Boogers Are My Beat: More Lies, But Some Actual Journalism! (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Before I analyze the presidential election, I want to make a statement, on behalf of South Florida, to the state and local candidates who ran..." (more)
Key Phrases: bouncy castle, ski jumping, Lone Ranger, North Dakota, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers know what to expect from Barry: antic takeoffs on thenews and home life, frequently prompted by participantobservation. This collection of columns is best read in segments:while Barry uses the same basic bag of tricks, a judicious dose canstill provoke involuntary laughter. "Florida's #3 industry, behindtourism and skin cancer, is voter fraud," he declares, amid a serieson his home state's elections. At political conventions, parties are"sponsored by large corporations with a sincere public-spirited desireto become larger." Utah was chosen to host the Olympics afterofficials "carefully weigh[ed] numerous wads of cash supplied by localorganizers." At home, his windows suffer from "some kind of windowleprosy." Yorkshire terriers, he declares, were "originallydeveloped... to serve as makeup applicators." And feeding his toddlermeans "picking her food off the floor and checking to see if it'sstill clean enough to eat." He ends the book with two effective,somber pieces written after the September 11 attacks, but notes thathe'd rather not write about serious topics, because that meanssomething bad has happened. Barry's a franchise, so while this hardlybreaks new ground, it should consistently please his considerable fanbase.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Barry has never been as funny as he is in this rip-roaring, hilarious new collection of columns, which parodies everything from the 2000 election snafu to so-called smart appliances. Barry went to the Republican and Democratic primaries, where he saw Republicans "'getting down' as only Republicans can" and Al Gore give a "speech that really 'rocked the house.'" Next Dave is off to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he grapples with the some of the competitors' amusing names and the controversy surrounding the French skating judge. ("Don't trust any judge with two first names," Dave sagely cautions.) But lest readers begin to think Dave only goes to high-profile places, he also includes several essays about his trip to North Dakota, a state he often gently pokes fun at. North Dakotan politicians entreat him to visit the state, and when he does, they name a sewage lift-station for him. Barry also tackles cell phones, feng shui, and deck building, with nothing less than outrageously funny results. The collection concludes with two moving pieces on the aftermath of September 11 and the bravery of the passengers on Flight 93. Whether funny or serious, Barry is always on target. This work on the "booger beat" is nothing short of excellent. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400080762
• ISBN-13: 978-1400080762
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #438,917 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid collection of Barry humor, November 16, 2003

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Boogers Are My Beat: More Lies, but Some Actual Journalism (Hardcover)

Dave Barry is the king of quirky and funny. And with a title like "Boogers Are My Beat: More Lies, But Some Actual Journalism," you know it's gotta be worth looking at. While it's not Barry's strongest collection (it feels a little fragmented), it's still the sort of stuff to split your sides.

In this book, Dave starts off with some older columns from the presidential election that will live in infamy (if the mention of dimpled chads make you twitch, these chapters will make you have a seizure). Then he proceeds to spoof, lampoon and chuckle over such things as belligerent turkeys, the Oscars, the perils of fatherhood (and having a birthday party for a two-year-old), determining what the Lone Ranger was saying to his horse (even consulting Stephen King on that), an RV in a Wal-Mart parking lot, moving to a new house (his windows have some sort of window leprosy), using the GOOD TOWELS, being subjected to post-terrorism airport security, and having a sewage station in North Dakota named after him. He finishes up with two nonhumorous columns about September 11th.

The "actual journalism" is mostly confined to A) making fun of the Republican and Democratic conventions, and B) covering a swingers' convention. Yes! They do have conventions! Not at the same place as the Dem and Rep cons, though. Sprinkled through it is the same gleeful bathroom humor, gender jokes, anagrams, and weird names for rock bands that he is famous for.The only exception is the final two columns, sensitive, serious, and more or less pinpointing what the average person feels. (These are put at the end, so they won't ruin down the burp-humor before it) One of the big changes is that for "hapless humor," he now focuses on his baby daughter rather than his dogs.

The only problem with this collection of columns is that it feels kind of patched together -- first we have election humor from a few years back, then ordinary humor on a variety of topics, then serious stuff. It's more than a little jarring, and makes the book seem shorter than it is. I was a little surprised to see at the end that it was as long (or even longer) than his other works.

"Boogers Are My Beat" is a great new serving of Barry humor, even if it has three different flavors and one of them isn't funny. So admire the tasteful cover and settle in to read. A reliable source (defined as "a source wearing business attire") told us to say so!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Highly Entertaining and Insightful Book, October 11, 2003

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boogers Are My Beat: More Lies, but Some Actual Journalism (Hardcover)

Dave Barry is a silly man. He's a silly man with a Pulitzer. He's a silly man whose Miami Herald column is syndicated in 500 newspapers. His silly work has been transformed into a so-so sitcom and a better-than-average movie. He's the author of 25 silly books, the most recent of which is BOOGERS ARE MY BEAT, a silly title if there ever was one.

But none of this is news to the legions of Dave Barry fans, a group to which I will unrepentantly proclaim membership. Silliness, you see, is gold, a rare and desirable commodity, especially now as the world cycles through one of those historically inevitable periods in which pretty much everything stinks. Dave Barry's inspired silliness is a reliable antidote to the virus of bad news, news that is often the result of a different, darker kind of silliness on the part of people who, for reasons that often defy both logic and credulity, occupy positions of power --- political, economic, or otherwise.

It's a credit to Barry's skill as a writer that the silliness never overtakes the accuracy of his observations and never obscures the brain behind the gags. Barry twists familiar social, cultural and political issues into funny balloon animals and then smacks them with a length of barbed wire, giggling all the while. To Barry, family life, fatherhood, jobs, marriage, politics, business, and whatever else falls under his gaze is a piñata waiting to be punctured.

Barry's columns are consistently funny, but he is truly in the zone when he's on assignment, as demonstrated in BOOGERS ARE MY BEAT with his coverage of the Republican and Democratic conventions in 2000 and bizarre end to that year's presidential election. His coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City made me laugh out loud several times while on a city bus, much to the alarm of the other passengers.

There have been occasions in his career when Barry has revealed his serious side, and this new collection includes two such examples: a column written the day after the terrorist attacks in September 2001, and another written on the first anniversary of that event. These columns demonstrate his understanding that there is no light without shadow. It is this understanding, perhaps, that drives the relentless silliness of his humor columns. Dave Barry is indeed a silly man, and for that we should be grateful.

--- Reviewed by Bob Rhubart

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dave is still funnier than anybody, September 30, 2003

By	Keith Nichols (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Boogers Are My Beat: More Lies, but Some Actual Journalism (Hardcover)

Most Dave Barry fans will have read the contents of this book in the weekly columns, but the stuff is as funny on rereading. The guy is just wonderfully perceptive and has a real knack for anagrams and a genuine concern for rock-and-roll. Replacing his two dogs with his new daughter Sophie brings a refreshing dimension to his work. But I hope he cuts back on Sophie stories about the time she and her playmates learn to read, so that she doesn't become an unwilling celebrity. The book ends with two longer pieces about 9/11 that are quite effective.