Two books in a row, advertised as "hilarious," left me thinking I am a humorless old crab. The third book reminded me that I have not forgotten how to laugh. I even laughed OUT LOUD, not just figuratively, at Dave Barry's latest, "Class Clown."

Oh how fun to walk down Memory Lane and revisit those newspaper columns I loved in the 1990s. Why didn't I clip them all and save them? On the bright side, Barry includes excerpts from the classic and most epic columns.

"An alert reader" sent some news item, which sounds so crazy, Barry has to add, "I am not making this up." How fondly I remember all those columns with those trademark disclaimers.

He recaps roughly a hundred phrases that prompted to him say (memorably, over the years), "This would be a good name for a rock band."

His proudest achievement in life seems to be his rock band, "The Remainders," more so than his Pulitzer-winning columns.

Barry stopped writing before anyone could say (with objective evidence) that he isn't as funny as he used to be. Given his failure to find a single comical thing to say about our most recent presidents, I was somewhat afraid he actually might be losing his sense of humor, at least when it comes to the White House and the press. "I hate Trump," he writes. Instead of taking a page from Niels Bohr ("Some things are so serious, they can only be joked about"), he does the Wittgenstein thing: Some things must be passed over in silence.

This memoir also includes some sad stuff. A dear and wonderful father, kind and compassionate, but... he becomes an alcoholic. And when he dies. Barry's mother cannot go on without him. Her story reminds me of Robin Williams. How can someone's trademark humor hide so much sadness?

The old columns are as hilarious today as they were 30 years ago.
It felt so good to laugh again!

Page after page is memorable and hilarious and worthy of excerpts, but my days of long book reviews have ended. Most people want SHORT reviews, so even this one is already too long, but, hey.

Rocking on at 77, and still writing books. Go Dave!

P.S. I read and loved A Swamp Story, and I laughed at the poignant "not a self help" book, "Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog." Both those books were a solid 5 stars.

Thank you Net Galley for this Advance Reader Copy.

Given his failure to find a single comical thing to say about our most recent presidents, I'm afraid he actually might be losing his sense of humor, at least when it comes to the White House and the press. "I hate Trump," he writes. Instead of taking a page from Niels Bohr ("Some things are so serious, they can only be joked about"), he does the Wittgenstein thing: Some things must be passed over in silence.

This memoir also includes some sad stuff. A dear and wonderful father, kind and compassionate, but... he becomes an alcoholic. And when he dies. Barry's mother cannot go on without him. Her story reminds me of Robin Williams. How can someone's trademark humor hide so much sadness?

The old columns are as hilarious today as they were 30 years ago.
It felt so good to laugh again!

Page after page is memorable and hilarious and worthy of excerpts, but my days of long book reviews have ended. Most people want SHORT reviews, so even this one is already too long, but, hey.

Rocking on at 77, and still writing books. Go Dave!

P.S. I read and loved A Swamp Story, and I laughed at the poignant "not a self help" book, "Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog." Both those books were a solid 5 stars.

Dave Barry’s secret: Never grow up!
Class Clown author Dave Barry lives up to the title of the book in his memoir of his life from early childhood through his many years as a humor columnist.
One of the first questions people always ask Dave Barry is, “Where do you get your ideas?” So where does he get his ideas? Spoiler alert: Most of the time he has no idea; it just appears in his head.
So why should you read this book? Most important, because it will make you laugh and lift your mood even if you have been having a tough day! It is more effective than medications and has no bad side effects except for possible irritation to a spouse who may be trying to read or sleep or otherwise be unreceptive to the sounds of your laughter. My usual practice is to write a “ha ha” note in my kindle and highlight passages that make me laugh, but I quickly abandoned that in this book because the text was so full of highlights!
There are other enjoyable aspects to the book that are worthwhile in themselves. If you have been a fan of Barry over his long career it is delightful to hear about his life and how he got into the unusual niche of writing humor in mainstream journalism. More broadly, though, it was insightful to read about the era when he grew up, the late 50s and 60s, a very tumultuous time in our history that included Vietnam and civil rights unrest. Barry also remembers, though, how in that era Democrats and Republicans would debate and argue over policies but then get together and exchange hugs. I am only 3 years older than Dave Barry, and his very accurate personal recollections provoked vivid memories, like the dangers of polio before vaccines were available. Readers who are too young to remember those times will get a perspective not found in the history books.
Another bonus was to learn about the movie and entertainment industries through Barry’s experiences in both. Obviously Barry’s profession is challenging and requires both talent and diligence, but it is also obvious that it is fun, especially with side benefits like playing in the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band composed of authors like Barry and Stephen King. There are even writing tips that we all can benefit from even if we do not submit our work to the Miami Herald, like the importance of starting with a lead sentence and avoiding verb mutilation.
This is Barry’s autobiography, so most of the writing is, indeed, new, but there are many excerpts from his earlier pieces throughout the book. These were enjoyable especially as insights into the period in which he wrote them, but it seemed to me that his writing has gotten better and better. As the book ends, he acknowledges that his plan is to lead a quiet life as he drifts towards eighty but promises to write another memoir if anything major happens. I certainly do not wish you ill, Dave, so I will simply wish you an even better future than your laughable past so that you will feel provoked to write volume 2 .
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster.

