3rd out of 20 books
—
15 voters
You're Not Doing It Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations
Darkly humorous and told with raw honesty, You're Not Doing it Right is Michael's debut memoir. In it, he takes on his childhood, his marriage, his children, and his career with unexpected candor and deadpan wit, as he shares the neuroses that have plagued him since he was a kid and how they shaped him into the man he is today.
In this funny-because-it's-true essay collecti...more
In this funny-because-it's-true essay collecti...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
February 28th 2012
by Gallery Books
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Oct 24, 2012
Jillyn
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
his fans
Recommended to Jillyn by:
Emily
This review contains some language that might be offensive. Don't like it? Don't read it.
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Michael Ian Black is a comedian who is best known for his work on various MTV shows. This is his memoir, reflecting on such things as sex, marriage, childbearing, and life in New York.
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Michael Ian Black is also a douchebag. And I love him for it. Despite him being a fairly successful forty year old Jewish man, and I being a college aged jobless Pagan female, I found tremendous similarities in viewpoints...more
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Michael Ian Black is a comedian who is best known for his work on various MTV shows. This is his memoir, reflecting on such things as sex, marriage, childbearing, and life in New York.
---
Michael Ian Black is also a douchebag. And I love him for it. Despite him being a fairly successful forty year old Jewish man, and I being a college aged jobless Pagan female, I found tremendous similarities in viewpoints...more
Apr 29, 2013
Ursula
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio,
biography-autobiography
If you're at all familiar with Michael Ian Black's comedy, you know that he will say just about any awful thing you can imagine as if he means it with all his heart. This book isn't written by *that* Michael Ian Black. I mean, okay, he does in fact still say some horrible things as if he means them with all his heart, but there are also glimpses at the humanity lurking behind the statements, and the shared experiences that lead many of us to think the things he says out loud. (If you're not at a...more
Loved this book! Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I was surprised by how deeply I could relate to every story he relayed. Often, I felt as though he had reached inside my brain and stole my thoughts and memories from my own life, which, admittedly, is a little creepy (but thoroughly entertaining, nonetheless). I highly recommend this book to everyone. Actually, I would go so far as to say that this should be required reading for all people, everywhere, especially before, during (and...more
Black’s well-known to my generation as one of the players from MTV’s much-beloved sketch show The State and has gone on to a career in Hollywood, often appearing on television and in commercials. He’s carved out a distinct niche for himself as a snarky know-it-all and I’ve enjoyed much of his work post-State… but I wasn’t chomping at the bit to read his book. I decided to give it a shot and I am ridiculously glad I did.
You’re Not Doing It Right is quite simply, the most accurate book I’ve ever r...more
You’re Not Doing It Right is quite simply, the most accurate book I’ve ever r...more
Far from the zany, madcap type humor I somehow expected from the author, "You're Not Doing It Right" is an incredibly well-paced, well-tempered, and well-meaning book. It is humorous. It is wonderfully humorous. It is irreverant and somewhat crass. And it made me laugh out loud in a restaurant where I was reading it at a table for one, even further embarrassing myself in front of my cute Australian waitress. But, it is remarkably insightful, poignant, and touching. All the essays are introspecti...more
I had mixed feelings about this book. I had read a review of it somewhere, and it sounded really cool - this idea of a husband and father finding meaning in the day to day grind. That's a good, sound philosophy that I wanted this book to explore. But he's not exactly an every guy - he wrote a show for MTV. And then, some of the anecdotes/stories felt empty. His childhood story about f*** Alan Alda just didn't do anything for me. Just because his mom idealized Alda's persona didn't mean Michael's...more
Knowing that almost all of my friends on Goodreads are women, I feel it is my responsibility to begin by saying this book will not be enjoyed by women. But it will be enjoyed by dads, so please pass this recommendation onto them. Black's reflections on marriage and fatherhood are quite funny and in the end, even touching. Most of us appreciate it when others express the things we may think but have the self-control not to speak out loud, or say, print in a book. And this is why I will not be pub...more
I have always thought Michael Ian Black was very funny, but I had no idea what a good writer he is. This memoir is one of the funniest things I've read in years--I'd compare it to David Sedaris-level funny--but it's also incredibly sad and honest in a way that few memoirs that I've read tend to be. And when I say "honest," I don't mean salacious or scandalous, or full of gory details; I mean that Black is willing to talk about things few people are willing to confess. He talks about loathing a C...more
Michael Ian Black can be a jackass, but in the end, the sweetness & sincerity of his love for his family and his life mitigate the vast majority of his more selfish statements. His statements about the difficulty of marriage and child-rearing were sometimes cruel (especially to his poor wife), his regret later about his actions rang true as well. The chapter in which he described the pain of losing their first dog had me teary and made me feel immense sympathy for this sweet, arrogant comic.
