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Hilarious Reads
- Thread starter Halcyon
- Start date
StillILearn
New Member
For pure escapism...
...I will read P.G. Wodehouse.
I'm sure that's why he was so popular during WWII -- pure literary escapism.
...I will read P.G. Wodehouse.
I'm sure that's why he was so popular during WWII -- pure literary escapism.
Martin
Active Member
Douglas Adams is very funny, yeah. And Ell, Stephenson isn't the fisst name to come to mind when thinking of hilarious books, but you do have a point there. Interesting.
I would recommend Tom Robbins, who has a way with words that is simply amazing. Vonnegut's cool, too.
Cheers
I would recommend Tom Robbins, who has a way with words that is simply amazing. Vonnegut's cool, too.
Cheers
Anything by Robert Rankin! He has a very surreal sense of humour! For instance one novel "The hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse" feature a teddy bear private detective that has a problem with comparative nouns. That bear is as funny as... There has been a murder i toy town and he must solve it! Another of his books The came and ate us: Armageddon the musical features a cast of characters such as Elvis, Chirsteen ( Jesus sister ) and Barry the time travailing brussel sprout! His writing style is also very original. Give him ago. The most funny things EVER!
As always when it needds to be HILARIOUS (in caps) no way around Tom Sharpe's "Riotous Assembly" and it's predecessor (name escapes me right now).
Partly very OTT is Tim Dorsey (try Florida Roadkill + Hammerhead Ranch Motel)
Dave barry's Big Trouble - Great fun
A second vote for Robert Rankin (though I have to say I gave upon him - too many books, to fast....) - "Try Raiders of the Lost Car Park"
Jan
Partly very OTT is Tim Dorsey (try Florida Roadkill + Hammerhead Ranch Motel)
Dave barry's Big Trouble - Great fun
A second vote for Robert Rankin (though I have to say I gave upon him - too many books, to fast....) - "Try Raiders of the Lost Car Park"
Jan
Love4OneAnother
kickbox
David Sedaris, or Dave Barry. 
I think I just like people named 'Dave'. xDD
I think I just like people named 'Dave'. xDD
Øystein
Member
The natural first answer for me is Wodehouse, a base that has already been covered. Just the general use of language in his novels puts me in a wonderful mood, even if the plots as such aren't necessarily overly funny.
I've just read Jerome K. Jerome's "Three men in a boat" yesterday, and will highly recommend that as well. It's essentially a boating-trip story, chock-full of digressions, mixing both comedy of a slapstick nature with plenty of hilarious sentences of similar nature to Wodehouses.
The most famous quote would be: "I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours."
The whole book's public domain and available online too, if you'd like to sample it, or even read the whole thing: Three Men In A Boat
Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim is a bit less overt than those two, but the novel has a wonderful way of feeling like it's constantly on the verge of spinning completely out of control. The main protagonist isn't making life easy for himself, and at every corner another plate drops off his pole and risks utter catastrophe. This constant tension and the results of his conduct makes for a ton of fun.
For something that isn't really "hilarious", but which manages to be be both a beautiful novel, and a very funny one at the same time, try Evelyn Waugh's A Handful Of Dust. It's a fine satire, so now that I think back on it, I mostly remember less humorous aspects of it, yet I also recall chuckling heartily many a time whilst perusing its pages.
Interestingly, it seems all my favorite humor-texts are British. Vonnegut is the only American author that comes to mind, but I'd highly recommend him as well (and, like most of the aforementioned authors, there's thankfully more his work than strictly comedic writing)
I've just read Jerome K. Jerome's "Three men in a boat" yesterday, and will highly recommend that as well. It's essentially a boating-trip story, chock-full of digressions, mixing both comedy of a slapstick nature with plenty of hilarious sentences of similar nature to Wodehouses.
The most famous quote would be: "I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours."
The whole book's public domain and available online too, if you'd like to sample it, or even read the whole thing: Three Men In A Boat
Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim is a bit less overt than those two, but the novel has a wonderful way of feeling like it's constantly on the verge of spinning completely out of control. The main protagonist isn't making life easy for himself, and at every corner another plate drops off his pole and risks utter catastrophe. This constant tension and the results of his conduct makes for a ton of fun.
For something that isn't really "hilarious", but which manages to be be both a beautiful novel, and a very funny one at the same time, try Evelyn Waugh's A Handful Of Dust. It's a fine satire, so now that I think back on it, I mostly remember less humorous aspects of it, yet I also recall chuckling heartily many a time whilst perusing its pages.
Interestingly, it seems all my favorite humor-texts are British. Vonnegut is the only American author that comes to mind, but I'd highly recommend him as well (and, like most of the aforementioned authors, there's thankfully more his work than strictly comedic writing)
novella
Active Member
Wodehouse always makes me laugh.
S.J. Perelman and Woody Allen, who have quite a lot in common as humorists, but are a generation apart. S.J. relies less on the absurd.
Perelman collaborated with the illustrator Al Hirschfeld a few times, and those are great books. A sorely underrated 20th century master of urbane farce. Wrote for the Marx Bros at one point.
Though I wouldn't read a whole Dave Barry book, I really respect how he can churn out funny stuff week after week for his column. He's a pro.
S.J. Perelman and Woody Allen, who have quite a lot in common as humorists, but are a generation apart. S.J. relies less on the absurd.
Perelman collaborated with the illustrator Al Hirschfeld a few times, and those are great books. A sorely underrated 20th century master of urbane farce. Wrote for the Marx Bros at one point.
Though I wouldn't read a whole Dave Barry book, I really respect how he can churn out funny stuff week after week for his column. He's a pro.
For similar slap-stick style humor, you might try Patrick McManus. He does outdoor humor, but they're very tongue-in-cheek from both a child's POV and later as an adult. Pat Wray is another super American outdoor humorist. There's a story of his in the back of every Field & Stream.
novella
Active Member
Cathy C said:
If you are referring here to S.J. Perelman, he was never a "slapstick" humorist. He was one of the original staff writers for The New Yorker and his vocabulary alone is a universe of wonderment. He is usually considered a hyperliterate satirist. Was Nathanael West's brother-in-law, so went to Hollywood to write a few times, but hated it.
bobbyburns
New Member
and I love you, optimus prime. optimus octavius maximus, protector of the autobot matrix of leadership.
Humor. Hmmm...yeah Douglas Adams seems to have overshadowed the market there. Terry Pratchett, I've found, is an inadequate replacement. I read a few of a series called Bicycling Through Space and Time some of it was pretty funny--some of it was inane drivel but some of it WAS funny. Dave Barry cracks me up. Erma Bombeck--I can't even read some of her stuff its so funny.
Hey now lets not make fun of Optimus...sheesh.
Hey now lets not make fun of Optimus...sheesh.