PRE-STRUMPETING UPDATE

Comments

[tropichunt.com guy™]

"THE SHEPHERD, THE ANGEL, AND WALTER THE CHRISTMAS DOG"

That sounds like the beginning of a good joke!

[Otterboy]

First?

[CoastRaven]

...AND WALTER THE CHRISTMAS DOG???

hmmmm... Walter ... Walter... where HAVE I heard that name before??

[Clean Hands]

Strumpet on!

[Otterboy]

Guess not. Haha.
"A star is assigned to books of unusual merit, determined by the editors of Kirkus Reviews."

All right! Unusual merit!

[Clean Hands]

A four-way first post. With an oosik. Hm.

[kitten]

Holiday blog exchange?????

[Dave]

What I want to know is, who is this "Dickens" person?

[Clean Hands]

Anyone else notice the plethora of familiar names in the cast of this book? Hm, again.

[mudstuffin]

Strumpet on, my good man. I shall look forard to this one like few others.

BTW: "Walter the Dog" is already a character in a children's book:

http://www.dogtoys.com/wafadog.html

[pogo]

"Dickens" is what my grandma was always getting scared out of her when us kids did something she thought was dangerous.

[«LabSpecimen»]

Dave, far be it from me to try to be funny, but I can't help but jump on the obvious pun: "What the dickens is up with this 'Dickens' reference?"

[pogo]

Lab, I think we simul-subjected, but at different times?

[Betsi]

so at future strumpeting events, do bloglits get to sit on Dave's lap?

[«LabSpecimen»]

Sort of. For my granny, The Dickens was something / one that would scare you, not something scared out of you.

[CJrun]

Lab, I'm afraid [not scared] that your granny would have been meowed at by my granny.

[Beppie]

"Dog" is "God" spelled backwards! Has the blog gone all religious on us? Will there be a Mary sighting amidst a printing error in this book? Important questions to ponder.

[Bumble]

*adds yet another book to the ever-lengthening amazon wishlist*

Must...find...job!

[Schadeboy]

Another book, already, huh? Man, you are fast!

[KCSteve]

Pivotal plot developments include the accumulation of bat poop in the belfry of Doug's church...

Sounds interesting. I assume squirrels are involved in some manner, of course.

If not I guess I'll have to blame Global Warming.

[pogo]

Beppie - no, but if you look at the text of the review and sort of squint your eyes you can see an image of George Foreman.

[Chaz]

wait, Dave is a writer? I thought he was a pirate

Hooray for unusual merit!

[Chaz]

Dave should write a book about Virgin Mary in all sorts of sitautions....

The Virgin Chronicals
The Virgin Diaries
Once a Virgin, not always a virgin....

I'm just sayin'...its outta control

[Mahatma Kane Jeeves]

Dickens was the guy who wrote this book . . .

[Mikey]

Where will Dave be strumpetting his next book? I for see a Virgin image somewhere, perhaps with a snake or a squirrel and a thingy pump?

[stevie w]

"...the accumulation of bat poop in the belfry of Doug's church..."

All the world over, so easy to see
Steeples everywhere just guano belfry

-apologies to Dave AND to the Rascals

[queensbee]

not too autobiographical Doug........ and walter and judi[y]. I see. awww. sounds like a cute story doug, er, dave.

[Dave]

KCSteve -- Of COURSE there are squirrels. There are prominent squirrels. In fact there are prominent dead squirrels, which would be a good name for a rock band.

[philintexas]

I was undecided about buying the book until I read about the bat poop. It's not really Christmas without bat poop.

[fudtheman]

I'm assuming you've already had a mojito, Dave. Shouldn't that be "There are prominent..."?

[Siouxie]

WOOO HOOO! another one to look forward to!

When's the strumpeting gonna start???

and tropicguy??? - Sounded like a joke to me too...

A Shepherd, an Angel and Walter the Christmas Dog walk into a bar....

[Siouxie]

oops...name change...back in sunny crappy Miami!!!

[Siouxie]

hmmm...that "are" wasn't there the first time I read your post Dave...

[stevie w]

(The first time...ever I read your post...)

Hey, don't be givin' him no Flack.

[CJrun]

tasty Bass Ale *snork* @ rascally stevie.

[Gwenn]

Oh, I see. Walter is now a guardian angel dog. Nice try Dave, I'm still not petting it.

[Clean Hands]

Hi, Siouxie! Welcome back!

[Siouxie]

hey CH!!Thanks! Hope you got my well wishes for the Mrs! how's she doing???

[Mrs. B]

A Christmas story featuring a dog? I'm already crying. It sounds like the perfect book for several family members. I'll have to get one for myself.

