[Christopher Bunn]

Can anyone give me some humorous book recommendations? I would be abjectly and tearfully grateful. Following are some likes/dislikes, if that helps in any way. Thanks!

Writers I Find Funny:
PG Wodehouse, Kingsley Amis, Richard Powell, Mark Twain, Dave Barry, James Herriot, Garrison Keillor, Woody Allen, Daniel Pinkwater, the folks at The Onion, Ben Stein, Steve Martin (sometimes), Conan O'Brien, James Thurber

Writers I Find Not Funny:
Michael Chabon, Ellen Degeneres, Mindy Kaling, John K. Toole, Tina Fey, David Sedaris, Stephen Colbert

 

[60169]

When I saw your heading, I clicked through intending to say "James Herriott" but then I saw he was already on your list of likes.

His first three vet books made me genuinely laugh out loud more than any books I can remember.

 

[Christopher Bunn]

Yeah, he's a great writer. Definitely the own-it-and-reread-it type.

 

[SandraMiller]

When I saw your heading, I clicked through intending to say "James Herriott" but then I saw he was already on your list of likes.

I was exactly the same way with Dave Barry. LOVE Dave Barry. But if I was looking for something like Dave Barry that wasn't Dave Barry....I don't know what I'd look for. I wish I had a suggestion.

 

[The Hooded Claw]

The Brigadier Gerard stories of Arthur Conan Doyle.

The Samurai Cat series by Mark Rogers, (look it up in Wikipedia) is among the funniest things ever written, but I suspect you would have to settle for used copies.

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[Avis Black]

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.

http://www.amazon.com/Family-Other-Animals-Gerald-Durrell/dp/0142004413/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360350744&sr=8-1&keywords=my+family+and+other+animals

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4, by Sue Townsend.

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Diary-Adrian-Mole-Aged/dp/0060533994/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360350809&sr=1-1&keywords=adrian+mole+diaries


Both are classics in the humor genre. However, you still have to find them in paper or hardback, because their publishers still haven't issued them in ebook formats, yet.

 

[Christopher Bunn]

Thanks for the recommendations, Avis and Claw. I forgot about Durrell. I've read My Family and Other Animals. That's a hilarious book.

 

[RJMcDonnell]

I thoroughly enjoy the humor in Nelson DeMille's John Corey series. Amid anti-terrorist plot lines, Corey consistently displays a sense of humor that connects with my funny bone.

 

[Mike D. aka jmiked]

Thorne Smith has always been one of my favorites for humorous fiction. He was enormously popular back in the day. He wrote Topper, which was the source for several movies and a TV series. His books are all available in well-proofed free editions on Mobileread.

Mike

 

[Avis Black]

It seems like some of my favorite recommendations are either not yet on Kindle or are out of print, such as the two below.  Maybe publishers with wise up and reissue them. 

The Art of Coarse Sailing by Michael Green is great.  It's the best humor book ever written on the subject of sailing.  Also recommended is Yes Minister, The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister by Jonathan Lynn and Anthony Jay.  You have to be interested in politics to really enjoy the latter, though.  It was made into a TV series which can be found online if you look hard enough.

 

[Sam Kates]

Tom Sharpe novels? Not many books make me laugh out loud, but Wilt did.

Also, many of Bill Bryson's travel books have chuckle moments.

Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels are full of humour

 

[The Hooded Claw]

Also, many of Bill Bryson's travel books have chuckle moments.

Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels are full of humour

I also endorse Bryson and Discworld! The Bryson book on Great Britain is especially good, though the title escapes me.

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[Sam Kates]

I also endorse Bryson and Discworld! The Bryson book on Great Britain is especially good, though the title escapes me.

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Notes From a Small Island. Another funny one is A Walk in the Woods

 

[T.P. Grish]

'Impressing the Whites' by Richard Crasta, available on Amazon. The title is not to be taken literally, the same with much of the book (as the author states himself). It is, in my understanding, a criticism of the dilution of real voices from people, particularly authors, from developing nations. Nobody is spared, especially the authors themselves. It is very often hilariously funny.

 

[Andre Jute]

Tom Sharpe novels? Not many books make me laugh out loud, but Wilt did.

Tom Sharpe is definitely the greatest living farceur. I love him; my family hear me laughing in the bath and say, "Dad reading Tom Sharpe again." But he's so over-the-top, he's a bit of an acquired taste.

Thorne Smith is hilarious; his skill is setting up the sitcom.

 

[Christopher Bunn]

Thanks, everyone, for all the recommendations. There are quite a few authors here I've never read or even heard of before. I generally find that humor is one of the more difficult genres to recommend, so I appreciate these suggestions a lot.

By the way, if anyone enjoys extremely dry British humor, I can't speak highly enough of Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim. I probably re-read that book once a year and it always has me laughing.

 

[LilianaHart]

Christopher Moore. You will cry from laughing so hard. Especially with Lamb and Fool. Those two are my favorites.

 

[NogDog]

Christopher Moore. You will cry from laughing so hard. Especially with Lamb and Fool. Those two are my favorites.

Although with "Lamb", I also cried from some of the sad or poignant moments, too -- one of the reasons I'd categorize it as more than just humorous: there's a lot going on in that book, and I love it for that. (It also had me utilizing my Kindle's connection to Wikipedia a lot. )

 

[Geemont]

Perhaps the only novels to ever make me laugh out loud, the Flashman books are also some of the best historical fiction around. The premise is that a Victorian soldier, who is widely praised for bravery, service to country and queen, and a respected gentleman is actually a cad, a rake, a coward, a lair, and a womanizer, who gets himself jammed into all the great battles and political conspiracies of the 19th century, then must extract himself with skin and reputation intact. And bed all the beautiful women along the way.

For a flavor, here is the opening sentence of book two: "If I had been the hero everyone thought I was, or even a half-decent soldier, Lee would have won the battle of Gettysburg and probably captured Washington."

 

[Red Dove]

"Billy Liar" by Keith Waterhouse and the follow-up "Billy Liar on the Moon"

Also, non-fiction but very funny are the collections of Jeffrey Bernard's articles from The Spectator - "Low Life" and "More Low Life" but you'll have to pick those up secondhand.

Finally, I can highly recommend "A Bear Called Paddington" by Michael Bond. Widely available but will cost you several marmalade sandwiches.

(All Brits by the way)