Dave Barry is Not Making This Up

by Dave Barry

A new collection of articles by the celebrated syndicated columnist explores topics ranging from shark-fishing and UFO sightings to answering machines, rock bands, presidential politics, and home shopping. (Humor).

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Essays, Audiobook, Short Stories, Biography

301 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Dave Barry is a humor writer. For 25 years he was a syndicated columnist whose work appeared in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. In 1988 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Many people are still trying to figure out how this happened.
Dave has also written many books, virtually none of which contain useful information. Two of his books were used as the basis for the CBS TV sitcom "Dave's World," in which Harry Anderson played a much taller version of Dave.
Dave plays lead guitar in a literary rock band called the Rock Bottom Remainders, whose other members include Stephen King, Amy Tan, Ridley Pearson and Mitch Albom. They are not musically skilled, but they are extremely loud. Dave has also made many TV appearances, including one on the David Letterman show where he proved that it is possible to set fire to a pair of men's underpants with a Barbie doll.
In his spare time, Dave is a candidate for president of the United States. If elected, his highest priority will be to seek the death penalty for whoever is responsible for making Americans install low-flow toilets.
Dave lives in Miami, Florida, with his wife, Michelle, a sportswriter. He has a son, Rob, and a daughter, Sophie, neither of whom thinks he's funny.

Reviews

[Debbie W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why I chose to read this book:
1. I'm a fan of Dave Barry's writing, so when I came across this, and other books by him, at my local library's book sale, I snatched them up; and,
2. June 2024 is my self-appointed "Humor" Month!

Praises:
1. once again, another book is published containing some of Barry's humorous Miami Herald columns, often featuring the line "I'm not making this up!" because, hey, truth is often stranger than fiction;
2. the chapter re: Barry's survey of bad songs is uproariously funny, but to get an even better feel for this column, I highly recommend reading and/or listening to his book Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs;
3. chapters titled "Say Uncle" (advice for kids going back to school) and "Nerds R Us" (advice for graduating classes) were especially funny to me; and,
4. although Barry sprinkles some lighthearted humor in them, his chapters about Elvis's true fans and "Uneasy Rider" deal with some serious, thought-provoking issues.

Overall Thoughts:
My favorite humorist's self-deprecating sarcasm really hits the funny bone! Another gem for Baby Boomers and Gen Xers!

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a couple of dozen of his columns which I've always loved. The perfect length as my sense of humor tends to trip out after a while. I was cutting up a tree that ice storm took partially down in the horses' field while listening to this, so I had to take a few breaks when things got dicey.

(Lots of energy & twisting left in that big, old hackberry. I wish the wood was prettier as it was 16" in diameter & should make some nice bowls, but I'll have to stain them or something. I don't like the gray cast the wood gets.)

This wasn't all humor, though. The last one was about how he felt when his 12 year old got hit by a car while riding his bike. A broken leg & stitches patched the kid up, but he made a great point about how parenthood changes a person.

I can't remember all the subjects he tackled, but they were pretty diverse & a lot of fun. His dating advice for a teenage boy was hilarious. Excellent as an audio book.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

Some years ago a friend told me that she thought Dave Barry was funnier during his first marriage, and after reading this I am inclined to agree with a caveat--there were a higher percentage of essays I found funny than in his later books. As usual, I found some were not funny to me at all, plus I'd already read Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs and it was in 2022 so even though those were excellent, I knew too much to laugh out loud so soon after reading that one.

Too much of a migraine to write the sort of humorous reviews I write for Dave Barry books, but suffice it to say that he didn't become so famous for nothing. Also, it was fun to read his account of the first concert he played in the band with Stephen King and Barbara Kingsolver, et al, since I've read something King had to say about it; not sure if I've read anything Kingsolver's said about it or not.

[Pseudonymous d'Elder · Rating 4 out of 5]

__________________________
“This book contains a lot of “tongue-in-cheek” social commentary and satire, by which I mean lies.”––Dave Barry

Dave Barry is absolutely my favorite humor writer after Terry Pratchett, Mark Twain, Christopher Moore, and that guy who used to write the Bazooka Joe comics in the bubble gum packages. [Well, when I was 6-years-old, Bazooka Joe seemed hilarious.]

