Dave Barry's Bad Habits: A 100% Fact-Free Book

by Dave Barry

If you're not already acquainted--nay, infatuated--with the works of the man who the New York Times calls "the funniest man in America," you can get cracking right now with this all-time favorite collection of Dave Barry's humor columns. Dave Barry's Bad Habits won't rot your teeth, cause your insurance premiums to go up, or make your kids go cross-eyed if they sit too close to it. It will, however, make you laugh so hard your middle actually moves (the best exercise, and possibly the only kind you'll be interested in after forty). Here, preserved for all time, are Barry's profoundest musings on such topics as how to get kids to stop smoking (eliminate tenth grade), what to do if your car is making loud noises (turn up the radio), and a solution to the battle of the sexes (let the men do housework, say, for the next six thousand years to even things up). Together they serve to expose the little insanities of everyday life and assure us that we're not completely alone in a world gone mad.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Essays, Comedy, Short Stories, Anthologies

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Dave Barry is a humor writer. For 25 years he was a syndicated columnist whose work appeared in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. In 1988 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Many people are still trying to figure out how this happened.
Dave has also written many books, virtually none of which contain useful information. Two of his books were used as the basis for the CBS TV sitcom "Dave's World," in which Harry Anderson played a much taller version of Dave.
Dave plays lead guitar in a literary rock band called the Rock Bottom Remainders, whose other members include Stephen King, Amy Tan, Ridley Pearson and Mitch Albom. They are not musically skilled, but they are extremely loud. Dave has also made many TV appearances, including one on the David Letterman show where he proved that it is possible to set fire to a pair of men's underpants with a Barbie doll.
In his spare time, Dave is a candidate for president of the United States. If elected, his highest priority will be to seek the death penalty for whoever is responsible for making Americans install low-flow toilets.
Dave lives in Miami, Florida, with his wife, Michelle, a sportswriter. He has a son, Rob, and a daughter, Sophie, neither of whom thinks he's funny.

Reviews

[Kaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn't outdated - it's awesome. Yes, I'm too young to be a Dave Barry fan, but fan I am. I read a book of his when I was a kid and will never grow out of him. True, most of these articles were written in 1982, the year my older brother was born, but so what? Barry's criticisms are still valid, and his perspective on life certainly is as well. And to say I laughed at nearly every one of these articles would not be an exaggeration.

I feel with Barry like I'm visiting with a friend. I understand his sense of humor and can't wait to hear what else he has to tell me about. I really need to read more (OK, all) of his books.

Oh, and I read this over the course of about 40 days, which for me is unheard of (this year I've been reading obsessively and usually finish books in 5 days or less). I kept this one under the bed and read a couple articles every day or so. It made me happy before falling asleep, and it never lost its charm.

Ignore the haters, Dave. Your groupies are here for you.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of the Dave Barry offerings, partially because it is a little bit dated. Nevertheless it is a very satisfying read. There were times I laughed out loud and many times I chuckled so the exercise of reading this book was worthwhile.

This is a collection of his newspaper columns, loosely organized under a number of topics like "Household Perils", "Government Follies", "Taxation Without Reservation", "Media is a mess-up," "Low Finance", etc. My favorite was "Health Habits" as he poked fun at a number of current trends in health care.

One thing that always surprises me about Barry, is that he always surprises me.

[Elevetha · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Nothing has really changed since the 80's, I guess. Government, taxes, and the news media are still as comical and corrupt as ever. Fast food places as just as unhealthy. Airplanes never do take off when they should, etc. This wasn't as funny to me as some of his other books, but it is timeless.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a kid, my dad would read Dave Barry’s column out loud on Saturday mornings. He loved Barry’s sense of humor because it mirrored his own sense of humor. So, this book is nostalgic for me. It was first published in 1985, and boy, is it dated! But, there is plenty of wit to amuse one.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, what is Divine Comedy? "In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself..." WHOOPS, that's Dante. Nope, REAL divine comedy is Dave Barry. Heavyweight of humor, master of mirth, wringer of wit. It doesn't matter what work you read, or how you read it; at his finest, Dave will forever be the funniest writer alive. And if an article sneaks up on you, be prepared to book an extended vacation on your floor. You'll be down there laughing for awhile. While "Bad Habits" predates the Barry golden age, it's still an outstanding collection of columns, which often hint at what's to come.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

News columns covering every topic imaginable. Take your pick. Dave Barry is always fun.

[Ulysses · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I was in middle school, I LOVED Dave Barry, to the extent that I would write my own short essays blatantly parroting his style. But I haven’t read anything by him in decades, except his syndicated year in review that shows up in the Boston Globe on New Year’s Day. Which I also love. So when I spotted a Dave Barry book in a neighborhood Little Free Library, I decided it was time to revisit. Sadly, I found that I’ve moved on decisively from Dave— his sense of humor is too hyperkinetic and exaggerated for my adult self to appreciate in the way my younger self did, in anything larger than year in review-sized doses.

