The One and Only Dave Barry

There are humour writers and then there’s Dave Barry. He is perhaps the only humour writer who won the Pulitzer Prize. Personally I rate him as the funniest writer in the world whose articles make me almost roll on the floor laughing. Discovering Dave Barry’s columns was one of the luckiest things in my life.

I first discovered Dave Barry’s writings in ‘The Asian Age’ newspaper that carried his columns in its Sunday editions. I used to eagerly look forward to buy the Sunday’s Asian Age that in those days used to reach Hyderabad the next day. His goofy humour appealed to me and I was glad to learn that there was someone who could write what would appear to others as silly humour. I used to laugh uncontrollably and still do whenever I read his articles. It is another thing that there are very few things that can make me laugh in that manner.

I did not realize Dave Barry also wrote books until I accidentally found a copy of ‘Dave Barry Does Japan’ in the Gangarams store in Hyderabad. It was in a discount shelf that I chanced upon this wonderful and extremely funny book. I was so happy to find it that I began to search for his other titles that were listed inside the book. Not very long after that I found a hard cover copy of ‘Dave Barry Turns 40’. Over the years I have bought more than a dozen copies of this title and also other Dave Barry titles. Another Dave Barry that I have multiple copies was ‘Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits’ and as the title says it has some of Dave Barry’s funniest pieces.

Along the way I found ‘Dave Barry is Not Making This Up’ and also ‘Dave Barry is Not Taking This Sitting Down’ and his other titles. I was the happiest when I found a nice copy of ‘Dave Barry’s Guide to Guys’ and later a beautiful hardcover copy of ‘Dave Barry’s Guide to Life’. I am finding it difficult to say how incredibly funny Dave Barry is. Others may find his humour to be juvenile but I think his humour is in a different class in itself.

Unable to bear the tension of waiting for his new title to turn up in the bookstores here and one would never find copies of Dave Barry titles in any store since I used to find them second hand on the pavements or the second hand book stores. I asked a relative in the US who was visiting to get me a copy of ‘Boogers are My Beat’ and my brother who also stays in the US brought ‘Dave Barry’s Money Secrets’. I have found almost all books written by Dave Barry except a couple like ‘Claw Your Way to the Top’ and another title I am not able to recollect now.
So far I have managed to find almost two dozen of his titles. It is interesting that he also wrote two novels one of which was ‘Big Trouble’ that I did not particularly like. But I love all his other books that I think are some of the best cures for bad moods.