I’m a big fan of Dave Barry. I’ve read all his books (in some cases, multiple times) and every new year I look forward to his humorous “Year in Review” column. Here it is for 2023, as a public service for those who may not be aware of it. The link below is not paywalled, although you do have to turn off your ad blocker. Enjoy! 
Thanks, that’s a fun read. I didn’t even realize that Barry is still putting out stuff.
mmm
He long ago stopped writing his regular humor column, but he’s been writing books, quite a few of which are fiction (some for adults, some for younger readers).
As noted, he’s stopped his regular column. But I think he still puts out a “Year in Review” every year. The Boston Globe usually runs it in their Sunday magazine, which is where I read it this year.
One reason I posted this was that, besides the fact that some may have forgotten or not known about this literary gem, in previous years some of the bigger online newspapers in which his Year in Review appeared were hard-paywalled, including the Miami Herald last year, which is Dave Barry’s home paper where his columns originated for many years. I see that the Herald has backed off on that; this year it’s freely available on the site.
I liked this line.
“In entertainment news, the ongoing strike of Hollywood writers and actors halts production of TV shows and movies, which means that Americans may soon have nothing new to watch, forcing them to resort to conversation, or even — we cannot rule it out — books.”
Before Barry was famous he worked for Pennsylvania papers for which he wrote some humor. Our local Sunday magazine (long since abandoned) would reprint humorous pieces every issue by a variety of writers.
Then they found Barry. My response when reading them: “Wow, a humor writer who’s actually funny!” It was like first hearing The Beatles.
His early books weren’t even hardcovers. They were wildly successful, nonetheless. Then he got bigger and bigger.
I think he made a really good decision to stop the regular column. Nobody can keep up humor for decades at that pace; it gets stale and formulaic. One long year-end roundup that he can spend a lot of time on and hone is best.
He’s a treasure.
Barry’s humour at its best is sheer genius. He really does have a unique and wonderful skill. All of his non-fiction books are hilarious, though my personal favourites are Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States, and Dave Barry’s Only Travel Guide You’ll Ever Need. It’s no surprise that much of his very best work tends to be the older stuff, but at 76 the guy still has much of the old knack.
As for discontinuing the column, I agree it was the right thing to do but I think it had as much to do with going into semi-retirement as with keeping up the quality.
Another Dave Barry claim to fame: he was a guitarist/vocalist for the literary supergroup, the Rock Bottom Remainders.
Indeed. To be genuinely funny on the printed page is a rare skill, and I don’t know anyone else who has done so as long and consistently as Barry.
This year will be the 20th anniversary of his ending his column. Even his later work is now early work.
I don’t want to boast, but I have 32 of his humor books in first editions, plus four of his adult humor novels. Really, I agree that nobody else has been as consistently funny for so long in the last half century.
Thank you so much, always look forward to that
Sure, but I can think of a few examples of what I mean. Dave Barry Turns 50 was hilarious, yet Dave Barry Turns 40 was even funnier! And Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog – which more or less coincided with the occasion of Dave Barry turning 70, is in the spirit of an old man sweetly and comically reminiscing about what an old dog can teach us about life.
But as we can see from the linked article, in terms of ability to create humour, Dave Barry’s still got it!
True. This year’s summary is one of his best.