Every writer has that one person they look up to -- the voice that made them go, “Yes. This. This is how I want to write.” For me, that person is Miami Herald humour columnist and author, Dave Barry.
Not Stephen King. Not Murakami. Not some tortured soul in a Parisian café. Nope -- my hero is the guy who once wrote a serious column about exploding toilets and still walked away with a Pulitzer (no, really!).
If you’ve ever read anything I’ve written (especially from those FHM years) and thought, “This sounds unhinged but oddly relatable” -- that’s Barry’s influence shining through. I copy his style shamelessly because nobody does it better when it comes to turning mundane, everyday events into something absurd, hilarious, and weirdly profound.
But growing up and living in Malaysia, tracking down his books has always been a challenge. As far as I know, only Kinokuniya at KLCC reliably stocks his work. The rest? I had to hunt down online, one shipping fee at a time. And let me tell you -- it was worth every sen.
Dave’s genius lies in making the ridiculous feel completely logical. He exaggerates things to the point of insanity, but somehow it all makes sense. He'll start by talking about Valentine's Day and end up in a rant about guys buying Star Wars Lego instead of gifts -- and you’ll be laughing the whole way through.
That’s the kind of writing I try to emulate:
✔️ Wild comparisons that don’t belong in polite society
✔️ Men being clueless and proud of it
✔️ Situations spiralling out of control, usually involving trolleys or bodily harm
✔️ And a constant sense that the world is way too weird to take seriously
If you’ve never read him before, start with these five. Trust me, they’re worth every ringgit (and international shipping fee):
And here are five of my absolute favourites from the Dave Barry universe:
Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys – A Fairly Short Book
Dave Barry is NOT Making This Up
Whether you're Gen X, Gen Z, or Gen “Still Thinks Email is Cool,” you’ll find yourself laughing -- and learning -- from one of the funniest writers to ever pick up a keyboard.
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