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    Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog
    Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog
    Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog
    Audiobook4 hours

    Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog

    Written by Dave Barry

    Narrated by Dave Barry

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    In this “little gem” (Washington Independent Review of Books), Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist and New York Times bestselling author Dave Barry learns how to age happily from his old but joyful dog, Lucy.

    As Dave Barry turns seventy—not happily—he realizes that his dog, Lucy, is dealing with old age far better than he is. She has more friends, fewer worries, and way more fun. So Dave decides to figure out how Lucy manages to stay so happy, to see if he can make his own life happier by doing the things she does (except for drinking from the toilet). He reconnects with old friends and tries to make new ones—which turns out to be a struggle, because Lucy likes people a lot more than he does.

    And he gets back in touch with two ridiculous but fun groups from his past: the Lawn Rangers, a group of guys who march in parades pushing lawnmowers and twirling brooms (alcohol is involved), and the Rock Bottom Remainders, the world’s oldest and least-talented all-author band. With each new lesson, Dave riffs hilariously on dogs, people, and life in general, while also pondering Deep Questions, such as when it’s okay to lie. (Answer: when scallops are involved.)

    Lessons From Lucy shows you a new side to Dave Barry that’s “touching and sentimental, but there’s still a laugh on every page” (The Sacramento Bee). The master humorist has written a witty and affable guide to joyous living at any age.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateApr 2, 2019
    ISBN9781508258728
    Author

    Dave Barry

    DAVE BARRY is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor writer and bestselling author whose work has appeared in hundreds of newspapers.

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    Reviews for Lessons From Lucy

