Dave Barry Writes (Hilariously!) About Interfaith Marriage and About Weddings Too

Ever since I was eighteen, Dave Barry has been my favorite humorist. I first borrowed his “Dave Barry Turns 40” from my high school friend, Dovi, read it, and promptly returned it a little after I got married three years later. (Liat only had to remind me about 12 times, and hand deliver it to him or his girlfriend or sister or something.) That is how great it was. Fortunately, Dovi had not even started law school yet, so he could not sue me for returning his book just a tad late…

I have read each one of his (Dave Barry’s, not Dovi’s) non-fiction books since. What I love about his humor is that he talks about the simple unvarnished truth of what happens to every guy in life. You find yourself again and again agreeing with his silliness, and also feeling validated that you are, after all, not crazy… A few years ago he wrote a fiction book, called “Big Trouble”, where he took many elements of his non-fiction books and laced them into a crazy story. This was then made into a great movie, which you should see, if you have not seen it yet.

His latest book, which was just published, is called "I'll Mature When I'm Dead". As usual, I got weird looks from my kids, who could not understand why their dad was laughing so hard from a book. I especially liked two essays, “Judaism for Christians”
and “Father of the Groom”. (I knew Barry, a non-Jew, had remarried a few years ago, but I had not known that his second wife was Jewish.) In the former he gives a hilarious and irreverent description of what it is like for him to sit through synagogue services, what it is like for him to celebrate Jewish holidays and more. In the latter he describes many funny aspects of what it is like to be the father of the groom.

This is definitely worth a read. Enjoy, and if you borrow it from my friend, Dovi, make sure you return it by Thanksgiving 2013…