Best Humorous Novels?

[JuniperMama]

At 37 weeks, I need some distraction mamas!

What are your favorite laugh out loud novels??

Thanks!

[sapphire_chan]

Jennifer Lancaster

Good Omens

Get Fuzzy

Um...hmm... I read a lot of stuff that makes me , but most of it isn't specifically intended to be funny.

[alexsam]

They are not novels (they are autobiographical), but the James Herriot books are "laugh out loud" funny and very sweet (he writes about being a veterinarian in England in the 1930's-1960's and his relationships with his boss, his wife, the townspeople, etc... there are about 5 books, most famous "All Creatures Great and Small"). His clients and the situations that he seems to find himself in are really funny. Love, love, love them.

[TEAK's Mom]

Good Omens
Julie and Julia
Wishful Drinking

[BookGoddess]

I like memoirs that are funny. The following are quick, breezy, and really funny.

Funny In Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian In America
Laughing Without An Accent: Adventures of An Iranian American At Home and Abroad

[NiteNicole]

anything you can find by David Sedaris
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster, but the others are funny too
Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore
White Man's Grave by Richard Dooling
Misadventures in the 213 by Dennis Hensley
Sellevision by Augusten Burroughs

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the Auntie Mame books by Patric Dennis.
I also just caught part of Bridget Jones on tv the other day and remembered how much I laughed till I cried when I first read that book.

[umami_mommy]

i thought "the devil wears prada" was pretty funny.

[biochick]

Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich.

Someone got me hooked on them when ds was just born and was doing lots of cluster feeds. There are 15 books in the series so far and I absolutely love them.

I also really like Bill Bryson. A Walk in the Woods is one of my favorites.

A Primates Memoir

The Know It All and A Year of Living Biblically. I just started the last one.

[HappilyEvrAfter]

Originally Posted by umami_mommy

i thought "the devil wears prada" was pretty funny.

I was gonna post the same. Movie was more dramatic to me...book made me giggle at times.

[Jessy1019]

Fool, A Dirty Job, and Lamb -- all by Christopher Moore. I laughed at loud mere pages into each of them.

Chuck Palahniuk's books are great, too. A little more serious than Christopher Moore's, but still funny if you have that sort of sense of humor. Snuff made me laugh a lot, but if you have anything against porn or really vividly gross descriptions of sexual things, you'll probably want to pass.

Maybe I shouldn't recommend books. Neither my mom (an avid reader) nor my partner has liked my suggestions so far, but a friend loved Lamb and I get giddy when someone does like one of the books I've suggested so . . . well, here I am posting in your thread.

[Leta]

I second David Sedaris, even though I wouldn't call his books novels.

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. The Long Way Down is funny, too, but darker.

America the Beautiful by Moon Unit Zappa.

And even though it's got a lot of other stuff going on, I always found The Body by Stephen King to be hilarious. (It's the source material for the movie "Stand By Me".) Technically, it's a novella, one of four in Different Seasons, and, be warned, the other three aren't funny at ALL.

[Quickbeam]

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings contains some very funny scenes.

Me Talk Pretty One Day has a chapter about the author's brother that brings me to tears of laughter every time. Bonus if you read it aloud.

A Confederacy of Dunces is supposed to be funny.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

[NiteNicole]

I second David Sedaris, even though I wouldn't call his books novels.

Good point, nor Jen Lancaster. I got stuck on "funny."

[JessicaS]

Good Omens is hilarious. I nearly choked reading it.


Chuck Palahniuk is really into the shock factor. He likes to put stuff that will freak someone out in his books. He is a very gifted storyteller but WOW some of it is really freaky.

[~pi]

Another hand-way-up vote for Good Omens.

I second the recommendations for Bill Bryson's and James Herriot's stuff, too, though neither write novels. If non-novels are fine with you, I recommend Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress.

If short stories are OK, I HIGHLY recommend collections of the Vinyl Cafe, a very popular and long-running national radio show in Canada. (FYI, it isn't just for Canadians -- I made a CD of episodes for some American friends and they went crazy over it.)

[Chamomile Girl]

One more vote for Good Omens!

[journeymom]

Sci Fi/fantasy: Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe, etc.

Anything by Terry Pratchett. Totally agreed about David Sedaris.

[Unreal]

Originally Posted by biochick

Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich.

Someone got me hooked on them when ds was just born and was doing lots of cluster feeds. There are 15 books in the series so far and I absolutely love them.

:

The first books I ever full fledged laughed out loud while reading.

I chortled a bit with Hitchhiker's Guide and Dirk Gently (Douglas Adams) and with Lamb (Christopher Moore)

But Stephanie Plum....I had to stop reading so I could catch my breath

[babycarrier]

Christpher Moore - A Dirty Job

[georgia]

Me Talk Pretty One Day has a chapter about the author's brother that brings me to tears of laughter every time. Bonus if you read it aloud.

If you go to youtube and search "you can't kill the rooster," there's an awesome reading of the chapter. It's so not-family-friendly, so language alert

So, my vote is on David Sedaris if you're looking for a funny distraction!