    4.5/5

    128 ratings25 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Delightful ....... enjoy every second ! Thanks ..
    • 5/5
      Dave Barry . . . always good for laughs out loud and a message as well. Very enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      As a long-time fan of Dave Barry I was thrilled to get an advance copy of his latest book, Lessons from Lucy. It doesn't hurt that there was a wonderful photo of Lucy on the cover (and Dave, too). One expects lots of humor in this book, and it certainly doesn't disappoint on that front. But there are also some pretty good life lessons for us all here, although most of us won't fully appreciate them until we've reached a "certain age" - one of life's little jokes is that we seem to be wired to have to learn life lessons on our own. Still it doesn't hurt to have reminders of those lessons, lessons like making new friends and hanging on to the old ones, remember to have fun, looks aren't everything, and more. At the heart of it all is learning to age joyfully, certainly a theme that hits home with me these days. Lots of laughing out loud with this one, lots of touching moments as well. Lucy is a delight, and so is this book.
      My thanks to Netgalley and to Simon & Schuster for providing a copy for an unbiased review.
    • 4/5
      Lessons on life. She and Bruce both read it but, looked at it differently. Funny. How to grow old gracefully.
    • 5/5
      How I’ve missed Dave Barry’ s column and books! It was like hearing from an old, dear friend to find this new treasure. Mr. Barry’s wit still holds, and it was great hearing his lessons from his beloved Lucy.
    • 5/5
      I laughed…I cried….just a FANTASTIC read. You will definitely learn some great lessons to take to heart.
    • 5/5
      I listened to the audio version of “Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog.” I’ve been a fan of Dave Barry for decades. I’ve always enjoyed his columns, and I think I’ve read at least one of his previous books. Being a dog lover, this book sounded like something I’d like, and it was. The book isn’t a “Marley and Me”-type book. In fact, much of it isn’t even directly about Barry’s dog Lucy. The lessons he goes over, however, are inspired by Lucy. Midway through the book, Barry alludes to something bad that happened to either him or one of his family members. After the Epilogue finished, I began to think that maybe he was mistaken because I hadn’t heard anything like that. Then the final chapter came, the chapter that was added after he had completed the book. That chapter was the most powerful one in the book, and without giving anything away, it was the most difficult to listen to.
    • 5/5
      Great insights delivered with such sharp wit and enjoyable humor. Amazing. Downloading the rest of his books now.
    • 5/5
      Dave Barry and Lucy. I got it as a quick read. It is that and more. Especially the epilogue.
    • 5/5
      I listened to the audio version of “Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog.” I’ve been a fan of Dave Barry for decades. I’ve always enjoyed his columns, and I think I’ve read at least one of his previous books. Being a dog lover, this book sounded like something I’d like, and it was. The book isn’t a “Marley and Me”-type book. In fact, much of it isn’t even directly about Barry’s dog Lucy. The lessons he goes over, however, are inspired by Lucy. Midway through the book, Barry alludes to something bad that happened to either him or one of his family members. After the Epilogue finished, I began to think that maybe he was mistaken because I hadn’t heard anything like that. Then the final chapter came, the chapter that was added after he had completed the book. That chapter was the most powerful one in the book, and without giving anything away, it was the most difficult to listen to.
    • 5/5
      The lessons are profound. Yet, they are presented in typical Dave Barry fashion. A fun and helpful book to read.
    • 5/5
      As Dave Barry turns seventy—not happily—he realizes that his dog, Lucy, is dealing with old age far better than he is. She has more friends, fewer worries, and way more fun. So Dave decides to figure out how Lucy manages to stay so happy, to see if he can make his own life happier by doing the things she does (except for drinking from the toilet). He reconnects with old friends and tries to make new ones—which turns out to be a struggle, because Lucy likes people a lot more than he does. And he gets back in touch with two ridiculous but fun groups from his past: the Lawn Rangers, a group of guys who march in parades pushing lawnmowers and twirling brooms (alcohol is involved), and the Rock Bottom Remainders, the world’s oldest and least-talented all-author band. With each new lesson, Dave riffs hilariously on dogs, people, and life in general, while also pondering Deep Questions, such as when it’s okay to lie. (Answer: when scallops are involved.)
    • 5/5
      Nice short book: funny and with some great life lessons.
    • 4/5
      it was a fun, easy read book about life lessons you can learn from an old dog. As a self-help book it was OK. As a comedy book it was OK. But if you are a dog lover and love an old dog you will appreciate much of what is said. Not earth shattering but fun.
    • 5/5
      The dog isn't abused! The dog doesn't die! As an animal lover, I avoid most animal related books because most of the time, one or the other or both of these things happen. This is just a story of an old dog who has much to teach us, as interpreted by Dave Barry. (Don't worry, Lucy doesn't actually “talk,” but Mr. Barry tells us what he thinks Lucy is thinking.)And it's very funny. What else can you expect from Dave Barry? Well, in this instance, you can also expect a good deal of wisdom and life lessons. You can also learn a little about the personality and life of Mr. Barry, not always the outgoing humorist he seems. I think he is a man I would like if I were to meet him in person and knew nothing about him. A good soul with a dog with a good soul.This is a fairly short book, but you'll be glad you read it.
    • 5/5
      Suggestion: Don't read this on an airplane. My fellow passengers were beginning to worry about my sanity after a recent flight because I kept laughing hysterically. This is a funny and sweet book which actually gives you some life lessons to consider.