Art Buckwald, Erma Bombeck and Cleveland Amory. Those were the humor columnists I grew up reading, starting in elementary school. Two were in the local newspaper and one was in the "TV Guide". The local newspaper was glorious and delivered twice a day, until the Chicago Tribune mafia bought it from the local family that owned it. Down the drain it started going. It became a once-a-day skimpier newspaper, where classified ads and obituary prices rose so high that nobody local could afford to sell anything, find a lost pet, or die. Art Buckwald’s column was dropped . . . jerks! . . . and replaced by the likes of . . . Dave Barry.

Yes, Dave Barry. What do I remember about his columns? Really nothing. (In a box of my childhood stuff, I still have a collection of clipped columns by Erma Bombeck and Art Buckwald, and a whole lot of old "TV Guides".) I do remember I thought Dave Barry was funny . . . I think. After he stopped writing his column, I found a book by him in the library and checked it out. As I remember, I only read a little of it because it was not funny. I saw this book at NetGalley and wished for it. My wish came true! (Hopefully, it’s not the only measly wish I get.)

Is it funny? Yes, parts of it. Since it is a memoir, though, it had no obligation to be funny. After reading over 200 memoirs, my requirements for one are low: 1) It can’t be duller than dirt. 2) The author has to show some awareness that readers other than his or her family members and friends may be reading it. 3) It can have no juvenile humor, including bathroom humor.

Well, Mr. Barry’s memoir met the first two requirements. He obviously was not tripping out on the myth that a writer can write a memoir anyway he chooses, regardless of if his life is duller than dirt or not. The third requirement he miserably failed, however. (Yes, you lost a star for that, buster!) I reached the conclusion he and Adam Sandler must be twins separated at birth. The only thing worse than a juvenile spewing juvenile jokes is a grown man spewing juvenile jokes. Dave Barry’s tendency to do so, though, might explain why he has been married three times.

Dave: Honey, would you like to read my newest humorous column about toilets?

Wife #1: No, Dave, I would like a divorce.


Dave: Honey, would you like to read my newest humorous column about toilets?

Wife#2: No, Dave, I would like a divorce.


Dave: Honey, would you like me to clean the bathrooms, including the toilets?

Wife #3: Yes, Dave, that would be nice.

Forgetting the crude jokes, as well as some profanity greatly favoring the “s” word, Mr. Barry takes us on a journey from his childhood in the Midwest to his current days as a sort of retired guy living in Florida. His childhood memories are mostly happy, although he does not hide the fact there were some serious family problems. Nevertheless, he did not try to blame his parents for anything, which makes me remember I have a fourth memoir reading requirement: 4) No mommy bashing. There was a final sad situation with his mother, leaving the author feeling guilty to this day, but he does not dump his guilt on her, as so many contemporary memoirists have done.

Next, the author covers his college years and careers, especially the newspaper years, and how he ended up being a well-read humor columnist. Some of the funniest stuff in this book is the reaction and letters he got from his syndicated humor column readers. He would put the most ridiculous “facts” in a column, only to have many readers writing him dead serious letters that his “facts” were wrong. They must have thought he was from Indiana!

