Review: Dave Barry's Money Secrets

Mr. Barry and I did not start off on a good note. I listened to the first disk of his Money Secrets, and found it more annoying than entertaining.

I then took a break, and listened to a so-so FBI thriller.

With trepidation, I returned to the Dave Barry CD's. The 2nd disk was more palatable. By the 3rd disk I was laughing at every joke. It turned out to be terrifically funny.

While the book is supposed to be about money, Dave manages to cover pretty much whatever topic he wants to. His thoughts on buying a house, travel, and stock brokers are absolutely hilarious, among others.

Take his advice on estate planning. What's the most important issue with estate planning? Choosing your last words. This is key to have this planned out ahead of time, or you could really blow it. And the second most important? Thinking of outrageous requests to make your family fulfill with respect to how to dispose of your body.

I'm not quite sure why I had a near complete turn around with my appreciation for the book. Part of it may have been my mood at the time. Another big chunk may be related to the fact that this was a book on CD. Dave's humor is all about irony, and it may simply have taken some time for me to get use to the way the narrator delivered the text. My guess is that it is much trickier to voice a book that requires a near 100% sarcastic tone the the whole time, versus a typical novel which only requires small doses of this.

I give the book a 8.8/10.0 for being quite funny, even with a rough start.

--Ben