The expression on my children's faces when I showed them my copy of this book was a mixture of fear and horror, and I felt no guilt at my immediate surge of delight. My use of the "dad joke" at the dinner table and on long family drives is legendary -- perhaps "notorious" is the better word here -- and they obviously were not happy that I might be encouraged to expand my territory to other times and places.

So thank you, Bart King, for writing Father Humor: Mastering the Art of the Dad Joke, and thanks to your publisher for sending me a copy for review. That look of terror on my wee cherubs will sustain me for many days!

Seriously, folks, the dad joke is an art form, and one I am happy to continue to hone and wield as opportunities present themselves. And before you go away thinking Father Humor is simply a collection of questionable jokes and puns ... no. It's so much more than that.

For instance, King explains why the pun is clever and smart and cool, not stupid at all no matter what my wife and kids say.

What makes a Dad joke unique is that it can both release and create tension. (Or create and release tension, depending on how you do it.) ...

What I mean is that for some people, puns always create tension because they think that any pun is automatically awful. These misguided folks have bought into the cliche about how the pun is the lowest form of humor.

That's so wrong.

Historically, wordplay was often looked upon as the highest expression of wit! After all, words are what we use to think. ... To find humor or a double-meaning for a joke means you have to be able to consider multiple meanings for these words simultaneously. That means you are thinking about thinking, which is a meta mental process.

So there, unbelievers!

But what exactly is a Dad joke, anyway? Don't worry, King has that covered.

Basically, anytime someone makes a corny, adorable joke (often a pun), that's a Dad joke. ... Any humor that seems silly or obvious or potentially annoying is popularly defined as a Dad joke. ... Dad jokes should be inclusive, appropriate, and non-offensive. They aren't religious or political, and they rarely have any reference to death or violence. Instead, Dad jokes focus on trivial and embarrassing humor. ... And please remember, a Dad joke is never, ever pun-ographic.

Moms and non-parents are also capable of making Dad jokes, he insists. That's not the point.

Regardless of one's gender identification, it's easy to get hooked on the Dad joke lifestyle. And wonderfully, this lifestyle can be passed on to others. It's sort of like a zombie contagion, but in a good way, where instead of undead zombies, you get people who are a little dad inside.

Get it? Get it?

There are plenty of dad jokes here, pages and pages of them, but they're scattered among King's skillful analysis of the underrated comedic style. He discusses the mechanics of various types of dad jokes (yes, there are variations) and explains why they're funny, when they're appropriate and what you should do if your chosen audience doesn't laugh. And, of course, King provides plenty of examples that you can use to elicit groans from your family and friends.

Skeptics of the dad joke as an art form may come away from this book with a new appreciation; those of us who are already fans will come away with a fresh arsenal of potential wit and a better understanding of why we are compelled to inflict our puns on the world. If nothing else, you'll appreciate the textured, rubbery cover that almost feels like leather; it's a nice touch, that gives the book a scholarly facade.