A Very Punchable Face, Colin Jost
A Very Punchable Face, Colin Jost
30 Rating(s)
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

A Very Punchable Face
A Memoir

Bestseller

Author: Colin Jost

Narrator: Colin Jost

Unabridged: 7 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/14/2020


Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In these hilarious essays, the Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update co-anchor learns how to take a beating.

“I always wanted to punch his face before I read this book. Now I just want to kick him in the balls.”—Larry David

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Cosmopolitan • Vulture • Parade

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” (like 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 and Weekend Update (where he's written some of the most memorable sketches and jokes of the past fifteen years). 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.

About The Author

Colin Jost is a head writer at Saturday Night Live, a Weekend Update co-anchor, and a touring stand-up comedian. 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.


Reviews

I've read about a million comedian memoirs, and to be honest, they usually disappoint me. It is hard to be funny in book-form, and it's even harder to make a fairly drama-free upbringing sound remotely interesting. But Colin Jost made me laugh, like OUT LOUD, and I didn't even want to punch him in t......more

Goodreads review by Nilufer on April 17, 2021

So hilarious, ultra smart, laugh out loud guaranteed memoir! OMG, I adored the name of it! Don’t get me wrong! Colin Jost has nice, smiley face and he’s not one of those douchebag characters at the thriller books I want to punch several times to punish severely. But something about his smile makes......more

Goodreads review by Miranda on March 05, 2021

Hey! January 2021 Reading Vlog is up!!I think the mark of a good humor memoir is if someone who hasn't heard of the author before can walk away from the book saying they had a good time. And let me assure you. I had a good time. For those not in the know (like myself), Colin Jost has had an illustri......more

Goodreads review by John on April 02, 2023

Colin Jost, I wasn't expecting you to make me cry. 😢 Colin devotes a chapter of his memoir to his real-life hero, viz., his mother, who served as chief medical officer for the FDNY for 40 years. The chapter focuses on his mother's experiences during 9/11. She rushed to World Trade Center as soon as s......more

Goodreads review by Matthew on October 04, 2020

I recently had a friend text me and say something about how people toss around the acronym LOL, but they are not really laughing out loud. But, every once in a while you see or hear something funny and you actually do laugh out loud. Colin Jost's book had many LOL moments for me where I was really l......more


Quotes

“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