One of the biggest hooplas happened after he bashed Neil Diamond in a column. Well, actually Dave Barry was bashing his song “I Am, I Said”. (Uh oh! That must have made my junior high school pal Dorothy furious! Yes, that’s you in Malibu!) Personally, I could not agree more with Mr. Barry’s opinion of that stupid song, only I’m guessing since Mr. Diamond wrote it after being in therapy, the term “chair” referred to his therapist who sat in a chair. Face it, it’s a lot easier finding a word that rhymes with “chair” than a word that rhymes with “therapist”. Not to mention, if he mentioned “therapist” in a song, it would seem like he was a Californian, not a native New Yorker from Brooklyn, which would have only further aggravated his identity crisis.

On the other hand, I can’t help but agree with some of the angry letter writers who asked Mr. Barry: “How many great songs have you written, Mr. Barry?” Yeah, Dave, have you ever written a song like “Brooklyn Roads”, which was truly one of the greatest ballads of childhood ever written in the history of the human race?

"If I close my eyes
I can almost hear my mother
Callin', "Neil, go find your brother
Daddy's home, and it's time for supper
Hurry on"

(That’s for you, Dorothy.)


Besides writing funny columns, Dave Barry also appeared on TV talk shows, where he made a fool of himself; played in a rock band no one ever heard of; had a TV series based on his life that had absolutely nothing to do with his life; covered both Democratic and Republican primaries, where he said really dumb things to Barbara Bush; had his first novel turned into a movie that flopped; and did book signings where hardly anyone showed up . . . but not at his book event at Disney World . . . hey, it was at Disney World! . . . not even the presence of Dave Barry could keep readers away from that one! Finally, he also ran for president more than once. That’s funny, I never heard he ran for president even once. I remember Snoopy ran for president at least once. (In a box of my childhood stuff, I even have a bumper sticker which proves that fact. It reads: "Snoopy for President".)

So why did Mr. Barry give up writing his column before the Chicago Tribune mafia tried to have it killed? As he explains, you reach a point where you don’t want your entire life controlled by deadlines, and don’t want to have to wonder if everything that is said or done during every day of your life might make a good column. Totally understandable. Even a chair would understand that.

Is this book worth the reading time? For me it was. It brought back lots of happy memories of reading newspapers back when they were delivered twice a day. None of those happy memories have anything whatsoever to do with Dave Barry’s columns, mind you, but I’m sure that won’t bother one of the World Famous Lawn Rangers. (Don’t even get me started on that!) In addition, this memoir helped me to remember how fun it is to write satire. Who better to understand that than Dave Barry? :)

(Before I begin, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me early access to this book.)

A long time ago, I decided that when I grew up, I wanted to be Dave Barry. Someone who can write columns on just about any topic - important and ridiculous - make people laugh and get paid for it - who wouldn’t want to be Dave? Alas, I grew older instead of growing up, and I decided to go out and get a Real Job instead of trying to be a reporter or a writer for a living, but I’ve continued to enjoy Fave’s work. Well, Dave’s decided that he’s done enough, is old enough, or both to write his life story, and “Class Clown” shows his wit and his writing is as sharp as ever.

For the benefit of those of you who’ve didn’t grow up reading his columns, before Dave Barry was a successful author of funny and absurd fiction and co-wrote the “Peter and the Starcatchers” series of young adult books, he spent 30 years writing a weekly column (and still does so from time to time) for the Miami Herald; he wrote about serious things like politics but also wrote about silly things that crossed his path and the many absurd things he experienced living and working in his own life. Although some of his columns haven’t held up to the test of time, his best work is still absolutely hilarious.

In “Class Clown”, Dave tells the story of how a kid growing up in suburban Pennsylvania inherited a wry sense of humor from his parents, and after spending his time in school as a mediocre student, became… an accountant. And he was bored to tears, so he took a job as a reporter for a small local newspaper, covering the utterly mundane goings on while occasionally writing a humorous story for them. Dave gave up being a reporter to teach business writing, but still wrote those occasional humor columns, and that led to Dave getting job offers from a couple of major newspapers. Dave decided to work for the Herald’s weekly magazine, where he was given free reign as far as topics and didn’t even have to move to Miami (although he did later), and his work got syndicated to newspapers throughout the country.

