One-Sentence Story Notes for My New Book, “Mild Buffoonery”

My dog Osi (pictured above) recently read my new book, Mild Buffoonery. Her review: “Woof.”

Hopefully that’s positive. I don’t speak dogish. All I can tell you for certain is that Mild Buffoonery is a collection of humorous essays on topics ranging from parenting to music to sports to reminiscence about a cruise I took a decade ago. In other words, I think I’ve really lived up to the title.

If you haven’t read the book yet, maybe these one-sentence story notes will get you interested. If you’ve already read it, maybe these notes will deepen your appreciation (or distaste). Either way, that’s enough stalling from me. Let’s get to the essays!

“A Dad’s Review of Disney on Ice”

After posting this story to my blog and getting a warm reception, I became inspired to write this entire book.

“Irrational Fears of the Possibly Supernatural”

Ghost sightings always make for good stories—even in nonfiction.

“The Land of Buckets and Honey”

I enjoy essays with strange subjects, and I don’t think it gets any stranger than porta-potties.

“Grand Theft Auto: Nassau Edition”

Thus far, this has proven to be the book’s most popular entry, despite potential embarrassment for myself and/or my dad.

“Is All Art Really Quite Useless?”

I wrote this piece on my blog several years ago, though I added three mini-stories here to underscore my points and make it feel more substantive.

“Hilarity at the Movies (Accidentally)”

“What? No!”

“Famous Person”

My wife Sara is fairly unimpressed with celebrities (unless they happen to be Tim Shriver), so I really tried to win her over with this one.

“The Return of the Albany Book Festival”

I was trying to write my version of David Foster Wallace’s “ Ticket to the Fair,” in which the author wanders around…