I remember enjoying Michael Ian Black's work on the nearly forgotten TV show Ed. And I thought he was one of the funnier parts of the I Love the 70s/80s VH1 shows. Last year I discovered his podcast, Mike and Tom Eat Snacks, which he records with his Ed co-star, Tom Cavanagh. I've also listened to a couple of his comedy albums.
Now I've read his book. And I really liked it.
I actually found myself laughing. Out loud. Not something I often do while reading a book. And I also found it to be shockin...more
Now I've read his book. And I really liked it.
I actually found myself laughing. Out loud. Not something I often do while reading a book. And I also found it to be shockin...more
From Insulted by Authors:
The first thing Michael Ian Black does after the standard thank-yous and glad-to-be-heres is open up his laptop and start reading a review of his new book “You’re Not Doing it Right.” Black is not upset or particularly pleased with the review; he’s sharing it because “it is truly the most terribly-written piece of crap I’ve ever read.” (This and all quotes here will be paraphrased, FYI.) The review, and I’ll spare the author attribution here, was posted on a website no o...more
The first thing Michael Ian Black does after the standard thank-yous and glad-to-be-heres is open up his laptop and start reading a review of his new book “You’re Not Doing it Right.” Black is not upset or particularly pleased with the review; he’s sharing it because “it is truly the most terribly-written piece of crap I’ve ever read.” (This and all quotes here will be paraphrased, FYI.) The review, and I’ll spare the author attribution here, was posted on a website no o...more
I consume a lot of Michael Ian Black. As a 15-year old, hardly a school day passed without quoting The State. This has continued during my adult years albeit with a much lower frequency though with no smaller laughs. Looking back, Michael Ian Black was the center of 90% of my favorite skits ($240 of Pudding, Bologna Feet, The Toothbrush, The Mailman and the tacos) and thus a dependence on his brand of humor was born. Since he doesn't do crazy voices or did-you-ever-notice observations, his humor...more
I didn't really enjoy this book at all, and I couldn't relate to much of what he said. Besides the stuff about having a baby with colic which truly does suck, I didn't have the same experience that many goodreads readers did- maybe because I am not a middle aged guy?
I also will never understand these relationships where people are miserable, fight constantly, and seem to just not enjoy being together. Most of the couples who I know who have been married 20/30/40 years seem to be pretty darn hap...more
I also will never understand these relationships where people are miserable, fight constantly, and seem to just not enjoy being together. Most of the couples who I know who have been married 20/30/40 years seem to be pretty darn hap...more
So I’ve decided I probably shouldn’t read people’s memoirs on the train anymore. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop, I’m just saying I should because I’m sure the people around me in the morning and afternoon loved watching me shake, turn red and have tears streaming out of my eyes as I read this book. Let me just say paralegal and panda bears. You’ll understand when you read it.
