[Toasty]

Can you recommend some books that are funny and have a good story. The last books I've read, while serious subject matters, did make me laugh - The last Witchfinder - James Morrow and A spot of Bother - Mark Haddon. I also read Roar of the Butterflies by Reginald Hill which was good fun too, so I'm looking for books that have a good plot but have some genuinely funny moments.

BTW I was a big Sci Fi fantasy fan years ago, So I've read plenty of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Robert Asprin, etc and while I recommend these authors, I'm not looking for a fantasy suggestion personally at this point in time, however, feel free to post any suggestions you have

[AgentCool]

'The Diary of a Nobody' by George & Weedon Grossmith is definitely worth a read if you haven't come across it before. Written in diary format, it's the comical account of a fictional 19th century City clerk who believes he's more important than he really is.

[GasDad]

Stephen Fry: The Stars' Tennis Balls

[OldAndSenile]

Anything by Robert Rankine. Very funny and very good books. The guy is a complete loon!

[Codehead]

I had to stop read Terry Pratchett in public because I couldn't help but laugh out loud at some of his stuff. People give you the strangest looks when you're laughing your head off on the tube.

Mrs Codehead often gets woken up by me chuckling at his stuff. The early to middle Discworld stuff is the best IMO, he got a bit too political later on.


As for non-fantasy, Anything by Tom Sharpe. 'Blott on the Landscape' and 'Wilt' were surprisingly funny.

[Billo]

I would recommend any of Tom Sharpe's books. They are well written and will make you LOL in public.

[DeathFromAbove]

Hardly high-brow... but if you liked Red Dwarf the books that accompany the series are very good. The first two written by Grant/Naylor are the best and loosely follow the show. The third and fourth were solo efforts by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor and are well worth a look.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by OldAndSenile

Anything by Robert Rankine. Very funny and very good books. The guy is a complete loon!

Agree Robert Rankin does some hilarious books. The first time you read one of his you are quitely going along thinking this is a funny book about real people then all of a sudden some hugely bizarre turn of events happens, such as aliens landing or monsters etc.

[Toasty]

I think I've read more books than I think, this thread has thrown up some memories! I've read a number of Robert Rankin books, that guy must have invented thinking outside of the box

I've read most of Stephen Frys books too, but not The Stars' Tennis Balls, so may give that ago. I've also read Wilt, but could explore more of Tom Sharpes books.

Anyone who likes Terry Pratchett, I'd recommend you give Good Omens ago, which he co wrote with Neil Gaiman, a class read!

Thanks for the Diary suggestion, I'll look into that, however, I will say I read an Adrian Mole book recently, which uses the diary format and found it very meh. But I think that was due to all the new Labour references littered around the book.

[DPinBucks]

I really don't think you need a story to appreciate humorous writing.

However, other than the already-mentioned Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, my favourite humorous novels are:

Anything by PG Wodehouse;
Lucky Jim (Kingsley Amis);
Billy Liar (Keith Waterhouse);
Three Men In A Boat (Jerome K Jerome). Ditto On The Bummel also good;
The Ascent of Rum Doodle (W. E. Bowman);
The Molesworth Series (Geoffrey Willans);
The A J Wentworth Series (H F Ellis)

But you mustn't forget the collections of humorous items by:

Alan Coren (easily the funniest of all. Unfortunately recently died);
Patrick Campbell;
Robert Benchley (largely out of print, unfortunately);
James Thurber

[Toasty]

Originally Posted by DPinBucks

I really don't think you need a story to appreciate humorous writing.

Indeed, however, I was trying to avoid things like "World According to Clarkson", which inevitably appear on websites when you filter by humour. I enjoy a good novel that also makes me smile and this, to me anyway, is hard to search for on sites like Amazon as you're wading through pages full of TV show celebrity books. A list of humourous authors is perfect, cheers

[DPinBucks]

Oh, and I completely forgot perhaps my favourite book of all:

Catch-22.

I would define that as a must-read.

[GasDad]

Earlier Carl Hiassen is on occasions I found laugh out loud funny.