[Bohdan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Closer to a 3.5 rounded up, but I definitely was chuckling quite frequently. It’s been years since I’ve read some of Barry’s work, but his humor still gets me.

While most of the culture references were obviously dated given this book is older than I am, it’s funny (and a bit scary) how much of it still rings true.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you just need to read something that is total fluff....and this one was extra fun because it was written so long ago that some of Barry's complaints - telemarketers, "new" technology, the Cold War - seem quaint now.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book hasn’t held up well with time. Too many references to things in the 80s kept this from being laugh-out-loud funny to me.

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As entertaining as always. Barely dated.

[Josh Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dave Barry rarely disappoints! This book is not only a fun collection of some of his early writings, but a great early eighties time capsule.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good humor. Some outdated because it was written in the 80s, but still fun to read.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Specific topics may be dated, but the outlines remain the same. Still funny. Sadly, shows the stalemate situation of American politics has been around for decades.

[Jaymin Ewens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always with the best fake band names. Heck the best random personal names as well. Thank you, as always, Mr. Barry, for the laughter.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found a few actual for real facts in this book. I should sue.

[Aaron Nagao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun short stories from newspaper columns were a better format than his other works.

[Kris Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Barry takes absurdity to new heights with this hilarious collection that will have you snorting your beverage of choice through your nose and being happy about it.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My brother gave me a copy of "Bad Habits" some time ago, and I started reading it before I fell asleep each night, but almost every time I cracked the book open I'd start reading and then laughing...as much to myself as possible, because my wife was trying to sleep. But I'd laugh, the bed would shake and she'd roll over and ask "What in the world is going on!?" It's Dave Barry. Being an adult she'd roll her eyes at me, tell me to cut it out, and then ask me to turn off the reading light and go to sleep.

So I had to finish the rest of the book in the light of day...and sure enough, Barry made me laugh out loud again and again, sometimes making me laugh so hard I'd cry so hard that I couldn't see the page.

My wife was a good sport though, and paid me the courtesy of putting down the newspaper again and again while I read her particularly good bits...after which she would roll her eyes again (but I think she secretly loved it) and went back to the newspaper.

Make sure that when you read it you have a willing sounding board, someone who will humor you as you humor them.

Anyway, Dave Barry is a master of boiling down important issues into understandable drivel that anyone would benefit from reading...well, it won't help you understand the issues any better, but it will make you feel a LOT better about not understanding them.

5 stars!

[Corielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you just need a little junk food for your brain -- what my dad calls "popcorn books" -- and Dave Barry is always a good source for that kind of nonsense. You can read a few pages, set it down, and come back to it whenever.

I've reviewed Dave Barry collections here before, and there's nothing really new to say. This one's a collection of articles, no more than a couple pages each, published in 1993. He groups them by general categories: healthy habits, home maintenance, etc. The humor holds up pretty well, although he makes a lot of Reagan jokes. Like, a lot. But they're funny, and he's funny, and he provides a lot of good advice. For instance, we should all stop paying our taxes, because if the government had less money to spend, then they'd make better use of what they have. Just don't call Barry for bail money when the IRS throws you in prison. Or how to fix that loud noise your car is making by turning up the radio (definitely my style of auto maintenance). Barry makes for a great break from the serious stuff, although I wouldn't recommend leaving the book on your bedside table -- that cover will give you nightmares.

[Kimberly Seibert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a Library book sale based off of the cavemen illustration and the words "bad habits." Regardless of this book being published in 1985 Dave Barry's wit can still be related to politics and views today. His sarcastic approach in his "100% fact free book" was thought provoking in the sense that our government repeats itself in it's mistakes. In this book Dave Barry talks about certain topics that are easy to relate to and laugh along with. But then there were some references I didn't understand, which made the humor difficult for me to follow and this book feel like it was dragging on. I also thought the ending was abrupt, but I may have missed the humor in that too?

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a collection of humor articles from the 80s. not much of it is relevant anymore, but it was still pretty funny.

I think the reason I didn't care much for this book is that I read it all at once. I would have enjoyed it much more if I had read the articles separately over a longer period of time, like they were originally intended to be read.

[Anuradha Murphy]

I skimmed through this book. It is full of the expected Dave
Barry brand of humor, and, as the title says, it's completely fact-free. It was good to read between doses of other disturbing books (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious book filled with short anecdotes about everyday life. His articles originally appeared in newspaper columns, so many of them are related to current events. His imagination is what makes his humor. Truth about things like politics is often funny.

[Will Caverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sat on the back of my toilet tank for years, to the point where I've basically memorized it. I still laugh out loud reading this today.

My sense of humor was greatly influenced by this sarcastic, hilarious series of columns. It still reads well.

[Kimber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used two articles in here for a humourous interp in high school. I think Dave Barry is very funny.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I paid less than $2 for this book, proving that you can so buy that kind of fun.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

lol, this guy is so funny!! i wish he was back in the newspaper!

[Blake Petit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is by no means the best of Dave Barry's books, but it does hold a special place for me, as it is the first of his books I ever read.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

very, very funny. Not deep, but very funny.