Just imagine stepping into a confessional and rattling off jokes, one-liners and zingers.

That is “A Very Punchable Face.”

Colin Jost, the Harvard grad, “Saturday Night Live” head-writer and co-host of “Weekend Update” unloads story after story about everything from rowing crew in college (“By the end of freshman year, I stopped rowing crew but made the interesting decision to continue eating five thousand calories a day”), to growing up in a family of firefighters and motoring around with his mother in her chief medical officer work vehicle (“She used to make me drive her everywhere”).

Silly and improbable, Jost manages to write an entire chapter on soiling himself. Repeatedly. That kind of humor may be too broad for some, but that’s just one small, albeit messy part of what this “Face” is all about. And also, what makes is so punchable. Jost is matter-of-fact when he tells stories with a punchline that’s hiding behind a bush up ahead, just waiting to jump out and ambush you with gut-busting laughter. He writes in a very natural way, cracking jokes where imaginably, he’s laughing at them, too.

Jost is a comic’s comic. Practically every chapter begins with quotation marks as he swoops down on hilarious essays and the commentary which is his life. Chapter titles include, “Oops I Fell Asleep in a Graveyard,” and “The Chapter About Alcohol and Drugs.” The beauty of Jost’s witticisms is the unguarded manner in how he delivers them. In the introduction, he talks about his heritage and comically points out that, “it’s never a good sign when your German side is the less repressed one.”

Self-deprecation is nothing new to comedy. Harken back to Bob Newhart or Rodney Dangerfield. Taking a punch is half the joke, hence the completely applicable book title. Jost finds humor in the funniest places. Yes, it’s rank, but it’s also personal, and the author has more than enough time on his hands to take a hit or two in between giggle-worthy anecdotes.

Jost knows he’s funny, but in a funny-to-look-at way, rather than “this guy’s a comedy genius.” He even includes the less-than-fantastic reviews he received when he started appearing on “Weekend Update.” One comment, compliments of USA Today, is particularly lionizing: “I rarely use the word, ‘hate.,’ And I rarely put words in boldface and underline them and italicize them, but I hate Colin Jost.”

“Face” is not all about Jost taking hits. He spends much of the book expressing gratitude to people who have supported him – his mom has a whole chapter dedicated to her. It’s his willingness to frequently acknowledge the role others play in his life that makes him endearing to the reader.

You’ll also discover things about Jost that will amaze and confuse you, like how Jimmy Buffett saved his life while surfing, how he was attacked by Czechs armed with potato salad and how he competed in a 25-man match at WrestleMania and almost won.

Jost, no doubt, is a skillful comic writer and it’s probable that his delivery mirrors the way he writes and vice versa. Readers will likely find him likeable, perhaps more on the last page of the book than the first. Jost is ultimately still the guy you see on the cover. He is absurd and a wise-acre. Maybe a punch is too harsh; a nice love-tap might do just fine.

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