"Tourist Season" is a good start.

His later novels, are (imo) slightly more political and dry.

[leeb-1977]

Not sure if its what your looking for but 'Frank Skinner' - his autobiography is hilarious in places, well worth a read.

apart from that - for a quick read (youll get through it in a couple of hours max) try 'the va dinci cod'..... (a parody of dan browns da vinci code) or infact anything by Adam Roberts. Stupid nonsense books - trying to be anything but clever, but if you like parodies and spoofs then should hit the spot. Think Airplane in book form

[Toasty]

TBH all suggestions welcome, while I prefer a novel, I did enjoy Stephen Frys Autobiography and I recently read the Dirt - Motley Crue's bio, which I found funny, disgusting and eye opening all at once.

I'm currently reading Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre, this has been hitting the spot so far and based on his reviews, he has better books in his catalogue too. Which I reckon I'll explore based on my initial impressions of this one

[sniffer66]

Originally Posted by Billo

I would recommend any of Tom Sharpe's books. They are well written and will make you LOL in public.

Have to agree, embarassing on the train

I also find anything by Bill Bryson extremely funny. Maybe we have the same dry sense of humour

[square-eyes-baz]

2 of the funniest books Ive ever read

Deke Leonard - Rhinos, Winos & Lunatics

Also by the same writer - I Should Have Stayed In bed

Deke Leonard was a member of the Man band , these two books are his true memoirs of his time in the group from the 60s to present day. I came across them in the library ,read the back and thought they were a fictional Spinal Tap style story. Not so, apparently its true and very funny.

[Codehead]

Bruce Dickinson's (yes, the singer from Iron Maiden) Lord Iffy Boatrace books are funny. Vulgar, outrageous and tacky. But also very funny.

[littlesheepy]

Originally Posted by sniffer66

Have to agree, embarassing on the train

I also find anything by Bill Bryson extremely funny. Maybe we have the same dry sense of humour

OOh, i love Bill Bryson. Might have to give Tom Sharpe a go if he's along the same lines

[rockmonkey1973]

dont know if this will be your cup of tea and even though i have read many books that are laugh out loud funny, trainspotting by irvine welsh was the first one that sprung to mind. a good film an even better book.

edit: same can be said about american psycho by brett easton ellis. both are dark yet totally hilarious.

[SeanT]

three from above : Fry, Adams and Pratchett (just about any of them)

plus: Ben Elton

oh, and any of Clarkson's newspaper column archive books - but especially the older ones to read now are fantastic

[Toasty]

I finished Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre last week, it's basically a humourous Horror with a religious slant. The humour was good, the Horror was a little cliche and the religious twist was interesting albeit a little familiar. Overall a good read, with some laugh out loud moments and despite some minor flaws.

I've just picked up Submarine by Joe Dunthorne on a whim from the library.

[GasDad]

Originally Posted by SeanT

plus: Ben Elton

Good shout that!

I've really enjoyed all of Ben Elton's books - especially the "Don't you like my soup" line in Grid Lock.

[Goooner]

Originally Posted by DPinBucks

Oh, and I completely forgot perhaps my favourite book of all:

Catch-22.

I would define that as a must-read.

I'll second that, absolute classic

[maxadim]

I'm reading Pride and Prejudice And Zombies (a beloved hallmark of English literature with added bone-crunching zombie action). Its pretty good

[ozthecoz]

Originally Posted by Codehead

I had to stop read Terry Pratchett in public because I couldn't help but laugh out loud at some of his stuff. People give you the strangest looks when you're laughing your head off on the tube.

Mrs Codehead often gets woken up by me chuckling at his stuff. The early to middle Discworld stuff is the best IMO, he got a bit too political later on.

.

My wife used to get really wound up with my guffawing when reading discworld novels Havent found any other books that make me laugh out loud in the same way.

as for funny and educational - try FAT by rob Grant. I also found Peter Kays autobiography hilarious in places.

[Toasty]

I've just finished Christopher Buckley's Boomsday, a very funny blast through American political spin.