What is the funniest book you ever read?

[Arctic]

well?

HHGTTG springs to mind immediately, but i'm not sure if that's the absolute funniest thing i've ever read. i will think on this.

[Josh]

Hitchhikers of course.

Also something called "Expecting Someone Taller". Very funny. Dang, can't remember the author, but I have a couple of his books, they are very good.

"Expecting Someone Taller" is the story of a loser type guy who hit a badger with his car. The Badger gives him the power to turn himself into anything he wishes.

Funny things happen.

[Doom]

Hitchhiker's, and I really can't think of anything else, though I know there are some.

[Arctic]

ok i thought of some others that made me laugh:

John Irving in general, but specifically A Prayer for Owen Meany. much MUCH better and funnier than the film adaptation. also really liked Hotel New Hampshire.

Joseph Heller's Catch 22, though very poignant at the same time.


BTW i'm thinking about making a Rule banning the mention of certain guides and fellowships in this forum...

[Josh]

Hey, its not our fault they are so good! :)

Right now I'm reading Don Quixote by Cervantes. It's pretty hilarious in an odd way. There is a chapter about Rosanante solacing himself with a mare that his quite good.

Also, The Princess Bride is good too, though much the same as the movie.

[Doom]

Barry Trotter was pretty damn funny in moments

[Arctic]

Don Quixote's a good one. shoulda thought of that.

PB, eh, I enjoyed the movie more myself, probably because i watched it and loved it many times over before ever reading the book. though the book did have some additional material that was humorous.

looked up 'Expecting Someone Taller' and it's by Tom Holt, i think. sounds like something i might check out one of these days.

Barry Trotter. now there's a worthy mention :).
<img src="http://lookinside-images.amazon.com/Qffs+v35lerF3QyLFb+5BW1mU0oTkdkVXpmSZcuQo2PduI8qkDY2UCx8H2YSEI0JhfFFVUk/+yA=" width="200">
also look for Barry Trotter and the Unnecessary Sequel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a few more names for your perusal...

Dave Barry - lots of people love his work. i'm not crazy about it myself, but i haven't read a whole lotta his stuff either.

Terry Pratchett - um Good Omens? funny funny guy. i really enjoy the discworld books also.

Neil Gaiman - see above. i haven't read as much of his stuff.

Robert Aspirin - anyone who loves puns and cheesy humor shouldn't myth his books. ugh yes i know i'm not nearly as talented.

Bill Bryson - he's written some funny travel guides.

i just *know* there are more....what could they be??

[Cogito]

Pratchet and Barry, definitely -- and of course, Hitchhiker's.

Another, is "Sceptics, Inc." which is a prfoundly weird and absurd satire, told from the viewpoint of -- drumrolls, please -- a shopping cart...

The story takes place in the future, and a company has managed to create an artificial intelligence that is so advanced it is actually sentient. This is placed on a chip, which is embedded in household appliances, so that they will be helpful, and instruct people in how to use them etc.

This includes shopping carts, who will politely and respectfully greet shoppers, engage in small-talk, and also tell them where to find the various items they want. Hence, the shopping-cart is a sentient creature, and the main character in the novel.

But then, people started showing up dead on their doorsteps, beaten to death... Big mystery...

If I remember correctly, the shopping cart is one of the few creatures left that has this ability, because something went wrong with these things, and they rebelled, and the program was stopped, and the machines destroyed.

However, the creator of the AI had a son, who had become a very fanatical Jehovah's Witness, and he stole a chip that had this AI, and modified it, so that the machines believed in God -- basically, they shared his deeply fanatical faith. These robots were then sent around to recruit others for the Jehovah's Witnesses, and they'd ring people's doorbells, and carry out religious discussions. They had to make several versions before they got it right, and the model that went out in the world was called the "Ding Dong Seven."

But since faith cannot be fully comprehended by logic and reason alone, the robots tended to go bananas if they got involved in complex religious conversations, and ended up bashing them with their bibles... Hence, the dead people on their doorsteps.

Well, the book is truly funny -- but if you have a deep religious faith, you may not be as amused by it. But I thought it was brilliant.

[Valkary]

Good Omens.

Hands Down.

Much more cerebral and humorous than HHGTTG.

