I’ve been a huge Dave Barry fan for years. I tend to like humor that is taken from real life and comes from experiences that humans share and can relate to. Like talking to the people from the cable company, for example (in his case, Comcast, in my case Charter/ATT/DirecTV). So I am happy to give an honest review of Barry’s latest book Lessons From Lucy in return for my honest review (thanks, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley). The book is categorized as “Humor-Self-help” which I found interesting. I sort of always thought of reading Dave Barry as being a humorous experience, but in this case, I think the self-help label applies equally well.

The full title of the book is Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog, and the Lucy of the title is clearly one of the joys of Barry’s entire life. There are seven chapters, each one dealing with a specific situation or daily struggle that he has experienced, and which he relates to the way Lucy responds when she is faced with challenges.

I loved the chapter that looked at how dogs can be so completely routine-oriented, and was reminded that overall dogs live in the moment, and have ways of achieving happiness that are simple and profound (perhaps simply profound?) Some of the stories include friends of his, and I loved reading about Barry’s years with the band The Rock Bottom Remainders, a band that included other authors (Amy Tan, Stephen King, Roy Blount, Jr. Robert Fulghum, Matt Groening, Ridley Pearson, Barbara Kingsolver, and others). Originally intended to perform once then disband, it went on for years (and I was fortunate to see and hear them once — great fun!).

Like all Dave Barry books I have read, this is full of memories, life lessons, and laughs. Lessons From Lucy will be loved by all Dave Barry fans, and will likely garner some new ones as well. It will be a great gift for dog lovers and people who are perhaps a bit baffled by the whole getting older thing. And it’s PERFECT for the combo of aging dog lovers!

With gratitude for the laughs at a time when I really needed them, five stars.

Barry's best book, so far (having read them all). Multiple laugh-out-loud moments, some lessons of life, and, surprising coming from Barry, self-help. There's an amazing additional chapter, written after it was ready for print, that brought a few tears (from someone who didn't shed a tear at Bambi), and perhaps the most important lesson of all.
I wish I'd read this book before I got old.

Dave Barry and dogs? How could I pass that up? Are the lessons from Lucy groundbreaking thoughts you haven't heard elsewhere (or perhaps thought yourself)? No. But Barry shares these lessons with humor and heart along with moments from his life and how he's attempted to change his life for the better based off his own dog's attitude toward life. As caretaker to a 12-yr-old (little & slightly high strung) dog and a 5-yr-old dog (only 16 pounds but with the happy, loving soul of a big dog), I'm reminded daily of many of the lessons Barry shares on these pages. This book is sure to be enjoyed by Dave Barry fans and dog lovers everywhere.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a creative idea and will bring you laughs. It will also give you some thoughts, which you'll find interesting. Even though it may not be his best writing it is still interesting and a different approach of learning through the world of a dog. If you enjoy dogs you just might find this interesting, but either way it is a good read. I like the way it is split up. It is not just one long lesson, yet lessons broken up into chapters with Lucy has our teacher -- Mr. Barry's teacher. He took these lessons he learned from her and approached them with humor as only he does. He talked about making friends, having fun and living life everyday and all of this as we grow older too.

I loved Dave Barry’s newspaper column back in the day, especially when he wrote about Earnest and Zippy. So, I jumped at the chance to read his latest book, Lessons from Lucy, combining as it did his trademark wit and stories about a dog.

Like Dave, I am the parent of an older large dog. I’m reading this book, at the point where Dave writes that “when we say her name or reach down to pet her, her tail thumps the floor in a drumbeat of joy”, at the same time that I’m petting Cooper, whose tail is thumping the floor in the same drumbeat.

There’s no new ground covered here. You could write out all the lessons without reading the book. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun book or that I didn’t laugh. I did. Sometimes out loud. So many of his stories hit home for me. “Whenever you see the word “motivational” used in a corporate training context, you should just substitute the word “stupid”.” Yup. Or when he recounts his fun with Comcast because I swear I’ve had the exact same conversation with those idiots.

