A Very Punchable Face (Jost)

A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir
Colin Jost, 2020
Crown/Archetype
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781101906323 


Summary
In these hilarious essays, the Saturday Night Live head writer and "Weekend Update" co-anchor learns how to take a beating.

If there’s one trait that makes someone well suited to comedy, it’s being able to take a punch—metaphorically and, occasionally, physically.

From growing up in a family of firefighters on Staten Island to commuting three hours a day to high school and "seeing the sights" (watching a Russian woman throw a stroller off the back of a ferry), to attending Harvard while Facebook was created, Jost shares how he has navigated the world like a slightly smarter Forrest Gump.

You’ll also discover things about Jost that will surprise and confuse you, like how Jimmy Buffett saved his life, how Czech teenagers attacked him with potato salad, how an insect laid eggs inside his legs, and how he competed in a twenty-five-man match at WrestleMania (and almost won).

You’ll go behind the scenes at SNL (where he’s written some of the most memorable sketches and characters of the past fifteen years) and "Weekend Update." And you’ll experience the life of a touring stand-up comedian—from performing in rural college cafeterias at noon to opening for Dave Chappelle at Radio City Music Hall.

For every accomplishment (hosting the Emmys), there is a setback (hosting the Emmys). And for every absurd moment (watching paramedics give CPR to a raccoon), there is an honest, emotional one (recounting his mother’s experience on the scene of the Twin Towers’ collapse on 9/11).

Told with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, A Very Punchable Face reveals the brilliant mind behind some of the dumbest sketches on television, and lays bare the heart and humor of a hardworking guy—with a face you can’t help but want to punch. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—June 29, 1982
• Raised—Staten Island, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., Harvard University
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives in New York City, New York


Colin Jost is a head writer at Saturday Night Live, a "Weekend Update: co-anchor, and a touring stand-up comedian. His memoir, A Very Punchable Face (2020) is his first book.

He has five Writers Guild Awards, two Peabody Awards, and a PETA Elly Award for the sketch “Diner Lobster.” He’s also been nominated for thirteen Emmy Awards and lost every time. He lives in New York and in the hearts of children everywhere. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
There are no mainstream reviews for this title; listed below, instead, are dust jacket "blurbs" from colleagues:

Colin Jost is as funny as his face is punchable. Which is to say: very. He also knows a lot about Staten Island, soiling himself, internal parasites, and firemen’s pensions. He’s really the whole package. And if you care about comedy—writing it, performing it, watching it, or giving up any semblance of a normal adult life for it—so is his book.
Zadie Smith
 

Colin Jost is one of the best people I know and one hell of a writer. This book proves both to be true.
Seth Meyers


I was caught off guard by how much I enjoyed this book, considering how indifferent I feel about Colin as a person.
Amy Schumer


An inspiring story that reminds us that if you are born with looks and talent, you can still make it.
Conan O’Brien


I think this book is fantastic. I haven’t read a single word of it, but it’s got everything I want in a book—a front, a back, a good spine. And it’s got some heft. Whoever wrote this book knew what she was doing. Well done.
Michael Che

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for A VERY PUNCHABLE FACE … then take off on your own:

1. Which of Colin Jost's essays in his memoir …

1. Most powerfully affected you (perhaps the story about his mother) …
2. Made you laugh the hardest …
3. Most revealed the most about who Colin Jost really is …
4. Did you find…well, peurile, or childish …
5. Made you wonder how Jost ever survived  …
6. Answered the question about whether Jost's success is due to talent, hardwork, or luck …
7. Dished out the most interesting stuff on colleagues and what it is like working on SNL.

2. It's not uncommon for readers to pick up books by favorite comedians, only to find themselves let down by the lack of humor, lack of heft, or lack of good writing … or by the fact that it simply wasn't interesting. If A Very Punchable Face left you disappointed … how so? If, on the other hand, Colin Jost's memoir lived up to your hopes, even exceeded them … in what way did it do so?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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