Moms review comics' memoirs

Photograph: Anna Simonak

You’re Not Doing It Right by Michael Ian Black (Gallery Books, $24)
Reviewed by Jill Schwartz

How did you feel when you first picked up Michael’s book?
I said, “His hairline’s receding.” Isn’t that horrible? But it’s true!

Which part made you laugh the hardest?
First of all, I don’t know how much is true and how much is not true; I choose to think much of it is not true, or I’d kill him. But I roared at the thought of him trying to smoke a joint, hearing his wife say, “You’re not doing it right!” and then him turning into a kind of sloppy drunk when it hit him.

Which part do you kind of wish weren’t in there?
Well, he pays no attention to what his mother wants. I can’t even play the guilt card anymore. There’s no part I wished he hadn’t shared, but I did feel bad about the part with his father. He died just when he was beginning to have a relationship with my boys.

What’s not in the book that you’d want to scribble in the margins for readers to see?
His kids really were rotten babies. I’ve got five grandchildren, and his kids took the cake because they were colicky. But they’re really nice kids and he really is a good father—and he doesn’t give himself credit for that.

Which part made you proudest of Michael?
I always knew he was a great writer, and now he’s starting to shine. I did not tell too many of my other friends about his other books. When he colored his dick yellow [in My Custom Van], for instance, I didn’t think that would go over really well with my crowd. This one, I’m saying, “Read it. It’s funny, it’s good.”