This book is a compilation of some of the best pre-1993 humor columns that Barry wrote for the Miami Herald. Here are some examples of Barry’s style:

On his experience with jury duty: A murmur ran through the courtroom and–before the bailiff could grab it–jumped up and bit Judge Webster M. Tuberhonker on the nose.

On a column he wrote about annoying airline passengers: This column was very popular with flight attendants; for quite a while after it was published, whenever I’d take a plane, the attendants would give me free beers. That’s why I got into journalism in the first place: to help people.

On taking his boat, Buster Boat, out on Biscayne Bay in Miami: So it was a pleasant tropical scene, with the wind blowing and the sea foaming and the sun glinting off the narcotics traffickers.

★★★★

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dave Barry break is good for the psyche, soul, and endorphins. This one lasted a little over a week.

His quick wit, and out-of-bounds humor kept me going, and ready to explode. But, that would've been rude with others trying to sleep. I especially appreciated his insight into parenting and relationships. Sometimes, I need all the help available out there.

It's a shame that some books have to end. This was no exception. I really should make an effort to read all his works. It might be good for me.

All of his content has merit, but I especially enjoyed the story about the boating trip to Bimini. This is one that helps bring his various skills together. Most, or all, chapters are taken from his columns, and stories for the Miami Herald.

It was good for me and probably would be for any reader.

[JJ Weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious!!! Laugh out loud, belly laughing fun. If your looking for a lighthearted short book to entertain you and put you in a good mood then look no further.

[Voracious_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly funny—Dave Barry is Not Making This Up—Dave Barry is the sort of person you’d love to sit close enough to eavesdrop on at a dinner party, but not close enough that you’d end up being in one of his stories. I particularly enjoyed invasion of the money snatchers: a story of a bunch of old guys trying to do the right thing by declaring income from a lottery win and ending up being sued by the government for money well in excess of what was won. The chapters are different 2-4 page articles written by Barry. It’s an easy, fun read. Dave Barry combines heart and humor, rendering the mundane comical, like no other living humorist. This one was definitely a laugh out loud read.

[Ed Dodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Barry is my favorite humorist. I have read 2 of his books and been fortunate enough to hear him speak. This collection of his colums is great. Just right to read one per night to reboot the brain. I especially liked the one about helping his son do a science fair project. I recommend this book, and plan to move on the next.

[James Hold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Berry USED TO BE very funny. His first three book collections were hilarious. Then something happened. The more popular he got the less funny he became. His book on Washington politics is unreadable. This is one of the STILL FUNNY ones.

[Elevetha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but certainly more along the lines of just okay. The one about Rob had me crying though (and not from laughing).

[Leslie]

Dad and I finished another one. Up next is Boogers Are My Beat. 🤣

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can't read this book and wonder why Barry is one of the leading humor writers in the world; his writing is riddled with laugh-out-loud gems. It usually takes a lot to make me laugh, but this book had me quaking with giggles so often I had to stop reading it at night, so I wouldn't wake my husband. The two longer chapters - one on UFOs and the other Elvis fans - aren't as funny, but show off Barry's talent as a more "serious" writer, and are still entertaining in their own right.

This book is going in my permanent library, and I'd recommend anyone who wants to write humor also read this, to learn from the master. ;)

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up reading Dave Barry's column right after reading the Garfield comic. I love Dave Barry. Some of his columns were so funny, others....well not so much. This collection of his essays/columns falls into the 'not so much', category. It kills me to say that, but this was not the laugh-out-loud stuff I love from him. So 3 stars because I think he is incredibly clever with his material.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

From 1983 to 2005, Dave Barry's hilarious columns appeared in newspapers all over the country and I was one of his most devoted fans. Then he stopped writing columns and published some novels. Now in his dotage, he's collecting long ago columns into ebooks. Maybe he figures that recycling is noble work. Maybe he's hoping that a new generation who was too young to read his columns when they were in newspapers will buy the books. Maybe he's counting on sales to millions of baby-boomers who remember his name and who actually read his columns but have forgotten them, along with a lot of other stuff.

I fit into that last category. The fact that I probably read all of these columns years ago diminishes my enjoyment of them not one bit. I laughed all the way through the book, sometimes hysterically. So memory loss does have some advantages.

