[jhendereson]

A Confederacy of Dunces is the funniest book I've ever read. It made me smile, grin and chuckle, but not once did I actually laugh out loud. A handful of comics can incite laughter out of me, but not once can I recall actually laughing out loud while reading a book. And yes, I've read a number of humorist authors. So I wonder if LOL, regarding works in print, is rather an exaggeration. Do you actually laugh out loud while reading?

 

[NogDog]

A Confederacy of Dunces is the funniest book I've ever read. It made me smile, grin and chuckle, but not once did I actually laugh out loud. A handful of comics can incite laughter out of me, but not once can I recall actually laughing out loud while reading a book. And yes, I've read a number of humorist authors. So I wonder if LOL, regarding works in print, is rather an exaggeration. Do you actually laugh out loud while reading?

There have been occasions, albeit not a common thing, where I have laughed out loud a bit -- typically more of a single "hah" than outright laughter ("Hah-hah-hah-etc....). I cannot remember what I was reading a the time, but I do recall one instance where I actually put the book down that it got me chuckling too hard for me to concentrate on reading. I think it was one of those situations where it was not an outright comedy, but did have occasional comedic moments, perhaps making them stand out even more?

And on a related note, the first time I came across the "that's when the fit hit the shan" in Zelazny's Lord of Light, I had to put the book down momentarily -- though more to groan than to laugh.

 

[history_lover]

I don't think I've ever actually laughed out loud while reading apart from a soft chuckle. Growing up, I often read in libraries or during silent reading at school which of course required silence and therefore I've just been conditioned not to laugh out loud. Even now, if I were to laugh at loud while reading in public, it would attract unwanted attention. So I guess reading is just such an internal thing, I keep my emotions internal too.

 

[Ann Chambers]

I do LOL while reading, enough so that I don't read books that are funny while out in public. There aren't that many authors that make me LOL, so it's not a problem.

 

[Anotherdreamer]

Sometimes I lol when I'm reading posts. It tends to annoy people. I read a book recently that made me laugh a few times, but I can't remember what it was now.

 

[Kristine McKinley]

I have laughed out loud while reading many times. I can't remember a specific book but there have been several. It's always interesting when it happens while I'm out in public, the worst though is when my husband asks why I was laughing, and trying to explain one little part in a book so he'll understand is impossible.

 

[Robena]

Jennifer Crusie's books make me laugh out loud. Even when read for the fifth time.
I love the humor in the getting-to-know-you situations of romance and the verbal sparring. Think along the lines of the early days of the TV show  Moonlighting, or the humor of The Golden Girls. Do you think there's a huge difference between male and female humor? What makes a guy laugh out loud?

 

[JDHallowell]

I have laughed out loud at books many times. Terry Pratchett is one of the more reliable triggers.

 

[Carrie Rubin]

Bill Maher's book The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody but Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass made me laugh out loud many times. I made the mistake of reading it in public. I'm sure people were wondering what was wrong with me. I don't agree with all his views, but his book is laugh-out-loud funny.

 

[Adrian Howell]

I frequently  L O L in when I'm reading something funny. This, of course, is not a good thing to do in a crowded Tokyo subway. But then it gets worse when I try to hold it in and the people around me start to wonder if perhaps a medium-size emperor penguin is trying to jump out of my mouth.

Some books are just meant to be read in a heavily-fortified sound-proof cubicle...

 

[Meka]

I recently read The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde and it made me lol several times.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[RJMcDonnell]

I'm a big fan of authors who use humor in between action scenes as a way of creating a breather for the reader. Some thriller writers believe that you have to create tension on every page. I think that too much of anything reduces its effectiveness. Both Robert Crais and Nelson DeMille have given me true LOL moments that I've shared with friends when recommending their books.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I do LOL while reading, enough so that I don't read books that are funny while out in public. There aren't that many authors that make me LOL, so it's not a problem.

I gave my friend her first Dave Barry book and warned her not to read it in public. She ignored my advice and embarrassed herself by laughing like a hyena on the subway.

Yes, Dave Barry still makes me LOL. (Hawley-Smoot) Too bad the kindle editions are so expensive.

My most recent LOL was Sally Berneathy's Death by Chocolate.

 

[markarayner]

I've read a few authors who can make me laugh. Tom Sharpe has written several scenes in his books that have done it for me. Once I was I was laughing so hard on a bus the driver stopped the vehicle to check on me. (I was attempting to stifle the laughs, and this made it sound like I was having a heart attack or some kind of fit.)

I believe the book was Porterhouse Blue. Might have been Wilt or Riotous Assembly too.

 

[Grace Elliot]

I recently read The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde and it made me lol several times.

Yep, me too, that made me laugh.
And yes, I do laugh out loud when reading a book - the REAL question is, who then reads the passage aloud to their nearest and dearest?

 

[Meemo]

I finally had to read parts of "Free Range Chickens" to my husband because I was LOLing so much. And sometimes it's hard to read aloud when you're laughing so much. Dave Barry definitely makes me LOL. So does Christopher Moore. Those are the ones that pop into my head right off.

 

[Betsy the Quilter]

I LOL fairly often....  The Spenser novels by Robert Parker had me LOL many times, usually over the dialog.

Betsy

 

[prairiesky]

I remember laughing out loud several times when I was reading Lonesome Dove many years ago.  What a wonderful book!

 

[S.W. Hubbard]

I've read a lot of mysteries that make me laugh out loud by Brian Wiprud, Robert Crais, Josh Bazell, Carl Hiaason.  One of the Inspector Frost mysteries by R.D. Wingfield made me laugh until I cried.  On an airplane.  Not good.