# Dave Barry's Year in Review for 2023 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2024, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634 "2024-01-05T09:47:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/1 "2024-01-05T09:47:41Z")
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! 🙂 > **[Dave Barry’s 2023 Year in Review: Yes, the situation is hopeless](https://www.adn.com/opinions/national-opinions/2023/12/31/dave-barrys-2023-year-in-review-yes-the-situation-is-hopeless/)** > > It was not a good year for humanity. And not just because of AI and pickleball. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/2 "2024-01-05T12:46:53Z")
> [@](#): > > _In the Academy Awards, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” wins the Oscar for Best Picture That Nobody Understands…The awards for Best Actor and Best Actress both go to U.S. Rep. George Santos._ Thanks, that’s a fun read. I didn’t even realize that Barry is still putting out stuff. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/3 "2024-01-05T12:58:30Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I didn’t even realize that Barry is still putting out stuff. 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). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/4 "2024-01-05T14:56:24Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I didn’t even realize that Barry is still putting out stuff. > > mmm 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. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/5 "2024-01-05T19:07:18Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/6 "2024-01-05T22:19:33Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/7 "2024-01-06T01:02:45Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/8 "2024-01-06T01:17:34Z")
He’s a treasure. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/9 "2024-01-06T01:20:30Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/10 "2024-01-06T01:23:33Z")
Another Dave Barry claim to fame: he was a guitarist/vocalist for the literary supergroup, the [Rock Bottom Remainders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Bottom_Remainders). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/11 "2024-01-06T01:25:44Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Then they found Barry. My response when reading them: “Wow, a humor writer who’s actually funny!” It was like first hearing The Beatles. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/12 "2024-01-06T01:33:04Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![dummygladhands71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dummygladhands71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dummygladhands71)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/13 "2024-01-06T02:03:21Z")
Thank you so much, always look forward to that ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/14 "2024-01-06T02:08:34Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Even his later work is now early work. 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! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2024, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-barrys-year-in-review-for-2023/995634/15 "2024-01-06T03:51:32Z")
True. This year’s summary is one of his best.