Let’s hope the BOTB curse doesn’t come for Stephanie Hayes. She’s been the Readers’ Pick for Best Columnist for three years running now (and was relegated to finalist in 2024), not surprising since she’s one of the few remaining reasons to have any faith in the Tampa Bay Times. And now, finally, she’s collected her columns into a book, “Be Serious,” in which we guarantee that you can open to any page and land on a laugh line. (Even the titles are funny, as in “This Summer, Beware the Wet Families in Hotel Lobbies.”) Perfectly encapsulating the everyday oddness of Florida, especially in the last few years, it deserves a place on every Tampa Bay bookshelf. (That is, if you can find it. On Aug. 30, I bought the last remaining copy at Tombolo Books. But they’ll reorder if you ask.)
@stephrhayes on Instagram
—David Warner