Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up by Dave Barry

Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up Reviews

• 
  Jim

  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

  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.
• 
  Ed Dodson

  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

  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.
• 
  Jenny Jo Weir

  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

  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.
• 
  Donna

  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.
• 
  Bethany White

  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.
  
  
  
• 
  Jen

  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. ;)
• 
  Beckiezra

  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.
• 
  Jen

  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.
• 
  Kristin

  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

  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.
• 
  Suzanne

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

  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

  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.
• 
  Kristin

  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.
• 
  Chris

  I listened to the audiobook. It was humorous at times though not as good as Dave Barry’s Money Secrets.
  
  I have a difficult time recommending this book.
• 
  Lucy

  This book is a collection of Dave's columns based around real-life things and events. Naturally it's largely humour, but has a few serious moments--an exploration of the Elvis phenomenon, a visit to Hong Kong before its reversion to China's rule, and Dave's twelve-year-old son being hit by a car.
  
  I was interested to find that this somewhat tied into the last book (The Mothman Prophecies)--one article was about a rash of UFO sightings in Florida, with some direct quotes from some of John Keel's books.
  
  Having owned a really dumb family dog, I love Dave's stories about Ernest, his large main dog, and Zippy, his small emergency backup dog, and the national poll for the Worst Rock Song Ever is priceless in its discovery of the remarkable depth of hatred Americans reserve for their most hated songs. The columns on the dangers of animals in your toilet were very relevant to me after the Dead Squirrel Crisis of February 2011.
  
  Alas, this book does not contain the column on the Martian Death Flu.
• 
  Ash Ryan

  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.[return][return]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.
• 
  Lesli

  As for Dave Barry, don't get me started. This man bleeds humor. His humor is similar to mine which is why we are best friends. We go out for coffee on a regular basis and share ideas about funny memos possibly to be implemented into his next column and/or book. in fact, he calls me constantly asking me for ideas because he thinks I'm brilliant and have a groundbreaking sense of humor. He told me just last Thursday that he envies my brain and wishes he was as clever as I. This really happened (in my head), I am not making this up. Bottom line, read his stuff. It almost doesn't matter which book you choose, it's guaranteed to make you pee your pants laughing. Quite honestly, he has made me have to do a few extra loads of laundry for that very reason. Damn that man and his clever quips.
• 
  Paul

  Not the funniest book of Barry's that I've read, but I'm not sure that it's meant to be overtly humorous. There is undoubtedly an emphasis placed on the quirks and oddities of everyday life, with the occasional serious piece that seems to be included more for informational interest or emotional impact than laughs.
  
  Whatever his goals may be, Barry is consistently enjoyable. When he wants to be, he's hysterical (his piece dedicated to a mock political thriller novel is a riot). When he decides to play a more serious role, he's still easy to follow and able to hold one's interest.
  
  And her seems to live a much more interesting life than I, considering some of the situations that he has supposedly been in. No wonder comedy comes so naturally to him.
• 
  Susan

  A friend gave us tickets to hear Dave Barry speak at a Celebrity Forum in May. In anticipation of the event, I got this audiobook from the library so we could listen during our drive to Lake Tahoe. The introductions are read by Dave Barry and the stories themselves are read by Arte Johnson (remember "Laugh-In"?). The stories vary, but some are laugh-out-loud funny. Even my reticent husband was really laughing at some of the stories, especially those we could relate to like the airplane passengers from Hell, and the teenage angst of first dates. Dave Barry knows how to tell a story!