Dave shares stories about how some of his most famous columns came to be, the accolades he’s received (like a Pulitzer Prize and having a sewage lift station named after him), some of the reactions from readers over the years (it’s amazing how many people lambaste someone making things up for being inaccurate), the people he’s gotten to meet and know as a result of his work, and why after so many years, he decided to go into “retirement” (where he seems to be as busy as ever).

Dave’s been on numerous Presidential campaign trails, made appearances on TV doing silly stunts based on his columns, had a TV series based on his work that has almost no relation to his life even though the lead character has his name, has been a gag writer for two Oscars telecasts, and has even been in a rock band with some of the biggest names in literature (and a real rock star or two), and Dave shares stories about all of this and more. Readers are treated to excerpts from his columns and stories his fans may not have heard before. Dave shares a lot of funny moments, plus a few sad and thoughtful ones. It was a lot of fun to read, and I’m surprised how quickly I got through it.

“Class Clown” is a welcome addition to Dave Barry’s collection of books, and once again he shows how funny he can be even when he is absolutely not making things up (well, mostly). Definitely recommended for fans of his columns, people who’d like to know what a writer’s life is really like, or who just enjoy a good laugh or two.

A couple of tips: Take the time to glance back at the footnotes as you read the book - it adds quite a bit to Dave’s narrative; don’t forget to read Dave’s list of good names for rock bands gleaned from his columns. Highly recommended!

Dave Barry out does himself with this comic memoir. I have always been a fan of his taking his books out from the public library and laughing at all of his strange observations. Barry uses his humor to great effect in telling his life story. Only Dave Barry could have a memoir thathas winning a Pultizer prize along with observations about the naming of a sewage plant after him. Engrossing, comedic and just overall fantastic this is a book to give all readers.

Class Clown is a new memoir by Dave Barry. Fans will be glad to know that there is a lot of humor written in Barry's traditional style. But this book is more than a series of funny essays. In this memoir, Barry writes a touching tribute to his parents, reflects on the different stages of his career, shows gratitude for the many extraordinary experiences that he's had, and leaves us with a bit of wisdom for the future. I have been a fan of Barry's work for a long time and have read many of his books but I did not realize how much he has accomplished. I do wish he had written more about his experiences as a husband and father but at the same time, I respect his decision not to bring his family under scrutiny. I'm still nosy, but it's fine. If you are not already acquainted with Dave Barry, you should start with one of his other books, but fans will appreciate this new book with much of his stellar humor mixed with heartfelt reflection.

four stars. missed reading Daves columns , he kinda fell off the radar for me but this book Class Clown catches me up on Daves current and very funny past. He'still a funny guy.

"Class Clown" by Dave Barry is a memoir. He has been known to write many books over the years. Many with a sense of humor. In his latest book he writes about growing up in a small town in New York. He had a pretty nice childhood. He writes of becoming a writer working for different new papers. He ended up in Miami where he still lives today. He broke up the book in different subjects when talking about his writing over the decades. Politics and meeting many presidents or candidates. the first ladies, etc. he writes about famous people he has met over the years. and a funny chapter writing about the reactions he has got from readers through his decades as a writer. He writes of his personal life but careful not to share too much. A good read. Even his memoir can be funny at parts.!

I've been crying (in a good way) at Dave Barry's writings for decades, and this newest addition, a memoir of his life, was no exception. Taking a look back over his career, along with his family while growing up, Barry shows why he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary by utilizing his signature brand of humor, this time also woven with keen insights into politics, the newspaper industry and news, people and relationships, and, of course, boogers. At seventy-seven, Barry could easily ride off into the hazy sunset, yet he still has something to say, often about boogers, but sometimes even about: Florida Man, manatees, Russia, Johnny Carson, opera, colonoscopies, Miami vs. New York, Congress, lawn mowers and plungers, celebrities, and--sadly--Indiana (go Hoosiers!). But really, Barry could write about stale bread and I'd read it in a heartbeat, tears streaming down my face as I contemplated the real meaning of "Best by..." as only Barry could help me do.

