Anything by Kevin Wilson - especially Nothing to See Here. Also A Prayer for Owen Meany - though I haven’t read it recently- I remember reading it on the subway ages ago and cracking up over a passage and the guy sitting across from me said great book and just started laughing too - presumably because he was remembering particular passages …
Very late to this chat ... comic go-tos are Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. but the book that had me guffawing and laughing out loud was Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island", mostly due to his cantankerous persona but also because it was several decades old by the time I first read it so had a lovely nostalgic feel.
Last summer I read, THE ANGEL OF ROME, by Jess Walter, and found myself laughing out loud on the beach, not in Rome, alas, but in France. I laughed on the beach, in a cafe, in my hotel room late at night. The title story, about a kid who pretends to have interest in the priesthood in order to secure a trip to Rome, and gets mixed up in a film shoot with an actor jonesing for cocaine is hilarious and surprising in the best ways!
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Serious theme, humorous throughout.
Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar by Cathcart and Klein. Since when is philosophy a laugh riot? Since this book. Special bonus: you'll learn more about philosophy than you did in that class you slept through.
Yeah, Tom Robbins, almost any novel, makes me say "whoahhh" on every other page, and on the pages in between laugh out loud! Another Roadside Attraction is very funny too, and profoundly imaginative. The opening to Jitterbug Perfume, called "Today's Special," is absolutely amazing poetry, too! Thanks for seconding, Chelsey! : )
"The Dreyfus Affair"—by Peter Lefcourt, about two major league baseball players who fall in love. Caveat: it's old and I haven't re-read it since it came out, so it might reflect some old queer stereotypes. But I haven't laughed that hard while reading since. And in the realm of essays: "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris. I had to stop reading the title essay because I was in a hospital waiting room and no one else appreciated my giggling.
Anything by Kevin Wilson - especially Nothing to See Here. Also A Prayer for Owen Meany - though I haven’t read it recently- I remember reading it on the subway ages ago and cracking up over a passage and the guy sitting across from me said great book and just started laughing too - presumably because he was remembering particular passages …
Very late to this chat ... comic go-tos are Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. but the book that had me guffawing and laughing out loud was Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island", mostly due to his cantankerous persona but also because it was several decades old by the time I first read it so had a lovely nostalgic feel.
Dear Committee Members-Julie Schumacher
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
"The Shakespeare Requirement" by Julie Schumacher - half unbelievable, half very close to reality, fully belly-hurting funny
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Last summer I read, THE ANGEL OF ROME, by Jess Walter, and found myself laughing out loud on the beach, not in Rome, alas, but in France. I laughed on the beach, in a cafe, in my hotel room late at night. The title story, about a kid who pretends to have interest in the priesthood in order to secure a trip to Rome, and gets mixed up in a film shoot with an actor jonesing for cocaine is hilarious and surprising in the best ways!
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
The relationship between the main character and Rocky is one of my favourites in the science fiction genre
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Serious theme, humorous throughout.
Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar by Cathcart and Klein. Since when is philosophy a laugh riot? Since this book. Special bonus: you'll learn more about philosophy than you did in that class you slept through.
Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton. Hilarious Southern humor.
The first book in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series
The Wooster and Jeeves series by P. G. Wodehouse
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates by Tom Robbins
Any Poetry Book by Dean Young
Seconding Tom Robbins!
Yeah, Tom Robbins, almost any novel, makes me say "whoahhh" on every other page, and on the pages in between laugh out loud! Another Roadside Attraction is very funny too, and profoundly imaginative. The opening to Jitterbug Perfume, called "Today's Special," is absolutely amazing poetry, too! Thanks for seconding, Chelsey! : )
Down and Dirty Birding by Joey Slinger
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
A Zoo in My Luggage by Gerald Durrel
"The Dreyfus Affair"—by Peter Lefcourt, about two major league baseball players who fall in love. Caveat: it's old and I haven't re-read it since it came out, so it might reflect some old queer stereotypes. But I haven't laughed that hard while reading since. And in the realm of essays: "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris. I had to stop reading the title essay because I was in a hospital waiting room and no one else appreciated my giggling.