Funniest Books You've Read

I'll add my voice to all of those recommending P.G. Wodehouse. His Jeeves stories are absolute masterpieces of comic writing. I resisted them for a long long time; my thinking was who possibly would want to read about the adventures of of an idle upper-class English twit. However, obvious genius trumped my prejudice: Wodehouse was so obviously gifted at what he did, that I can't help feel anything but joy when I read him. His prose is so perfect that it's close to musical poetry - I admire him as much as I enjoy him. Give any of the short stories a shot, you won't regret it.

Flann O' Brien is terrific, so absurd, even horrific, but yet bitingly witty and clever too.

Bill Bryson has probably made me laugh out loud more often than any other author, over the years. Some of his books I've read three or four times. He's a great man for filling you in on obscure and daft facts, and people, from history - you'll learn something. Or maybe you'll just think you will; I'm always hard pressed to remember the minutiae of what he was talking about, once I've put the book down. All the details just flow over you, easily and joyfully, but not much actually sticks. He also has got a fair bit more cranky and cruel as he's aged. He seems to really have no time for modern life. I found reading his last book - The Road to Little Dribbling - to be a bittersweet experience. It was great to read Bryson again, but so much of it was focused on him grumbling and doing some hardcore worrying about his own mortality. But that's Bryson I suppose, he can be unexpectedly deep and that doesn’t always mean laugh out loud.

I think I saw another poster mention the Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser. It boggles my mind how unread and unknown these books are. I'd nearly claim they are my absolute favorite "funny" novels, but I do know that for many their style of humour may be totally off-putting and even worthy of hate - but if you read one and find it hilarious, then I can guarantee that you'll eat the rest up. The series of novels are an account of the diaries of one Harry Flashman, who is a kind of fictional archetype of the Victorian globetrotting hero; the kind of character that ended up here there and everywhere during the nineteenth century. The central joke is that Flashman is a complete bastard: sexist, racist, selfish, jealous, cowardly and vain. But, he never denies any of this, and happens to also be extremely cunning, withering and astute. His exploits are eventful, to say the least. MacDonald Fraser inserts him into real historical events - The Anglo-Afghan War, The Charging of The Light-Brigade, etc,etc - and he rubs up, often literally, against real historical figures, oftentimes managing to have a pivotal influence of how things eventually turned out - and most of the time emerging accidentally as esteemed hero, because everyone else happened to be killed. These are great books - full of quality writing, tons of historical knowledge and stuffed with vivid characters. Because Flashman is such a piece of work, his enemies tend to be coldly calculating bastards of the highest order. As I've said, the humour will not be to everyone's taste. The tone of the books is un-PC to the extreme. Flashman holds all the opinions you would expect a mid-nineteenth century male Aristocrat to hold. Of course, this is part of the joke, but some might find it a bit too much. But if you aren't easily offended; you'll have a gas oul time.