by Dave Barry
First published 2016
Dave Barry fields another call from a puzzled journalist asking what makes Florida so spectacularly weird. The Pulitzer Prize winner and longtime Florida resident has heard this question countless times. His state has earned a reputation as a place where elections go haywire, people strip naked without warning, and insects grow to basketball player proportions. Barry admits Florida has its quirks. The 2000 election debacle happened. Giant flying bugs do exist. Random gunfire occurs often enough to inspire the unofficial state motto about not aiming at tourists. But Barry argues that Florida's strangeness makes it great, not terrible. He takes readers on a tour from Key West to the state's northern border, exploring Florida's history and celebrating its current carnival of absurdity. Barry shows how the Sunshine State's unpredictability creates endless entertainment. You never know what Florida will do next, but you can count on it doing something remarkable. Barry makes his case that while Florida may be many things, boring is not one of them.
Genres: humor, american, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: humor, personal-narrative
Setting: Florida, Key West
Period: 21st-century
240 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons