May 07 2007

Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 11:31 pm

Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits – Dave Barry

This is the last of Dave Barry’s books that I have actually read. Luckily, I’ve not actually got all his others, otherwise this particular book would have been redundant, as I get the feel that some of these are reprinted either from other books or his US newspaper columns. But then again, that isn’t too surprising given the title, is it 😉

If you want to see if you enjoy Dave’s style of writing, but aren’t sure which subject is most likely to tickle your fancy, this book is definitely a good start. Although it was written in the late 80s, most of the humour has aged well, and unless you have a purtianical approach to humour, you’ll find plenty of mirth inside…

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May 07 2007

Dave Barry’s Guide to Marriage and or Sex

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 1:37 am

Dave Barry’s Guide to Marriage and/or Sex – Dave Barry

No married man would dare to laugh at the title itself with witnesses about, but apart from that one danger, I’d recommend reading this book even if you’re not thinking about getting married any time soon.
Covering many aspects of married life, he does of course mention sex and the complicated rituals that people seem to go through to achieve that glorious union. If you’re more interested in the other issues surrounding long term relationships, fear not, for Dave also gives his wisdom and humour on the subject of families and mother-in-laws particularly. To be honest, I can’t actually complain about mine at all, but I still found this book to be a good read, with quite a few ‘laugh out loud’ sections.

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May 07 2007

Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 12:44 am

Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States – Dave Barry

Sticking to his (commendable) formula of making the book’s title explain what you’re buying, Dave takes a look at American history, analyses it and then decides to write a funny book instead 😉

Although it does help if you know a little USA history prior to reading this, there is still enough humour in it to carry you along. One short quote from the book to give you an idea of the (unsophisticated) humour involved, in this case surrounding the War of Independence “Still, the English were undaunted. ‘Who the hell needs daunts?’ was the English motto in those days.”

If nothing else, by the time you’ve finished the book, you’ll be very well aware of just how pivotal the (fictional) “Hawley-Smoot Tarriff” was in the process all Americans went through at the beginning of their life in their country.

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May 04 2007

I, Robot

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 2:22 am

I, Robot – Isaac Asimov

OK, so I’ve temporarily skipped 4 of Dave Barry’s books. I’m not sure if you will have felt the same, but I was beginning to feel like a robot typing out similar reviews there.
Which leads us oh soooooo smoothly in to this review – I, Robot.
Sorry, I’ll try to keep tedious links like that down to a minimum in the future…

If you have ever seen a film or TV series that featured modern robots, there will almost have certainly been an implied, or in some cases, direct, reference to “Asimov’s Laws”. The idea that anything so powerful as a robot should be ‘morally’ constrained is a strong theme, and has been analysed and used in fiction repeatedly.
The ‘book’ is actually a collection of 9 or 10 short stories, with a basic framework woven around them (similar to the approach taken by Lois McMaster Bujold in her book ‘Borders Of Infinity’). Although this connecting back story can feel a little contrived at times, you soon forget it when you delve into the short stories themselves.
The idea that robots should have deep programming embedded in them, to ensure human safety, and the potential conflicts that can arise may not be seen as anything new by younger readers of I. Asimov’s novels. They would be wise to remember that not only did his work pre-date nearly 99% of similar works of fiction, but also that at the time, ‘robots’ as we think of them now did not even exist in reality.
There is an obvious link to the Will Smith film of the same name, and although the settings and fine details are worlds apart – quite literally, I personally feel that some of the questions bought up by Asimov in the book were similarly put in front of viewers of the film. At the end of the day, people who watch Will Smith films aren’t automatically likely to pick up an Asimov book without some reason, so any introductions to his literature, that the Hollywood film may have started, can be viewed as a positive effect, IMHO.

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May 04 2007

Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 12:49 am

Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up – Dave Barry

Although a few of the stories reported in this book have been covered in earlier releases, there is enough ‘fresh’ content in here to keep even an ardent fan happy. Unlike previous books, most of the items covered in this book are reports of true events, from a Judge proudly proclaiming how to reduce wind problems (of a personal nature, not weather) to snakes that have learnt to navigate the plumbing systems used in American houses!
I had better warn Walton to watch out 😉

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May 04 2007

Babies and Other Hazards….