Since I first saw Michael Ian Black on TV, I liked him and found him to be dryly funny, so I figured I’d enter the Goodreads...more
Since I first saw Michael Ian Black on TV, I liked him and found him to be dryly funny, so I figured I’d enter the Goodreads...more
I loved this book. I kept seeing this described as "honest" and "painfully candid" before reading it (the word "honest" occurs over & over again in the blurbs on the back cover), so when Michael Ian Black (hereafter "MIB" for brevity's sake - apologies for any Expensively Crafted Aliens+Will Smith connotations) makes numerous references to how much his children annoy him, or how he sometimes enjoys being in a hotel room by himself & far away from his family, or even how he didn't fall in...more
4 1/2 stars. I really loved this book. Yes, Michael Ian Black comes off as kind of a crass jerk sometimes, but I have listened to him enough that I get that that is kind of his schtick, and it doesn't bother me so much, and really, his jerkiness can kind of be seen as raw honesty in a lot of cases. The first couple essays are not the strongest ones, but once he starts talking about marriage and parenthood, he absolutely shines. These essays are honest, hilarious, tender and true. I think one of...more
I mostly remember Michael Ian Black from the TV show Ed, though I know I’ve seen him in various things over the years and always thought he was funny. My sister won an ARC of the book and she loved it and recommend that I read it and I'm very glad I did. In You’re Not Doing It Right Black’s not just funny, he’s laugh out loud hysterical. The book doesn’t touch on much of his acting career, but focuses on his family, from his lesbian mother who holds Alan Alda up as the ideal man, his seemingly...more
Michael Ian Black has his talents as an actor/comedian, but he should stop trying to be a writer. Even setting aside the fact that this book reveals him to be FAR more of a douchebag than I originally realized, his writing style is very similar to unfunny dad-comic Dave Barry. It's irritating, and not particularly funny. Further, he has a self-conscious habit of fake self-deprecation, when he pokes fun at himself for things that are only borderline embarrassing (in order to prove himself less of...more
I could watch Michael Ian Black on TV all day. As a matter of fact, I used to do just that. I taped all those dumb VH1 "I Love the..." series, mainly because of him. I like listening to him talk, and I love following him on twitter.
For some reason, though, I just couldn't get into this book. To me, it felt sad and awkward. I get self-deprecating humor- believe me, I do. And I really like it. But I didn't get that from this book. I was so excited to receive it, and started reading it as soon as...more
For some reason, though, I just couldn't get into this book. To me, it felt sad and awkward. I get self-deprecating humor- believe me, I do. And I really like it. But I didn't get that from this book. I was so excited to receive it, and started reading it as soon as...more
I knew this book was going to be funny when I started reading it. I've always loved Michael Ian Black's take on things. This book is certainly laugh out loud funny. What surprised me was how absolutely honest and unflinching some of his tales of marriage and parenthood were. Yes, he keeps it funny, but he also keeps it *completely* real. The extent to which he was willing to lay it all on the table for his reader--the good, the bad, and the ugly-- was surprising to me. It took what could have be...more
I stumbled upon this at the library... a dark memoir with many laugh out loud moments. The reason it's not 5 stars is that the guy's a jerk. And not in the cute self-deprecating way that some jerks come across, but in the "this guy must be a real A-hole" kinda way. He's either trying to make being a jerk funny or he's that unaware of himself. Maybe I'd understand the humor better if I'd seen him act in something. Has anyone seen him in anything? Does he seem like a jerk when he talks out loud?