On the other hand, material written 15 to 25 years ago necessarily has references that are "dated." And while I lived through those events and read about those people at the time, I've forgotten a lot of that, too. So I was amused to realize that sometimes the references to "current events" (at that time) went right over my head. I truly believe that good comic writing is timeless, but only if the reader accepts a certain amount of bewilderment.

The connecting thread of these columns (according to the author) is that all involve actual events. As I recall, almost all of Dave Barry's columns were based on things that happened to him or that he read about or was told about. But maybe I'm wrong.

Barry's talent was for spotting life's absurdities and exaggerating them for comic effect. He presented himself as a befuddled husband and father simply trying to get along in a strange and sometimes hostile world. He makes fun of his fellow-Floridians and their boats, most of which spend more time on dry land than in the ocean. In fact, Barry makes it plain that he's uneasy on any body of water larger, deeper, and less opaque than a swimming pool. He'd like to be a carefree sailor, but that would involve forgetting that there are scary things in the water.

A family man always has fodder for columns if he has writing talent and a family who understands that being the butt of his jokes feeds, houses, and clothes them. The book opens with the story of his son's birth and closes with the story of his son's serious bike accident. Every parent has stories, but it's a rare one who can write them well enough for public consumption. That's the difference between a professional writer and the rest of us.

Another recurring theme is music, including the many columns he wrote on bad songs and his famous "Worst Song Ever Contest" that generated a lot of mail and plenty of controversy. As he learned, if you don't like Neil Diamond, it's smart to keep it to yourself. And dealing with Elvis fans can be dicey, too, although he acquired some sympathy for even the most ardent of them. How is it that a not-too-bright country boy continues to fascinate so many people? If we could find the answer to that, we might be able to explain some of our more eccentric political picks.

Barry laughed at people, but never in a mean or condescending way. His columns were funny, even if you suspected he might be talking about you. That's why they're still good reading.

[Bethany White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would I Lie To You?
Dave Barry tells it like it is…kind of.

Dave Barry
Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up
Ballantine Books, 1994

Dave Barry draws from his experience as a Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist and extracts the humor from everyday life. He counts on his readers to assist him in gathering any news or events of great importance: UFO sightings, Elvis giving tours of Graceland, and high-top sneakers with air pumps. One can’t forget the invention of Beano, either. Although presumably silly, each of these tales is based on actual articles published by Barry in newspapers and magazines alike. These might be slightly embellished for comedic value, yet rest assured there is (some) truth in each.

As a humor columnist, Barry understands the universal qualities of what is funny and what is not. His collection of essays provides a quick-witted and original perspective, transforming the daily mundane into entertaining insights.

Barry begins with an introduction describing his “one vital journalistic principle,” which is simply: “Try not to leave the house.” It is through the inevitable necessity to do so that he is able to find such rich experiences to draw from.

In “Pumped Up,” Barry recalls his 10-year-old son, Robert, needing new sneakers after joining the track club. Forget that Robert already had new sneakers, they were inadequate; these new ones had air pumps! Never mind that the original pair “cost approximately as much as an assault helicopter but more technologically advanced.” Ultimately, Barry obliges his son “because God forbid you should go to school underinflated.”

In “A Left Handed Compliment,” Barry describes finding an article in the Sunday paper concluding that left-handed individuals live an average of nine years shorter. As a leftie Barry assumes this percentage of the population is simply more accident prone, especially in instances involving power tools designed for a right-handed world. Barry believes chainsaws provide the perfect example and therefore they “should not be legal to sell to left-handers.” After experiencing a hurricane in Miami, Barry had to tend to some damage control in regards to a tree in his front yard; it needed to come down. He concludes this tree is “clearly right-handed” after its falling in the exact wrong direction-towards the house- “missing the living room by maybe six inches.”

In “False Alarm,” Barry explains the importance of having an alarm in his home because it gives him the “security that comes from knowing that trained security personnel will respond instantly whenever I trigger a false alarm.” This is indeed an everyday experience in the Barry household, as he lets his two dogs out into the backyard every morning.

