Top 10 Funniest Books

galactus

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

The Third Policeman by Flann O' Brien gets my vote. Laugh out loud funny for the entire book - every page.

Absolutely - the adventures of de Selby are legendary.

Ullysses me arse!

Shabadu

Any thing by P.G. Wodehouse, my favourite is Something Fresh. Though I still love some of the classic Jeeves lines though, 'Yes, sir' said Jeeves in a low, cold voice, as if he had been bitten in the leg by a close personal friend. Wodehouse also responsible for my favourite insult: ' She looked like something that might have occured to Ibsen in one of his less frivolous moments.'

Stella Gibbons - Cold Comfort Farm

Also anything by Evelyn Waugh, especially the immortal line from

Scoop, 'Feather-footed through the plashy fen passes the questing vole"
Gets me every time I read it.

Robbo

galactus wrote:

Absolutely - the adventures of de Selby are legendary.

Ullysses me arse!

I'm another one for The Third Policeman. In fact, I'm nearly all bicycle these days.

Catch 22 and any Wodehouse (he was so prolific that it's hard to single any one book out) also do it for me.

irishgeo

Bill Bryson book are very funny. These books have had me laughing out loud on many occasions. I also recommend Christopher Brookmyre as a good fun read.

I am going to have to buy this Catch 22 book now and may be tempted to buy the hitchikkers guide to the galaxy as well.

echomadman

Jasper fforde's books are all hilarious, espcially if you're a book nerd.

is_that_so

The Third Policeman
Anything by P.G. Wodehouse
Early Tom Sharpe( laugh out loud on the bus )
Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K Jerome

*adele*

has to be "bitter with baggage seeks same"

eclectichoney

bitter with baggage seeks same. i adore that book, adele - i didnt think anyone else had ever discovered it!

Geranium

Starter for Ten by David Nicholls. It's newish but HILARIOUS.

tHE vAGGABOND

Bill Bryson - Down Under (or any of his travel books)

Tony H

TOM SHARPE Riotous Assembly , Indecent Exposure , and most of his other books apart from maybe PORTERHOUSE BLUE AND GRANTCHESTER GRIND

pwd

As well as lots that have been posted already...

My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl (for adults)
Better than life by Grant Naylor
The Diceman and (moreso) The Adventures of Wim by Luke Rhineheart
Whit by Iain Banks
How to be Good by Nick Hornby

Closing time by Joseph Heller has characters from Catch 22 and is excellent, though not as good as Catch-22. Good as Gold is not good imo (also by Joseph Heller).

deedee lepoopoo

'Something Happened' by Joseph Heller (same author as catch 22) - Deadly Buzz

theCzar

deedee lepoopoo wrote:

'Something Happened' by Joseph Heller (same author as catch 22) - Deadly Buzz

Really?

I've read and loved catch 22, i only managed the first 1/3 of Something happened before i turfed it for being unfunny, and uninteresting, it's the first and only book i've ever put down and abandoned.

Some day i'll pick it back up, but i'll have to be really desperate

Redleslie2

I cannot recommend Mark Leyner's Tetherballs Of Bougainville enough.

From amazon:

Mark Leyner's hyperactive, relentlessly vivid The Tetherballs of Bougainville stars a fictionalized 13-year-old version of himself. Young Leyner--who sounds just like the author, the conceit is insincere--must watch the state of New Jersey execute his PCP-addled father; lose his virginity in a drunken, drugged revel with the comely warden; and write a screenplay about these things, all within the space of a day. Don't be alarmed, just turn off your left brain and keep reading. The Tetherballs of Bougainville is a soup of observation, weird juxtaposition, parody, and ribaldry that will leave some people stymied, but others positively delighted. The satire--and sense--is where you find it.

Here's Mark, with an aside: "As I browse through this astonishing array of contraband, I can't help but marvel at the ingenuity of the inmates. In the Body Cavity/Rectal section, for instance--I can imagine someone smuggling in a wrapped shank ... But four 5-piece place settings of Bastille stainless-steel flatware? I can see how, during a visit, a girlfriend could convey, through a kiss, a condom partially filled with heroin. But a 959-piece Alsatian Village Puzzle? How? Piece by piece, one kiss per visit per week? Imagine the incarcerated hobbyist's Zen-like equanimity.

haircut100

I'm gonna go with The Dice Man - Luke Rhinehart
Very funny, very strange.

I was thinking of starting to read the Discworld books but can anyone tell me where to start, do they even have a start/order?

Imposter

Brerrabbit wrote:

"Are you dave gorman" by Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace, probably the funniest book I have ever read; highly recommended.

Haven't read the book but I did see the TV program and it was hilarious. On a similar note try "Round Ireland with a fridge" by Tony Hawks. Absolutely hilarious!

utopian

The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek is very funny.

At-Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien is also funny.

It's a number of years since I read "Something Happens", but I remember it as a book about loss - not too many belly-laughs.

SmileyOReardon

It's probably an odd choice, but i would include Chuck Palahniuk in the funniest writers category, especially if you like your humor black. I'm also really surprised that no one mentioned Tom Robbins. ok, so the category is funniest BOOKS; these guys have written plenty so take your pick.

Eddie

RedRules5

Imposter wrote:

try "Round Ireland with a fridge" by Tony Hawks. Absolutely hilarious!

Agreed.

E by Matt Beaumont.

Gonzorex

Gonzorex wrote:

Am reading Catch22 at the moment, a funny book also but took me a while to get into. Its definitely a grower though as I'm about a third of the way through now and transfixed. All the red-tape and unnecessary procedure reminds me of work! It makes some interesting distinctions also between those who blindly follow a regime/system/decision and those who question everything.

Well. What can I say, I'm now almost finished (yes, I know its taken me ages but its been a struggle) and have to say that the 'transfixed' sensation only lasted for about 20 pages. Apologies to all admirers of Catch22 in this forum but I am now finding it one of the most boring, torrid, self-indulgent, unfunny books I've ever read . . .

Sure, I can see its merits and re-iterate my point about interesting distinctions, but for my money the potency of the point is lost when its so laboriously made. If I was Heller's editor I'd have run out of red ink.

In life it seems to be that people with thousands of so-called friends are actually close to no-one, and thats what I feel when confronted with the character overload on show here . . . I just don't care.

Does anyone agree/disagree?