[Punkin Poo]

Dave - I gotta know - is the bat poop shaped like the Virgin Mary???

[Dr. Doug]

David,
Are you not Jewish? If so, why write a book about Christmas? Were you a part of a mixed-marriage home and had a little admixture of Christmas and Chanukah? Do you address this in your frontispiece-area? What does your wife think of such works?

[FleaBailey]

On a serious note, mucho congratulations. Kirkus is, in my experience, one of the toughest reviewers out there. I regularly rely on Kirkus reviews when deciding when to try a new author, and a star from Kirkus is like 4 stars from USA Today. Kudos.

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Mmmmm. I'm putting up my tree early, lighting a fire in the fireplace, and snuggling up with a good book.

[Siouxie]

and Walter, Lisa??

[ShyJan]

But when do we get the strumpet schedule ?

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Siouxie-What can I say? Walter's a given. (no pun intended. really.)

[mary the blog kids mom]

The blog kids have marked the calendar for 11/7. Are very excited at the thought of legitimately using the phrase "bat poop" in a book report.

[Steven Jens]

Doug Barnes makes me think of two writers, one at the Washington Post and one in southwestern Washington state.

Walter and Judy seem like more obvious references.

[Steven Jens]

Except that the guy at the Post is named Gene, not Doug. And I need a lot more coffee.

[Siouxie]

Isn't there a park here in Miami called A.Doug Barnes??? or something like it...

[OkieDokie]

My first thought was - sounds like the next Christmas classic movie , ala "A Christmas Story" ("You'll shoot your eye out, kid!)

[GDogg]

Uh-oh...Walter the Farting Dog is gonna sue...

[GDogg]

What I want to know is: would any other writer besides Dave Barry inadvertently title his heartwarming Christmas story similarly to a children's book about a dog with a flatulence problem? You never hear about this sort of thing happening to your Gore Vidals or your Norman Mailers.

[catharine]

The fact that the author of the article used the words "a Very Barry Christmas" is what really freaked me out.

[James T.]

I'm confused, is this an autobiography?

[Siouxie]

Not sure James but if it is...I wonder who the "bat-poop" character represents...

[WriterDude]

Just had a look at the "events" page, and I see Dave is slated to strumpet for another book in Denver next month. Unfortunately, it will be on a Friday, which rules out any appearance of buffaloes or bandages.

If I provide a blown-up picture of my left foot, can I count on my fellow mental patients bloglits to take it to the event and then ship it around the country ahead of the remaining strumpet tour? Participation in a wedding would be optional.

[Betsy]

Those of us steeped in the Barry canon know all about the Rolodex and the bat poop (to say nothing of the shepherds and their annual spirited discussion of which direction to head.) But I find it distressing that His Daveness found it necessary to add a dead dog to embellish the plot. I've only barely forgiven Lynn Johnston for killing off Farley; this better be handled damned deftly, and be heart-warming as hell, or I may have to remove a few of the candles from my altar to Dave. (But just a few).

[Jeff Carrie's friend Jean]

Looking forward to seeing the strumpeting schedule. I hope Boston--or anywhere in mainland NE--is on the list this time. I'm sure the Vineyard was a pleasant stop this summer, especially after the exploding pigeons in NYC, but it's a bit of a pain to get to if you live in Metro West.

Dave, I have a friend who owns a children's book store in Waterville, Maine. How about giving the folks up there a thrill and putting the pine tree state on your itinerary? I would buy you any number of refreshing beverages at the nearby Midnight Blues Bar or Mainly Brews Pub (or both) afterward.

My friend has experience with these book signing soirees, too. When I worked for her years ago (when she was the manager of another book store in town) we had book signings for such celebrities as Senator George McGovern and Captain Lou Albano (not at the same time, of course.) Ah, how well I remember meeting Captain Lou! He looked me right in the eye and said, with real emotion, "Where is your restroom?" (Turned out he had just 'dined' at the K-Mart restaurant in the same strip mall.)

Thank you for considering my humble request.

Yours ever,
Jean (who, when she worked at the bookstore mentioned above, once sold a Hustler magazine to Stephen King. ISIANMTU.)

[Avon]

Anyone who's still reading this (I'm back online after a week) -

If you haven't read the piece that won Dave the Pulitzer, do it. It's linked on his webpage somewhere.

Kirkus should've checked it out themselves and their review would have downplayed the adolescent booger angle. Dave's new book may not be particularly deep or serious but his Pulitzer piece shows that Dave can be. And people who don't suspect that ought to be shown.