    • 3/5
      I used to subscribe to a newspaper that ran Dave Barry's column. Always enjoyed his style and humour, his take on life, glimpses of satire and philosophy. Some days, the column was insightful, crisp and strictly philosophical. Usually, there was a humorous turn of words or some laugh out loud moments. Then along came this book, the first of Barry's I've read.So ~ I was full of expectations and ended up as rather disappointed. Since I am a "dog person", I thought the vehicle of Lucy-the-mixed-lab-cross, would be fun. Mostly the story fell flat and the philosophy felt stale. The last chapter, One Last Lesson came along and I was totally caught unawares. All my sympathy poured out to Dave's family. However, the book wasn't what I expected. Maybe I was unrealistic, because newspaper columns are like sound bites and truth to tell, comparing a book length to the newspaper format is perhaps unfair. However, this is what I experienced in reading Barry's 2019 book.
    • 5/5
      I had forgotten how funny Dave Barry can be! I loved this book, I was taking screen shots of funny passages and texting them to my friends and family! This book is probably more for us baby boomers since my 25 year old electrician gave me a polite smile when I read a particular funny part to him since I was laughing so hard I was afraid I might cause him to electrocute himself! Anyway, highly recommended! It's been a very long time since I laughed this much!
    • 3/5
      While I liked the lessons from Lucy, she is a wise girl, I didn't get much from the inbetween stories. Dave Barry has something to say, there was inspiration and some chuckling moments there but they were dulled by filler stories. I don't know him, have never heard of him before, perhaps it I had a history with him I would have gotten more out of it. For a short book it felt long to me.
    • 4/5
      Rated: B+Love Dave Barry's humorist writings. We can all learn from the lessons he learned from Lucy -- especially the last lesson. Listening to his book on audible.com, you could hear his voice crack as he read the last lesson content. The story gives testimony to the fact that God even hears the prayers of an atheist.
    • 4/5
      Humorist Barry offers a series of lessons on aging, garnered from observing his 10-year-old family dog.This is a little more serious in tone than much of Barry’s writing, but still had me laughing out loud at certain points. (Indeed, a certain anecdote about shenanigans with the Rock Bottom Remainders had me literally in tears of mirth.) None of Barry’s conclusions are particularly earth-shattering or original, a fact which he cheerfully acknowledges, but if you like both Barry and dogs, I’d recommend it — particularly the audiobook, which is read by the author. (The dog does not die, which is a huge plus and a rarity in books about dogs!)
    • 5/5
      I love this book!I have always enjoyed anything Dave Barry writes, as I appreciate a great sense of humor. In this book, there were some touching parts along with the humor, and I appreciate that. As it happens, I am in the same age group and could relate to some of the circumstances. Even if I were younger, or older, I would still have appreciated the lessons learned. I feel the younger one learns these lessons, the happier one will be. I think this is one of his best books. I think anyone who is familiar with him will appreciate it, and if you're not yet familiar with his work, go ahead and start here. I received a copy of this book to read from NetGalley and I thank them and the publisher.
    • 5/5
      Lessons From LucyI love Lucy....although I love frisky youthful pups, the elder dogalways steals my heart.I enjoyed looking at life through cloudy canine eyes and my spirit was renewed by the simplicity of Lucy's life journey.Dave Berry's humor peppers the book and epilogue.Dave's signature wit enmeshed with the canine view of aging gracefully will hold you captive.In the epilogue, Dave tells us:"I thought I would conclude with a report card on how I've done so far applying the Seven Lessons from Lucy to my own life."5*
    • 5/5
      What could be better than combing Dave Barry's humor and the love of a dog? Lessons from Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog was a perfect read to refresh my mental health and adjust my attitude. I laughed out loud and I felt warm and squishy inside. Barry admits he's always been a 'dog person,' as have I. My childhood mutt Pepper and I loved each other. She followed me to school, sometimes even got into the school to show up at my classroom door. I would lay on the floor to color and Pepper would place her chin on the small of my back. I loved to stroke her long, soft, floppy ears. For Barry, his childhood dog surpassed Lassie in heroism, for Mistral would eat the Brussels Sprouts Barry slipped to him during dinner!Barry shares his dog stories and stories from his family life to illustrate the lessons Lucy has taught him about how to live. I cracked up over so many things. He takes on Facebook and electronic devices, the horror of shellfish as "Phlegms of the Sea," white lies, hurricane preparation, teenage angst over appearance, and the difference between dogs and cats. Dogs feel guilt, even if they haven't done anything wrong; cats "have the morals of Hannibal Lecter."The seven lessons are not profound or unexpected, but essential and wise. Barry even scores himself on how he has been progressing in trying to put the lessons into practice! It's worth a try. I sure envy the happiness of old dogs. Our Shibas in their golden years impressed me with the smiles on their faces just enjoying the comfort of a thick foam bed. I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
    • 5/5
      Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog by Dave Barry is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary.This book is so full of warmth, love, tenderness, humor, insight, and just good old common sense! His writing flows with wit and wisdom, love and memories, hope and a canine spirit. He gives lessons he has, and is learning from his elderly dog Lucy. Each lesson is something we all could work on. They each are heavily sprinkled with humor and common sense. Some are more emotional than others. This is a must buy book for yourself, for dog lovers, for those getting older, for those that think they have everything! Terrific book!