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Dave Barry, author of Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up

How does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate newspaper column read by millions of people? Dave Barry takes us on a hilarious ride, starting with a childhood largely spent throwing rocks for entertainment --- there was no internet --- and preparing for nuclear war by hiding under a classroom desk. After literally getting elected class clown in high school, he went to college, where, as an English major, he read snippets of great literature when he was not busy playing in a rock band (it was the ’60s). CLASS CLOWN isn’t just a memoir; it’s a vibrant celebration of a life rich with humor, absurdity, joy and sadness.

Week of May 11, 2026

Paperback releases for the week of May 11th include SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Jeanine Cummins, a deeply felt multigenerational family story that asks: What does it mean to call a place home?; WITH A VENGEANCE, Riley Sager’s brilliant spin on Agatha Christie's classic novel, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS; THE LOVE HATERS, yet another laugh-out-loud, all-the-feels rom-com from Katherine Center, who this time proves that there's a thin line between love and love-hating; CLASS CLOWN, a hilarious memoir by Dave Barry, who tells his life story with all the humor you’d expect from a man who made a career out of making fun of pretty much everything; and Giri Nathan's CHANGEOVER, which serves as a primer to the rivalry poised to define the next decade of tennis: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner.