Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results

If you only read one book in your life, it probably shouldn’t be this one. However, if you’re not operating an inexplicable one-book policy, these stories are funny, touching, and more than worth your time. - John Oliver

Josh Gondelman is one of the most original hilarious voices out there today. This book will hook you and make you laugh and laugh. - Amy Schumer

Emmy-Award winning writer and comedian Josh Gondelman’s collection of personal stories of best intentions and mixed results.

Josh Gondelman knows a thing or two about trying-and failing. The Emmy Award-winning stand-up comic-dubbed a pathological sweetheart by the New York Observer-is known throughout the industry as one of comedy’s true nice guys. Not surprisingly, he’s endured his share of last-place finishes. But he keeps on bouncing back.

In this collection of hilarious and poignant essays (including his acclaimed New York Times piece What if I Bombed at My Own Wedding ), Josh celebrates a life of good intentions-and mixed results. His true tales of romantic calamities, professional misfortunes, and eventual triumphs reinforce the notion: we get out of the world what we put into it. Whether he’s adopting a dog from a suspicious stranger, mitigating a disastrous road trip, or trying MDMA for the first (and only) time, Josh only wants the best for everyone-even as his attempts to do the right thing occasionally implode.

Full of the warm and relatable humor that’s made him a favorite on the comedy club circuit, Nice Try solidifies Josh Gondelman’s reputation as not just a good guy, but a skilled observer of the human condition.