Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland (Dave Barry) - Putnam - 2016 - 229 pages

The most important things to be learned from this book are: 1. Dave lives in Florida; 2. Other strange people live in Florida; and 3. It was time for Dave Barry to write another book.  While the book cover claims that it constitutes a defense of Florida, it is in fact a compilation of just a few of the Floridian quirks that have given the state its well-deserved reputation.  Dave recounts his recent travels in the state that included The Skunk-Ape Research Headquarters in Ochopee, The Underwater Mermaid Theater and Spongeorama in Weeki Wachee, The Haunted Hotel Cassadaga, The World's Largest Retirement Community (The Villages), Gatorland, Lock & Load Miami, The LIV Night Club and Key West.  Apparently, the main reason that Mr. Barry likes Florida is that it gives him so many opportunities to practice writing humor.  And, nobody does it better.  Although he is seemingly only providing a brief diary of some of his weekend trips, the book is pure Dave Barry and I cannot get enough of it.  I give it a 5 out of 5 "Out-Of-Order Mold-A-Matic Machines."  [JAM 11/30/2016]