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 12:29 am

Babies and Other Hazards of Sex: How to Make a Tiny Person in Only 9 Months, with Tools You Probably Have around the Home – Dave Barry

OK, so the title alone was enough to make me want to read this particular book of Dave Barry’s, I admit.
This particular instalment of his brand of humour seems to be more tightly written than the others, though I’m not sure if the book was written especially, or if this was another of his collection of previous newspaper columns. If anyone knows the answer, feel free to leave a comment.
Dave goes through the trials and tribulations required to produce, and then raise a baby. If you have questions, but didn’t know who to ask, you probably shouldn’t read this – it will put you off. If you just want a good laugh, in a book that has dated well, give it a try.

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May 03 2007

Dave Barry’s Bad Habits: A 100% Fact-free Book

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 8:51 pm

Dave Barry’s Bad Habits: A 100% Fact-free Book – Dave Barry

This book is Dave’s solution to many problems in your day to day life, all grabbed from some of his earliest newspaper columns. If you’ve gotten this far in my Dave Barry reviews, I’m assuming you like the author? If so, don’t worry, despite this being earlier work, the quality does shine through still. Ira asked me a few times why I was making funny noises while she was sleeping. I explained it was due to the book being funny, and I was trying not to laugh out loud and wake her. I failed. So Dave succeeded I think you could say! Although some would argue that the cultural references now appear dated in some sections, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, unless you don’t want to think about how life was a couple of decades ago?

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May 03 2007

Dave Barry’s Only Travel Guide You’ll Ever Need

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 7:54 pm

Dave Barry’s Only Travel Guide You’ll Ever Need – Dave Barry

More from Dave, should be done by the weekend, back to a more varied selection then, I promise…
Well, anyway, here the author takes a look at tourism, with his usual cynicism. Although this a topic often covered by stand up comics, Dave still manages to eek out some humour from oft-described situations. One favourite quote of mine is on the lottery of trying to get your luggage after a long unconformtable flight – “where passengers traditionally gather at the end of a flight to spend several relaxing hours watching the arrival of luggage from some other flight, which comes randomly spurting out of a mysterious troll-infested tunnel that is apparently connected to another airport, possibly in a different dimension.”
The book itself was written pre-9/11, so a few differences stand out, but it is still funny. Just don’t try the airport security-baiting tricks 🙂

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May 02 2007

Dave Barry’s Homes and Other Black Holes

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 3:16 pm

Dave Barry’s Homes and Other Black Holes – Dave Barry

In a similar vein to the DIY book, Dave takes a look at the events surrounding buying and selling a house – be they hilarious, heartbreaking or simply horrendous. Although definitely written by an American, most of the pit falls are the same the world over, and I didn’t find myself regretting reading this book.

For all the warning about the subterfuge estate agents will commit, to try and get you to buy a house, Dave has helpfully included a chapter for the other point of view, simply entitled “Getting Some Fool to Buy Your House”. For anyone able to wait until they get the book, I’d like to include a small excerpt from the book, referring to what sort of budget you should plan for…

Q: What’s the best way to determine a realistic price range?”
A: Take your total annual family income, including coins that have fallen behind the bureau, and any projected future revenue you may have been notified about via personalized letters from Mr. Ed McMahon stating that you may have already won 14 million dollars. Then, multiply by something other than 6.

🙂 🙂 🙂

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May 02 2007

Dave Barry’s Stay Fit and Healthy Until You’re Dead

Category: Books — ChrisM @ 2:31 pm

Dave Barry’s Stay Fit and Healthy Until You’re Dead – Dave Barry

If you read the previous book review, you may have guessed that there will be a ‘few’ more Dave Barry books critiqued in this blog.
His style of humour is certainly quite direct, with little clever word-play or surrealism, but personally speaking, I occasionally like to dip into so called ‘low-brow’ humour and not have to actually engage to much of my brain to the book in hand.

This book takes a look at the fitness fads that go through cycles of being and in and out of fashion, and just what you should expect of them. Just don’t forget this is written by a funny man, not a personal trainer.
Whether your interest is in nutrition, running or weight lifting, Dave has it all covered, basically detailing why you should leave most fitness regimes until after Easter. (Just make sure it isn’t NEXT Easter 😉 )

If you know a fitness-nut, and think they need to take a step back from the seriousness of it all, I’d recommend giving them this book. (Read it first by all means, just try not to dribble any coffee stains on it when you laugh too hard – it will look obvious)

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