If it wasn't so short, it probably would have ended up on my dnf list. ( )

I enjoyed it but not his best book. ( )

When I was in High school I really like Dave Barry. So when I saw this audio book at the public library I decided I had to pick it up. One of two things is true, either my tastes have changed completely, or Dave Barry has gotten less funny over the years, I believe its the alter and probably why he doesn’t have a indicated column any more.

This collection of short stories is supposed to show the humor found in the author's everday life. In fact is only highlights how boring the life of a 65 year old author who fathers a teenage girl is.

You could tell he was trying to be funny, but that was it. The story about taking his daughter to a Justin Beiber concert was the only laugh I had in the whole book. Almost a whole disc was taken up on their trip to the Holy Land and the family's search for free wi-fi there in. We get it, tourists are dumb and your wife loves to shop, its not funny.

The last part about "how to become a professional author" was so bad if it wasn't the last story I wouldn’t have finished the book, your sarcasm just makes me mad.

All in all, skip this book and pick up one of Barry's early works, to see if my recollection is correct. ( )

There's no point in reviewing Dave Barry. The only thing to do is quote him, so people can decide for themselves if they enjoy his humor or if -- and I'm not here to judge, since I celebrate diversity of thought and anyway it's not as if we choose what we find funny -- they are bad people.

So here is a quote from Barry's account of his trip to Israel, which I offer to you the way friends of mine sometimes offer me those "super-taster" test strips. Have you seen these? They're these skinny little strips of paper you're supposed to let sit on your tongue for about 15 seconds. If after that time you don't notice anything, you're normal. If you can't keep the paper in your mouth for that long because you're too busy retching and spitting and wondering if everything you eat for the rest of your life is going to taste like a rusty nail (answer: yes), you're what's known as a "super taster," which makes you better than other people -- normal people, nice people, people who can just sit down and eat already without being a total diva about every damned ingredient. What a bunch of freakin' peasants.

Anyway. Here's your quote:

I find a sidewalk stall where an elderly man is displaying many kinds of footwear. I pick up a sandal and show it to the man.

"Forty shekels," he says, in a heavy accent.

At this point, I'm supposed to bargain. All the guide books say so. I'm supposed to offer the man, say, fifteen shekels, and then, in the ancient Middle Eastern tradition, we'll haggle for a while, and finally we will agree on a price. Or we will kill each other's entire families. But the rule of buying in a Middle Eastern market is never pay the asking price.

However, I come from a long line of WASPs. Our tradition is to pay full price, then get revenge by starting an exclusive country club.

So: are you a super taster? I mean, a good person? I mean, do you want to read this book now?

If you're a writer, you should read You Can Date Boys just for the last chapter, which will seem terrifyingly familiar to anyone who's had even the tiniest smidgen of success with their writing. This chapter is called "How to Become A Professional Author," and it's all about how, if you'd like to make it big as a writer, you should (of course!) write a long letter to an author you admire and ask for free advice. "This is," as Barry points out, "the only known way to succeed as a writer." Bonus points if you offer the already-successful author the chance to work with you on a project!

Read this book if you need something funny to read, or if you want advice on making big bucks in the field of writing. (Ask me how! Actually, don't!) ( )

Don't let the title fool you; parenting is not the main focus of this book. In fact, there is no main focus. It's just a random collection of humorous essays, but, as Barry says in the introduction, the publisher for some reason wouldn't let him call it Dave Barry's Vague General Book of Humor Topics.

As is always the case with Barry, it's funny stuff. OK, none of it left me in rolling on the floor unable to breathe through the laughter, but I was chuckling by the time I'd finished the first page of the introduction, and with satisfying regularity after that. Barry does rely a little too much on gender-stereotype-based humor, which I tend to find annoying in that it's-not-funny-because-it's-not-true kind of way. (At least, I never recognize myself or the men and women I know in comedians' caricatures.) But it says something impressive about Barry that he can make even humor that basically boils down to "Ha, ha, women like scented candles and men don't talk about their feelings!" funny to me. His "Grammar FAQ" is way, way funnier, though. Heck, that one's probably enough to make the book worthwhile all by itself. ( )