Barry provides a refreshing perspective on the daily grind. He chooses to see the humor in life rather than be weighed down by life’s inevitable struggles and catastrophes. It would be highly unlikely for the general public to read this work without relating to at least one experience in some way. Although each person might have his or her own definition of humor, there is something for everyone in this witty collection. Trust Me.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came away from this book more convinced than ever that with DB, it's simply a matter of "the shorter the funnier". The REALLY LONG chapters (Elvis fans, and Trip to China, for example) = major snooze fest. The Lawn Rangers bit, also pretty nap-worthy. However I think I just should've put it down and come back to it a few more times rather than just go hell for leather and knock the whole thing off in one go. Because his formula can get boring if you don't take it in short, clean breaks.

In my humble opinion he bangs out his funniest material in the first few chapters. And those were the real belly laughs.... loved the science fair project!

[Beckiezra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very long, maybe 2 hours, I listened to it a few times during the three weeks I had it from the library, usually while falling asleep. I wonder if I had an abridged version. The choice of reader, someone who sounded like an old Jewish man, may have seemed appropriate for Florida but struck me as a little weird, especially with the author actually reading some things. You can't really go wrong with Dave Barry, but the choice of stories other than personal ones didn't really stick with me. The music ones were particularly dated.

[Jason Axley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remembered Dave Barry as being more funny (lol funny) recalling when I read him as a kid. But I also recall thinking that comics were amusing as well. He is a good writer but sad to say I cannot avoid comparing him to David Sedaris. I was looking for that funny-but-more-than-a-clever-chuckle kind. My wife and I would crack up at David Sedaris. But alas, Barry's stories were fairly interesting but more clever and amusing than really funny that I was looking for.

[Bill Eckhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Dave Barry . .

I like Dave Barry. This is one more in his collection of absurd metaphors. Most are very clever and I find them entertaining for days after I've read the book. However you may find repeating them to others who you think might find them hilarious also . . . Well let me put it this way, it may lose a bit in the translation.

I'm about to get another Dave Barry book to perk me up.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have this one on my nightstand for nights when I am too worried to go to sleep. The short essays in the book are perfect for giving me something to read to make me laugh and relax me. Yet they are not the long story that will keep me reading until the wee hours of the morning. I have read this so many times I practically have it memorized. Love it.

[Sher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dave Berry. He makes me smile. He makes me laugh so hard I cry. And sometimes he makes me think. He can be tender and serious, as this book proves out. But mostly he just makes me happy. Sometimes I just can't take another heavy book, and I need a little fun and lightness in my life. That is the time to turn to Dave Barry.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rather average read. There were some absolutely laugh-out-loud parts, but by and large, he was only mildly amusing, and, during his longer essays, completely boring. I skipped tracks for his longer articles because he completely loses his humour in them. But, then there were parts where my guffaws filled every space in my car. Overall, a mediocre read.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, Dave Barry, I'm sad you're not writing columns anymore. But this is the next best thing...
Hilarious as always, but a surprise sneaky tear-jerker column hidden in there.

#9 in the read-through-the-bookshelf challenge.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful read. I'd never read Dave Barry's columns or any of his other books, so this was a hoot! His musing on life, fatherhood, music and myriad other interesting little new items are full of wit, and real insight.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the situations were humorous, I was not laughing out loud like I expected to be.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dad passed this on from a paperback book swap and it was the perfect palate cleanser to read during these crazy times. Barry's columns are still funny, even 20+ years later.

[Barbara M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dave Barry is funny! Many times I was laughing out loud. There is one that he just couldn't get humor out of about his son and that was actually very touching. This little book/audio was quite short. I thought for a bit that Barry would be the narrator but instead he just announced the book and then sections of the book but someone else did the reading. I didn't really care for his voice and I think it would have been much better done completely by Barry.

Entertaining.

[Thomas Mulholland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was very interesting. Although I feel like he embellished quite a bit, I liked the format of the story. One thing I wish is that he described the scenes slightly more, like when he is investigating weird topics. The reason it did not get my fifth star is that it was hard to get through at some points, but at others, it was very intriguing. There were no real points though that I couldn't put the book down.

[Kristin Rounds · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of the book, and it was fine for short rides in the car. I don't think I could take that much Dave Barry all at once if I were on a long trip.

[Bryan Hang · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up" was a very interesting book, and with the way that it was written did not make it seem like a non-fiction book.