A Columbus State of Mind 

Maybe we’re wrong, but it seems there’s a shortage of books about Central Ohio by a native son with an unusual last name who’s written for Columbus Monthly since 1985. In fact, there’s only one book that fits that description: this one. Call it a collector’s item. Yes, a book of Ray Paprocki’s humorous and insightful personal essays first published in Columbus Monthly. Read his contrarian view about the Ohio State football team’s 2002 national championship, his open letter to Mayor Mike Coleman regarding downtown development (including a dramatic suggestion about City Center) and his tongue-in-cheek take on Les Wexner’s New Albany mansion. Paprocki also turns his pointed wit on himself—note the stories about the flying-dog and the flapping car hood. And then there’s that particularly unpleasant encounter with the Grumpy Man of Minerva Park.