It’s an extremely easy read and is perfect when you need an escape from the heavy dramas or psychological thrillers. And it reminds us of the most important lesson of all, that time is fleeting and we should enjoy it with our two and four legged loved ones.

My thanks to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.

I'll admit, as a dog lover, it was a no brainer that I would enjoy this book. I didn't expect to laugh out loud though. It's just full of reminders.... put your phone down and live in the moment! None of his lessons are profound or life changing but are all gentle reminders of how to "be the person your dog thinks you are"
It's written in a style Dave Barry does best...very conversational and tongue in cheek.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Humorist Dave Barry (on turning 70, relates that he's the same age as Lucy in dog years) offers 7 lessons that he/we could learn from his aging dog Lucy. For anyone who's ever known or loved a dog, none of these lessons will come as a surprise....you'll be able to relate to them all! Barry expounds on these ideas, sometimes seems to go off on a tangent......but he is able to bring it all together. I had several 'laugh out loud' moments on reading this, so I like Barry's sense of humor.....this was the 1st time I'd read any of his work. It's a pretty short book...about people, dogs & life.... a nice, easy, enjoyable read. I'd recommend it to everyone!
I did receive a complimentary e-ARC from publisher Simon & Schuster via NetGalley, in return for reading & offering my own fair/honest review.

I loved this book! I laughed out loud.
Lucy the dog is a great role model, as most dogs, are demonstrating basic tenets for life.
Dave provided great examples to back up lessons learned.

Sometimes it’s nice to have a lighthearted book to enjoy. This is one of those books and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dave Barry takes life lessons from his dog, Lucy and shows himself and the reader how to apply them to everyday life. Dave admits in the book that there is nothing earth shattering here, but just simple advice we all need to be reminded of from time to time. What makes this so fun are the stories he tells along the way. I just love his sarcasm, wit and writing style. A solid 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Dave Barry, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

Dave Barry is, as always, hilarious, in a self -deprecating kind of way. But this book is not just about a humorous story.....it is about how we could all take pointers about life by emulating our dogs. Be happy, live in the moment, and don't be afraid to make friends. It is a self-reflective, self-helpish kind of book told with the humor that we have all come to love.

Dog lover or not, everyone will get something from this charming book.

I love Dave Barry which is why I requested his newest book from NetGalley. His past few efforts have been some of my least favorite of his body of work. This is a gorgeous return to form that elevates his humor to the point of inspiration. While I was giving this book 4 star up until the last chapter, the last chapter had me in tears and definitely made this book a 5 star publication. I look forward to reading more of Barry's work with his heightened world view coupled with his always delightful sense of humour.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I've been a fan of Dave Barry for most of my life and have turned to his works in times of trouble. When I saw this book on Netgalley I was thrilled. This book is fantastic.
Dave Barry has a great way of writing to you not at you. It's oddly personal considering the whole syndicated column thing.
The last part about Sophie's illness is a real tear-jerker.