Al...more
Al...more
Ah, a celeb-written book on nothing. Sometimes you just need trash to get through the day! This one was written by a comedian whom I am not overly familer with (I know him from like 10 years ago when he did Best Week Ever and I Love The whatever on VH-1. Not really sure what he's been up to since and frankly, don't really care. This book was all about his love and personal life. It actually wasn't too bad except self indulgent and people like me keep feeding the monster in picking titles like th...more
The part about aging that terrifies isn't so much about becoming old or out of touch. It doesn't take much poking around to tell that I'm a pretty out of date person. No, the part of aging that terrifies me is the idea of looking around and finding myself surrounded by my failures. Living a lazy life can be fun, but sometimes you miss out on all of those great perks you actually have to work for. Things like pleasant spouses, healthy families, and stability come as a result of involved effort. S...more
This was a lot sadder/more thoughtful than I thought it would be. I was expecting a male version of Bossypants but you end up getting so much more honesty. This book takes a look at the history of Michael's relationship with his wife. While work is mentioned, it's never explained in detail. He meets, falls in love with, moves in with, marries and starts a family with his wife and he captures all of the mixed moods and emotions that come from merging your life with someone else's. I've read some...more
At its heart, this is just a book about someone's life experiences –family, love, pain, growing and learning. However, the way I prefer to describe it is as a great set of stories that serve as a vivid depiction of Michael Ian Black's shitty life. He's a nerd without an ounce of manliness. He's a coward. He's a hypocrite. He is terrible in bed. He hates the beautiful woman he ends up marrying (she's older than him and two feet taller – I found proof). He doesn't want kids. He hates the kids his...more
Okay, Michael Ian Black is not for everyone, but I find him utterly hilarious. You must have an appreciation for dark (Black - hah!) comedy. But, he's not just funny, there's a wise man-boy lurking under there. He dares to tell the unvarnished truth about aspects of parenthood and marriage that I think we've all probably noticed, but never dared to speak about in the civilized open. And he also comes clean about the personal disappointments and insecurities that plague many of us. The genius of...more
You’re Not Doing it Right was honestly one of the most enjoyable books I ever read--and I’m not just saying that because I’m high. I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Ian Black’s humor and the man can really spin a yarn, making the mundane paradoxically captivating. Cliché as it may be, there were times I was seriously laughing so hard, tears were rolling down my cheeks. Many of those tears were even mine.
If you like deadpan humor and enjoy really getting into someone else’s life in an almost voyeurist...more
If you like deadpan humor and enjoy really getting into someone else’s life in an almost voyeurist...more
i have a special place in my heart for all former members of The State, but this was just not a good book. i think that i seriously need to stop reading memoirs/essay collections from celebrities/comedians because they are usually not good writers. some of the stories in this book were enjoyable, but overall, black just came across as a giant asshole. he mentions in the beginning that it was very difficult for him to write this book, and it really shows. at times it seemed like he was reaching t...more
This was a hilarious and touching exploration of the modern male psyche, and it is sincerely surprising that he could get so many things right in so many ways in such a slim volume. Most people's connection with Black is his television persona - but in recent years (as I have found out talking with people and recommending the book) they have associated him with "I love the..." rather than some of the other amazing projects he has done in his career. His writing career is so much more than that,...more
Sometimes I like to read a humor book to clear the palate after I've read too many novels in a row and the plotlines start blurring together in my mind. I wasn't super familiar with Michael Ian Black, but this book got good reviews, and it was about marriage/family/life in the suburbs, which sounded interesting to me.
It took awhile for me to warm up to the guy. That's because he began with tales of when he was still single, and he seemed like just another early-20s single douchebag. But when he...more
It took awhile for me to warm up to the guy. That's because he began with tales of when he was still single, and he seemed like just another early-20s single douchebag. But when he...more
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| Anne Taylor Loft: BABY COME BACK | 47 | 19 | Dec 25, 2012 07:57am |
Michael Ian Black (very famous) is a popular comedian who began his career with The State, a sketch comedy troupe he co-founded at New York University in 1988, which went on to have a successful run on MTV. He then co-created the Comedy Central television series "Viva Variety," a fake European variety show. From there, he appeared on several television show before landing the role of Phil Stubbs,...more
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“I am not a music snob. If anything, my musical taste is bad by any critical standards. My favorite song of all time is "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners. A close second is "MMMBop" by Hansen. So I am not out there claiming any musical superiority, but Creed really does suck. Bad music, pretentious lyrics, and a messianic front man. Also they are from Flordia. No good rock music has ever come from Flordia. Undoubtedly, there will be legions of offended readers who think to themselves, What are you talking about! Such-and-such band is from Flordia and they're freaking awesome! No, whatever band you are thinking of, if they are from Flordia, they suck. Not as much as Creed, but they still suck.”
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Dec 24, 2012 11:44am