Only the Truth is Funny: My Family and How I Survived It

Stand-up comic Reynolds's confessional monologue occasionally provokes a smile through his comments on blissfully devouring junk food, avoiding church (``If at Communion the Host was fudge, I'd be there for that''), dating and marriage, but for the most part his juvenile remarks (``There should be a law that whatever you litter gets shoved up your butt!'') don't translate well to the printed page. Reynolds clearly had a tough childhood: his father died when he was an infant, his manic-depressive, alcoholic mother had a series of abusive boyfriends, his ex-con stepfather landed back in prison after holding up a couple of banks. Although his chosen defense mechanism turned out to be comedy, Reynolds's pieces on his dysfunctional relatives generally prove too sobering to draw laughs. He deserves credit for his startling candor, but this collection of brief essays seems like just another catharsis-seeking celebrity's attempt to cash in on past misfortunes. Author tour. (Sept.)