Synopses & Reviews
A sharp, funny, and heartfelt memoir about fatherhood and the ups and downs of raising a family in modern America
No one writes about family quite like Drew Magary. The GQ correspondent and Deadspin columnists stories about trying to raise a family have attracted millions of readers online. And now hes finally bringing that unique voice to a memoir. In Someone Could Get Hurt, he reflects on his own parenting experiences to explore the anxiety, rationalizations, compromises, and overpowering love that come with raising children in contemporary America.
In brutally honest and funny stories, Magary reveals how American mothers and fathers cope with being in over their heads (getting drunk while trick-or-treating, watching helplessly as a child defiantly pees in a hotel pool, engaging in role-play with a princess-crazed daughter), and how stepping back can sometimes make all the difference (talking a toddler down from the third story of a netted-in playhouse, allowing children to make little mistakes in the kitchen to keep them from making the bigger ones in life). Its a celebration of all the surprisesjoyful and otherwisethat come with being part of a real family.
In the wake of recent bestsellers that expose how every other culture raises their children better, Someone Could Get Hurt offers a hilarious and heartfelt defense of American child rearing with a glimpse into the genuine love and compassion that accompany the missteps and flawed logic. Its the story of head lice, almost-dirty words, and flat head syndrome, and a man trying to commit the ultimate act of selflessness in a selfish world.
Review
“Its an honest and hilarious portrayal of how aggravating it can be to raise a family.” —Justin Halpern, author of the
New York Times bestseller
Sh*t My Dad Says “The world needs Drew Magarys wonderfully funny, breathtakingly honest book about parenting.”
—Jen Doll, memoirist and senior writer at The Atlantic Wire
“The Father's Day book for dads who hate getting books for Fathers Day.”
—Will Leitch, author of Are We Winning? and God Save the Fan
“If you are a parent, I challenge you to not simultaneously laugh and sob through this entire book.”
—Rachel Dratch, comedian and author of Girl Walks into a Bar...
Review
Praise for YOU CAN DATE BOYS WHEN YOURE FORTY
“If you were on that clichéd desert island and could follow only one sages advice, it would have to be Dave Barrys.”—Janet Maslin, New York Times
“[A] hilarious collection . . . Barry is particularly sidesplitting when describing his role as the 65-year-old dad of a 13-year-old daughter. His description of taking his teen to a Justin Bieber concert is brilliantly funny . . . Parents and non-parents alike will find plenty of laughs.”--Publishers Weekly
“Humorous take on life . . . Barry offers a baby-boomer perspective on a faster-paced life of electronic gadgetry and the Internet and ponders the aging process, including getting mail marketing Medicare and watching Viagra commercials in the company of your children.”--Booklist
“[A] wide-ranging collection of funny essays . . . even those who don't have children and have never lived in Miami or searched for a Wi-Fi connection in the Israeli desert will appreciate Barry's lighthearted absurdity.”--Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Dave Barry
“Dave Barry remains one of the funniest writers alive.”—Carl Hiaasen
“While reading Dave Barrys Big Trouble, I laughed so loud I fell out of a chair. Luckily, theres a rug, so I didnt hurt myself.” —Stephen King
Review
“Dowling's a very fresh and smart writer…there's a proper laugh every couple of pages, and as often as not it arises from the texture of the situation, the tone of voice, the characters…But as well as being funny, which he has to be, Dowling is sometimes plangent - as in a chapter about his mother's death - and he is more often than not wise.”—Sam Leith, The Guardian (UK)
Synopsis
While this book is indeed titled How to Be a Husband, please do not mistake it for a self-help book. Tim Dowling columnist for The Guardian, husband, father of three, a person who once got into a shark tank for money does not purport to have any pearls of wisdom about wedded life. What he does have is more than twenty years of marriage experience, and plenty of hilarious advice for what not to do in almost every conjugal situation.
With the sharp wit that has made his Guardian columns a weekly must-read, Dowling explores what it means to be a good husband in the twenty-first century. The bar has been raised dramatically in the last hundred years: back in the day, every time you went out for cigarettes, it was simply expected that you came back. Now, every time you re sent out for espresso pods and tampons, it is expected that you come back with the right sort. And being a father doesn t seem to command much innate respect these days, either. When his first child was born, Dowling imagined himself eliciting a natural awe as the distant, authoritative figurehead; he did not anticipate his children hijacking his Twitter account to post heartfelt admissions of loserdom like, Hi, I suck at everything I try in life.
Still, two decades of wedded bliss is nothing to sneeze at, particularly from a couple who agreed to get married with the resigned determination of two people plotting to bury a body in the woods. How to Be a Husband is a wickedly funny guide to surviving the era of The End of Men (hint: it involves DIY), and an unexpectedly poignant memoir about love, marriage, and staying together until death doth you part."
Synopsis
A brilliantly funny exploration of the twin mysteries of parenthood and families from the Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Timesbestselling author of Insane City.
In his New York Timesbestselling Ill Mature When Im Dead, Dave Barry embarked on the treacherous seas of adulthood, to hilarious results. What comes next? Parenthood, of course, and families.
In uproarious, brand-new pieces, Barry tackles everything from family trips, bat mitzvah parties and dating (hes serious about that title: When my daughter can legally commence datingFebruary 24, 2040I intend to monitor her closely, even if I am deceased”) to funeral instructions (I would like my eulogy to be given by William Shatner”), the differences between male and female friendships, the deeper meaning of Fifty Shades of Grey, and a fathers ultimate sacrifice: accompanying his daughter to a Justin Bieber concert (It turns out that the noise teenaged girls make to express happiness is the same noise they would make if their feet were being gnawed off by badgers”).
Lets face it: families not only enrich our lives every day, they drive us completely around the bend. Thank goodness we have Dave Barry as our guide!
Synopsis
A riotously funny book about how to be a good husband (not like he would know) by Tim Dowling, star columnist for The Guardian. Think Nick Hornby meets Dave Barrywith a hint of Modern Family.
About the Author
Drew Magary is a correspondent for GQ and a columnist for Deadspin and Gawker. Hes also the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Postmortal and Men with Balls. He lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids.