Rafat (2019) 

Friday, January 15, 2010

Dave Barry's Year in Review

Dave Barry's annual Year in Review is not to be missed. See HERE. I liked the reminders about North Korea. At first, I was surprised to see him leave out the Iranian protests, but then I realized there's no way to make a proper joke about the protests post-Neda.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Dave Barry Has a Blog

Dave Barry has a blog:

http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/

My favorite Dave Barry column is at this link:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20030720/ai_n11403113

I used to enjoy reading him every Sunday, but either the San Jose Mercury News stopped running his syndicated column, or he stopped writing for the Miami Herald.

I heard him speak at UC Davis about ten years ago. He was entertaining, but not laugh-out-loud funny. One audience member asked him about his height (he is not very tall), and although he was not happy about that question, he was classy enough to brush it off in a laid-back style.