Barry wants a humor break

Miami Herald humor columnist Dave Barry, who has poked fun at life’s more bizarre aspects for 20 years, is giving up his weekly column beginning in January for at least a year, the paper said Wednesday.

The Herald quoted Barry as saying he wanted a break to spend more time with his wife and child after a hectic summer and might return after a year.

Barry’s work is carried by about 500 newspapers and he has written some 25 books, including two that were the basis of a television sitcom. He won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1998.