Doggoned good lessons!
Dave Barry recently turned seventy, a sobering milestone that makes many of us think about life and just what it means to lead a good one. Fortunately, Barry has Lucy, his ten-year-old (equivalent to 70 man-years) boxer-dalmatian-chow chow-retriever rescue dog, to show him. In Lessons from Lucy, Dave Barry uses what he has seen and experienced with his canine companion to give us lessons on how to live a happy, fulfilling, and good life. There are seven chapters, each devoted to one lesson. In an Epilogue, Barry steps back and grades himself on how well he has applied the lessons in his own life.
I have read a number of Barry’s books, and Lessons from Lucy is quintessential Dave Barry. It is wry, funny, sarcastic (but not mean), and occasionally mildly vulgar (more PG than R-rated). I do not recommend reading this book in an environment where quiet is in order, like if your spouse is trying to sleep, because of the frequent bouts of laughter to which you will succumb. Even the footnotes are funny! But he is serious about the lessons, and I think this book is perhaps a bit more personal and introspective than other books I have read by this author, although I have not read some that could be more personal, such as Dave Barry Turns 40. He gets personal when he describes, for example, his reaction every time he hears Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” (a reaction I totally identify with), but, being Barry, he is back to the humor in the next paragraph, as he talks about riding the Elevator of Fate in the hope of going to the Penthouse of Paradise instead of the Sub-Basement of Eternal Damnation.
None of the lessons in the book is earth-shaking. At first glance, when you read something like “Make New Friends. (And Keep the Ones You Have)” or “Don’t Stop Having Fun. (And If You Have Stopped, Start Having Fun Again)”, they seem obvious, but as you read and think about what he is saying, you may, like me, take a good bit more from this book than just the pleasure of Barry’s wit.
I do not expect Dave Barry’s books to have a surprise ending, but Lessons from Lucy concludes with a beautifully written episode that gave me new insight into Dave Barry and into life. It turned the book from one I was enjoying very much to one I will immediately recommend to all my friends. Heck, I may even go out and buy a copy for some of them!
Dave Barry attributes his philosophizing about how to lead a good life to his advancing age, but this is not a book about aging. Thanks to Lucy and her amanuensis Barry, this book has good advice for everyone regardless of your age…or your species.
Thank you, NetGalley and Simon and Schuster, for my Advance Review Copy of this book.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Lessons from Lucy is a humorous book that also imparts good advice for living a happier life. In each chapter, Barry tells how he sees the advice lived by his dog and also includes other (non-dog) examples in life. Given that her name is in the title, I expected more of the book actually to be about Lucy than was actually the case. However, the book was entertaining enough that I didn't mind whenever the topic veered away from her.

Lessons from Lucy, by Dave Barry was received direct from the publisher. Dave has always been one of my favorite humorists and it has been a long time since I read one of his books. Being a dog person myself, I was ecstatic to see this so I asked to review it and here you go. While I was expecting something along the lines of Marley and Me, I should have known better from Dave. This book is several life lessons and making them seem as though his dog taught them to him. I will not go into plot or list the life lessons, other reviewers have, or will do that. I will say though if you like any one or several of these topics: Dave Barry, if you like dogs, if you like Florida, if you like too learn things, you should give this book a thorough reading. As always, Dave gets:

5 Stars

Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry is back with a collection of stories related to life advice learned from his beloved dog, Lucy. In Lessons From Lucy Barry ties stories from his life to something he learned from his aging dog, such as “make new friends.”

Lessons From Lucy (digital galley, Simon & Schuster) contains Barry’s familiar dry and self-deprecating humor, but the connections between his stories and the dog advice are flimsy at best. The life lessons are trite (“don’t stop having fun”) and seem like a gimmick to pull together this collection of anecdotes.

Unfortunately, as someone who has read and enjoyed a lot of Barry over the years, the stories related in this volume seem stale and recycled. Instead pick up an older Barry collection, or David Sedaris’ recent Calypso if you’re looking for laugh-inducing humor.

If you don’t know Dave Barry, you have missed a very important joy in life. I have been a fan for years, and have followed both his newspaper columns and his books. I have been known to laugh so hysterically over the end of the year summaries he pens every December that my family thinks I have been attacked by some sort of strange fit. This book is a little different, and very heart-warming. Lucy is Dave’s dog, and he proposes that Lucy really knows the best way to live, so he attempts to translate those lessons for humans. It has all the wonderful self-deprecating humor that is Dave’s trademark, but with warm lessons included. There are seven lessons for living, and we would all do well to heed them. So Dave, I will heed Lesson two, “Don’t Stop Having Fun” by continuing to read every book you write. Thanks!

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and impartial review.

