We were delighted — about as delighted as dull men ever get — when Professor Toohey told us he liked our book and asked whether would it be OK if he wrote a review of it for his blog on Psychology Today’s website. We said “yes” of course. Although we generally like to ponder before making decisions, we didn’t need to ponder long about this one.
“This is a very amusing book,” Peter says.
He points out our preference for dull-lights over highlights, ban on exclamation points, and no office higher than assistant vice president.
He comments on various men in the book, says they are “intriguing and are described and photographed with affection and understated humor.” He also mentions the origins of the Dull Men’s Club in New York and that our “celebration of the ordinary” might be part or a new wave along with James Ward’s Adventures in Stationary and Pieter Hoexum’s A Small Philosophy of the Row House (which so far unfortunately is available only in Dutch). “There is, in all of this, a sort of curmudgeonly, humorous, and attractive humility,” Peter concludes.
It’s “safe excitement” according to Grover Click from the Park Bench Appreciation Society.
Here’s the URL to Peter’s review: “Celebrating the Ordinary – The Advantages of Being Dull.”
There’s a “Find a Therapist” box on the website. Our hunch is that few if any dull men need a therapist. We are content with our dullness. Our motto is “It’s OK to be dull.”
Peter’s book Boredom: A Lively History can be found on Amazon and other booksellers including it’s publisher Yale University Press.
