Can words explain how much I love Dave Barry? This book was written in 1996, thus bringing a wave of nostalgia. Windows 95? Chatrooms? Webdings?? Remember when they were all a big deal? I do.
Seriously though, do “chatrooms” exist anymore? What gong shows they were.
Here’s a taste of Dave’s brilliance:
“Q. Wow! How can I get on the web?
A. It’s easy! Suppose you’re interested in buying a boat from an Australian company that has a web page featuring pictures and specifications of its various models. All you have to do is fire up your World Wide Web software and type in the company’s web page address, which will probably be an intuitive, easy-to-remember string of characters like this:
http//:www.fweemer-twirple~.com/heppledork/sockitomesockitome@fee.fie/fo/fum
Q. What is I type one single character wrong?
A. You will launch U.S nuclear missiles against Norway.
Q. Ah.
A. But assuming you type in the correct address, you merely press Enter, and there you are!
Q. Where?
A. Sitting in front of your computer waiting for something to happen. It could take weeks. Entire new continents can emerge from the ocean in the time it takes for a webpage to show up on your screen. Contrary to what you have heard, the internet does not operate at the speed of light; it operates at the speed of the Department of Motor Vehicles. It might be quicker for you to go over to Australia and look at the boats in person.”
Oh, dial-up. Back in the days of 33 and 56k modems…brutal. I think my favorite part would have to be this though:
How to Install Software
“…Hand the software to a child aged 3 through 12 and say, ‘(Name of child), please install this on my computer.’”
One thing I didn’t understand was how he ended the book with this comedy/drama short story thing. And not only that…the story didn’t even end! It just was a cliffhanger. And it was more drama than comedy…what an odd note to end a humor book on.
But over all it was quite excellent. I highly recommend Dave Barry whenever you need a laugh =)
Em, glad to see you back in the game.
I’ve been really slow posting of late, but still at it for the most part.
I’ve gone back and read your posts and I must say that you have done much better than I ever have.
About 15 years ago I took it upon myself to read some classics and get a bunch of the “must read” books from history under my belt.
My Mother In Law had a bunch of books from one of those old book clubs where you got a new book every month and they were all from the “Greatest Books of ALL Time” collection. (Though I have no idea who got to choose the greatest books of all time.
From her collection I decided on Anna Karenina first.
I have long had a personal 100 page go-no go policy. If the book is lame, or I just flat didn’t like it, I would stop and put the book down. But I would give it at least 100 pages, in case the book was a slow start. This policy has worked well, but I must admit if the writing or story is pitiful, I’ll stop before 100 pages and stop wasting time.
Anna Karenina’s first 100 pages was a struggle for the ages between me giving a man like Tolstoy the full benefit of 100 pages to win me over, or on the other hand, protecting my sanity from having to be put into a straight jacket and a rubber room.
I gave Mr. Tolstoy 100 pages and he took from me a couple of hours I’ll never have back. If I’m not mistaken, the same they were in the same scene as page 1 when they were on page 100. (or it just seemed that way to me) But, I was a bit older and wiser after that.
So my foray into the world of classic literature lasted exactly 100 pages. I almost cheered when I finished page 100 and slammed the book shut as if I had just completed a marathon.
I went back to reading strictly for entertainment, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. I MUST like it or I put it down. That’s my loss.
Hats off to you for doing what I could not do and finish that book.
I still read a lot. For me, Tolstoy was not a pleasure. I guess I’ll go to the grave without having read many of the classics other than what was assigned over the years in my schooling.
I’m glad you’re able to churn through stuff like that.
I’ve mostly been on a science fiction kick for about 6 months now. It kinda freaked out Lovely Wife because I had only read maybe 3 sci-fi books up until then. And all of a sudden I was coming home from the library with 8 to 10 sci-fi books and reading roughly 5-6 of them (the rest were too terrible to read) and go back for more.
I had gotten sick of the same old thrillers and mysteries; it’s as if all the different story lines have been written and everyone just writes the same stories over in a different style.
Sorry to ramble, but it’s cool you found a niche that works for you and are keeping at it in the blog world.
I’ve thought of writing about books I’ve read but haven’t done it. I just haven’t cared enough lately to do it I guess. (Bad blogger! Bad boy!)
At any rate, hello, and to quote the great philosopher, Terminator model T1000, “I’ll be back.”
Aw, thanks! Yeah, I have no idea why, but I’ve always been interested in classic literature. I have a old journal entry from when I was 14 of all the books I wanted to read eventually and it was pretty much the same stuff – Beowulf, Ivanhoe, The Divine Comedy, etc. I can’t quite explain it, but it just fascinates me! Movies are more where I just like to enjoy myself and eat popcorn.I’m a sucker for action/adventure/explosions/one-liners/dinosaurs/robots. (That said, TERMINATOR RULES! =P T2 more so than T1, however. Never bothered with T3.)
Ooh, what kind of sci-fi books have you been reading? I haven’t read much of that genre yet, but I still like it a lot and would like to read more. =)
Thanks for stopping by, glad to hear from you again! =)