books that are actually funny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The funniest book I’ve ever read is A Confederacy of Dunces.

+ everything. There are so few Ignatius fans on here, I had to defend repeatedly on DNF threads

I think he is such a genius and so much is going on that some readers don't find it all that funny because they don't get it. He creates layers and layers and layers of complex social commentary that look, on the surface, almost cartoonishly simple. People miss a lot of it. And most of what is really hilarious is down a few layers.

I remember way back in the 90s a boyfriend and I were watching the movie version of "Cold Comfort Farm" and we were almost falling off of the couch with laughter. We were watching it because my roommate had rented it, and it wasn't due back at the Blockbuster yet (you might not remember those days, lol). Anyway, she comes out into the living room, confused by our laughter. She and her friend had watched it and didn't think it was funny at all. Like they didn't even realize it was a comedy. Which seems impossible, just like it seems impossible for people to not appreciate Confederacy, but it happens.

Both the book and the TV movie version of Cold Comfort Farm are hilarious.

Confederacy of Dunces is yet another patriarchal whinefest about how the world doesn't appreciate someone's genius, but in a way that both celebrates unrecognized genius and kicks down at society's outsiders. So yes, I recognize what JKT was going for, and it makes me either sad or annoyed, depending on how much of the milk of human kindness is in my system at the time. But I don't find it funny, and that's not because I am somehow less informed that you.

I also hate the Shawshank Redemption, if you're wondering how many sacred cows I don't hold sacred.

[Anonymous]

This is going to sound crazy, but I am reading Moby Dick and it has legitimately made me laugh out loud. Ishmael is quite funny.

[Anonymous]

If you are a parent, Drew Magarry's book of essays "Someone Could Get Hurt" makes me nearly pee myself just thinking about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The funniest book I’ve ever read is A Confederacy of Dunces.

+ everything. There are so few Ignatius fans on here, I had to defend repeatedly on DNF threads

I think he is such a genius and so much is going on that some readers don't find it all that funny because they don't get it. He creates layers and layers and layers of complex social commentary that look, on the surface, almost cartoonishly simple. People miss a lot of it. And most of what is really hilarious is down a few layers.

I remember way back in the 90s a boyfriend and I were watching the movie version of "Cold Comfort Farm" and we were almost falling off of the couch with laughter. We were watching it because my roommate had rented it, and it wasn't due back at the Blockbuster yet (you might not remember those days, lol). Anyway, she comes out into the living room, confused by our laughter. She and her friend had watched it and didn't think it was funny at all. Like they didn't even realize it was a comedy. Which seems impossible, just like it seems impossible for people to not appreciate Confederacy, but it happens.

Both the book and the TV movie version of Cold Comfort Farm are hilarious.

Confederacy of Dunces is yet another patriarchal whinefest about how the world doesn't appreciate someone's genius, but in a way that both celebrates unrecognized genius and kicks down at society's outsiders. So yes, I recognize what JKT was going for, and it makes me either sad or annoyed, depending on how much of the milk of human kindness is in my system at the time. But I don't find it funny, and that's not because I am somehow less informed that you.

I also hate the Shawshank Redemption, if you're wondering how many sacred cows I don't hold sacred.

You are not alone and said it way better than I did.

[Anonymous]

Also have loved David Sedaris, Bill Bryson, Douglas Adams, and Dave Barry.

Will add:

Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome

A Year in Provence - Peter Mayle

Monsieur Mediocre - John Von Sothen

And though not a book - VeryBritishProblems on Twitter/X

[Anonymous]

The Diary of a Nobody, is an English comic stories written and illustrated by Grossmith brothers. It is set in 1892 in London suburb about the daily events in the lives of a London clerk, Charles Pooter, his wife Carrie, his son and friends. Pooter is definitely not a Somebody, but an ordinary man with an immense amount of self importance, which is the character trait in other writers which the Grossmiths are satirising in this novel. A gentle but hilarious slice of life. “I actually woke up twice during the night, and laughed till the bed shook.”

[Anonymous]

Forgive me if I got the suggestion here but I just finished Quietly Hostile and I laughed out loud in public while listening several times. I’ve read other Irby books and this one - to me -
Was the funniest. The first essay is titled something like I Ike it! And she talks about how to respond to judgey people, I have now been using it all the time:
If you like reality stuff, Danny Pelegrinos books are funny

[Anonymous]

R. Eric Thomas' books.

[Anonymous]

Milkman by Anna Burns made me laugh. It’s a tragic tale told with dry Irish wit. I loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are a parent, Drew Magarry's book of essays "Someone Could Get Hurt" makes me nearly pee myself just thinking about it.

Is that the one where he dressed up like the Slow Guy? My husband and I laugh every single time we see one of those. He is hysterically funny, even just in his shorter articles.

[Anonymous]

Amy Poehler's autobiography made me laugh out loud.

Also good: Gary Janetti's books and Jessi Klein's books.

[Anonymous]

I remember laughing out loud to Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley when I read it many years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone commented on the November reading thread that a book described as "hilarious" was not hilarious, and few described that way actually are.

I could use a funny book to read. Any suggestions??

Almost everything by Carl Hiaason

[Anonymous]

Love All the People by Bill Hicks

[Anonymous]

6 pages and nobody mentioned Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs? One of my all-time favorites.

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend is a classic.

Dolly Alderton's Good Material is new and fab.

For audiobooks, Seth Rogan's autobiography (read by him) Yearbook.

For context, I'm a fan of David Sedaris (but don't like his voice so prefer to read his books), Dave Barry, and Confederacy of Dunces.