Lessons from Lucy

by Dave Barry

Lessons from Lucy has to be the funniest self-help book ever written. Dave Barry, the humor columnist, takes his lessons on aging from his also aging, happy, contented dog Lucy. There are indeed words of wisdom in these pages but in making his points Dave, in his typical fashion, goes off in side splitting fashion with outrageous opinions and funny anecdotes that combine to provide the reader with an outrageously funny good time. From the man who is famous for saying “I did not make this up” are totally fabricated footnotes for nautical terms and tales of marching with the World Famous Lawn Rangers of Arcola, Illinois, in the Broom Corn Festival. They are a “precision” drill team complete with lawn mowers, brooms, and silliness. Those members with a higher rank even have toilet plungers. No one takes themselves seriously, and they all have a blast. I had to do an Internet search to confirm the truth. Yes, the Lawn Rangers do exist and Dave Barry has more fun than a three year old when he can participate in their good-natured nonsense.

Lessons from Lucy is a fast read, and you may hope it won’t end. I think it would probably be fun to read again and just as funny the second time around. Dave Barry is an unexpected introvert who never fails in the humor department. At age seventy he proves he still has what it takes to keep us laughing.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.


Rating: 5/5

Category: Humor, Self-Help

Notes: There are a few instances of profanity and more instances of bathroom words that three year old boys would find funny. Neither kept me from enjoying this book.

Publication: April 2, 2019—Simon & Schuster

Memorable Lines: Please note that there is no way for me to truly share the humor of this book because so much is lost when it is taken out of context, but here are some comments that make me nod and smile.

That’s what Lucy does: she makes the best of things. She’s way better at this than I am. I know much more than she does, but she knows something I don’t: how to be happy.

Even if you can’t travel, you can still find ways to have genuine fun. The key, I think, is to stretch your boundaries, to escape the numbing routine that old age so easily decays into, to take a chance, get out of your comfort zone, maybe risk making a fool of yourself.

1. Lucy spends every second she can being as close as she can be to the people she loves. This makes her a happy dog. 2. Mike Peters, who is a busy guy facing constant deadlines, still makes a point of making time for, and jumping on the trampoline with, the people he loves. and he is the happiest person I know over the age of three.

The whole world is way too angry these days. If you want proof of that, don some eye protection and take a look at Facebook. In case you just woke up from a coma, I should explain that Facebook is a social-media website that literally billions of people visit regularly for the purpose of making some person named Mark Zuckerberg insanely rich.

When I saw Dave Barry had a new book and it was about his dog, Lucy, I was hooded. He's one of my favorite authors that can make the most simple thing into a funny, humorous story. I think we all could learn from Lucy and elderly dogs like her. This should be on everyone's gift list for animal lovers. I like the chapter where Dave decides to have Lucy's DNA tested to determine what breeds she had in her history. Then he has his own DNA tested to see if they have similar backgrounds. Each chapter can be read as a standalone, this is close to a collection of short stories. This is a funny story about growing older. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

4.5 stars

I grew up reading Dave Barry's columns and books as he was one of my parents' favorite journalist/author. I've read all of his books and was thrilled to have the chance to enjoy this one, not only as a life-long fan of his work, but also as a dog lover and an active volunteer foster of shelter dogs of all ages.

Of course this book was funny - that was to be expected, and if you have ever read anything of Barry's, you can expect more of that wit that so many have enjoyed through the years; however, what you may not anticipate is how much this book will touch your heart.

Lucy is Barry's beloved senior rescue dog, and his observations and interactions with her are not only fodder for continuous amusement, but they are also poignant and meaningful at times. As both Barry and his dog are the "same age" (in dog years for Lucy, of course), Barry realizes he has much to learn from his canine counterpart, and he imparts her sage "advice" throughout the book along with recommendations for how other people can learn a few things from her as well.

I wouldn't classify this as a "self-help" book because it is really a memoir that is intended to be humorous while providing some insightful observations about life through another lens. A good read that I will likely revisit as I age as well :)