My husband and I used to read Dave Barry books aloud to each other when we were first together. I remember laughing so hard tears streamed down my face. Good times! Dave Barry’s memoir was well written and seemed like he was holding a conversation with his reader. My favorite parts were learning about his personal life growing up with his parents. It was good to see pictures interspersed with his text instead of stuck in a separate photo section.

The subtitles for Dave Barry's latest book, Class Clown, say it all: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing up." This well-loved humor writer and I graduated from high school a year apart (I'm two years younger), and he spent some years in suburban Philadelphia, where I grew up. So I could definitely relate to his references about fallout shelters, the polio vaccine, high school cliques (I'd forgotten about the "hoods"), the Twist, Sputnik, Davy Crockett, home ec (girls only) and shop (boys only), and hippies, not to mention the Vietnam War and the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK,

Although Barry has written countless columns and about 40 books, this is his first memoir, and he covers his education, family life, friendships, and all phases of his career--including how he morphed from writing consultant and traditional journalist to humorist. There are some serious stories, but most of the book is written with his trademark dry (and often outrageous) humor, sprinkled with many entertaining excerpts from his newspaper columns. I was particularly tickled by the way the public reacted to his writing. On one hand, many readers sent in suggestions for future skewering, funny articles, and positive reactions to his writing. On the other, it is hilarious (scary?) how many readers actually took everything he wrote as serious and flayed him for making what they thought were falsehoods and inaccuracies in his writing. Some even decided to shun him because of his views on Neil Diamond songs and the Hoosier State.

If you're not familiar with Dave Barry, you might not know that he won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary, was a guest on Letterman, Carson, and Oprah, "ran for President" every 4 years starting in the 80s (slogan: It's Time We Demand Less!), and has long been a member (guitarist/singer) of the rock band, Rock Bottom Remainders, that also includes such authors as Stephen King and Amy Tan.

Personally, I love Dave Barry's sense of humor and his writing and often want to read it out loud to whoever will listen, if I can contain my giggles. Right now, I most appreciate his philosophy of life: It's gonna be OK. My favorite book of his is Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs (he says it's now out of print, but look for it at the library), and I love this one as well.

My sincere thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

I loved reading Dave Barry's column in the 80's and 90's. He addressed everyday situations with a very dry wit. I really enjoyed hearing from his point of view how some of these stories came about. More importantly the childhood that created this humor. It was fun reading about the rock band he has been a member of with various other authors. I can only imagine what those jam sessions were like. I was disappointed that he didn't enjoy the Dave's World sitcom. I guess I thought the character was like the real Dave. If you followed and read Dave's column through the years you will really enjoy this book and the humor within. And I will never look at the Hilton towel sign the same way again.

I have read a few of his humor books and most of his novels, and have enjoyed his style. So, when I saw this memoir, I was immediately interested.

It was a quick read and cool to read how he got started in the newspaper business and how it evolved to writing a weekly humor column for the Miami Herald. Scattered throughout the book are snippets from some of his columns.

I did have a quite a few LOL moments as I read it and one of them was from an article he wrote about New York (after the New York Times wrote an article called “Can Miami Save Itself”).

At 3:14 a.m. I am awakened by a loud crashing sound, caused by workers from the city’s crack Department of Making Loud Crashing Sounds During the night, who are just outside my window, breaking in a new taxicab by dropping it repeatedly from a seventy-five-foot crane.

He talked about how he got started writing books, tv appearances (his first time on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson), and movies.

My favorite chapter was titled: My Readers. It was a huge kudos to them as well as stories about them, letters from them (both good and bad), and his assistant Judi who was hired in 1990 to help him with his fan mail!

Another chapter was titled: Politics. And, it was his humor that got him through it beginning in 1984 and ending in 2016 (he stopped because of COVID, he is older, and it’s not fun for him). There are quite a few cool stories of him and politicians. I had to look at a YouTube video of Barry marching as part of the World Famous Lawn Rangers during the Obama 2009 inauguration.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I grew up listening to my dad read Dave Barry's newspaper column to my mom. I think he even wrote a piece about a family member back in the 90s.
This book is typical Dave Barry humor. Some parts are serious but most of it is humorous. There are excepts from some of his writing that tie nicely with the backstory of what was going on in his life at the time.