[Doom]

Oh dammit, how could I forget Good Omens? Hilarious stuff, but Hitchhiker's is another league.

[masterthes]

Haven't read Pratchett yet, but I recently bought his first Discworld book, so it's on my "to read" list, but HGTG definitely tops the list so far.

[Devilslad]

Funniest has to be....

A Fine and Pleasant Misery by Patrick F. McManus

If you dont hunt you probably wouldnt get the humor in alot of his stuff, but there are some real gems in his writings. He is the Last Laugh writer for OutDoor Life magizine.

Devilslad

[Josh]

Anyone ever read any of the Phule's Company books? Not exactly genius, but semi-funny and enjoyable in their own trashy way.

[Doom]

Those kids books by Lemony Snicket are sometimes hilarious too. Forget their name.

[MRPween]

Not as funny as Dougie Adams or Pratchett, but Robert Rankin is pretty funny

[Wiggum]

Somewhat out of left field,
Larry McMurtry's Cadillac Jack
Anthony Bourdian's Kitchen Confidential

[Doom]

Confessions of A Dangerous Mind by Chuck Barris, that was rather funny as well.

[Arctic]

Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds has a similar kind of humor to The Princess Bride.

Also, Tom Robbins has written some pretty funny stuff (Jitterbug Perfume, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Skinny Legs and All).

[fafhrd]

I'm a big fan of Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy, and also Dave Barry Goes to Japan. Anything by George Carlin is good too. With comics, try reading Oh My Goddess! and No Need for Tenchi! with a straight face- you won't be able to. Hilarious stuff. Oh, and if you ever get a chance to read Brian Michael Bendis' Fortune and Glory, which is his tale of meeting hollywood and surviving the stupidity, it's damn funny too.

Fafhrd

[Doom]

I really need to get Bendis' old work.

[musaknever]

Gonna go more modern on ya.
David Sedaris, Naked. Funny, satirical essays.
Good for the cynical, the twisted, the obsessive, and the gay in all of us.

[Cogito]

Whoa! I just read the excerpts of NAKED on amazon.com -- me like! The passage about the main character getting up from his desk 28 times, and licking the light-switch, and his shoe talking to him, "take me off! Take me off, and tap my heel heel against your forehead three times. Do it now; do it quick, no one will notice!" -- brilliantly funny. I just might have to check this book out. Thanks, dude.

[Col. Kurtz]

Anything by PG Wodehouse.

[MartyRotten]

Well of course the HITCHHIKER TRILOGY (or the first three books anyway) but also:

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
CANDIDE by Voltaire
GULLIVER'S TRAVELS by Jonathan Swift
THE DANCERS AT THE END OF TIME by Michael Moorcock
BORED OF THE RINGS by The Harvard Lampoon
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS by Hunter S. Thompson
M.A.S.H. by Richard Hooker
CATCH 22 by Joseph Heller
DON QUIXOTE by Cervantes
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM by William Shakespeare
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST by Ken Kesey

[Josh]

Gulliver's Travels??

Hmm. I've never really thought of that as "funny" but now that you mention it I guess it really is!

[masterthes]

Well, Gullivers is more satire, but yeah, it does have its funny moments.

[MartyRotten]

and after all, satire is a form of humor.

[masterthes]

Exactly. I'm currently reading Good omens right now. It's pretty darn funny so far.

[Josh]

Ah yeah. Good Omens is pretty entertaining. Thick satire though.

HHG is a little lighter and easier to laugh at.

[legna]

Did I not review Good Omens at one point?? Hmmm Have to see.

Robert Rankin is pretty funny.

[masterthes]

Well, I just finished it. Genius is all I can say. I was a little bit thrown off by the ending of the climax as to what exactly happened. The satire about the fast food industry and the section of the evangelist were just plain Swiftian in its brilliance. Funniest line probably had to be that bit about the kraken coming out of the water and a million sushi crying for vengeance. I'm now reading his Color of Magic right now, the first Discworld book.

EDIT: Legna, according to this,http://www.filmhobbit.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1038 you haven't as yet. Hobbit, I just read your review and I guess we both agree about the ending, but, it doesn't spoil the book at all.

[legna]

Wow- I read it I thought It did!