What is the funniest book you've ever read?

[Jane Elliot]

I don't care if it's children's, young adult's, or adult's. I'm just in the mood for some humor.

[melissel]

Pretty much anything by Erma Bombeck gets me giggling :D Actually, I really should re-read those now that I'm actually a mom and a homemaker. They were hilarious before; I'll bet they're even funnier now!

 

ETA: Oh, and anything by Dave Barry as well!

Edited September 29, 2010 by melissel

[kalanamak]

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome

[Aurelia]

Me Talk Pretty One Day made me laugh out loud several times. I don't recommend it if you're especially conservative, though.

[Carol in Cal.]

Dave Barry Does Japan

 

and more seriously but still killingly funnily,

 

Moo

[Mejane]

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. It's about his adventures on the Appalachian Trail.

[Caitilin]

The Magic Pudding--hands down, the very funniest book I have ever read. :)

[whitestavern]

David Sedaris. Bill Bryson, especially Neither Here Nor There. Augusten Burroughs. Erma Bombeck. I have a somewhat different sense of humor though.

[Dana]

I like Terry Pratchett a lot.

[Remudamom]

Wodehouse

[Stacia]

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (definitely not for everyone, as many would probably find it shocking or offensive)

 

The Midnight Examiner (again, probably not for everyone)

 

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear

 

Terry Pratchett books

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Roughing It by Mark Twain

[kalanamak]

Roughing It by Mark Twain

 

I nearly died when the cows kept coming through the roof. Innocence Abroad, too: There was only one donkey in the holy land I could ride, because I hadn't seen its back.

[Maverick_Mom]

Me Talk Pretty One Day made me laugh out loud several times. I don't recommend it if you're especially conservative, though.

 

 

Agreeing with you -- this is one of the most hilarious books I've ever read. But it's not for the easily offended, and it's honestly the *tamest* of David Sedaris' books.

[Maverick_Mom]

Anything by Laurie Notaro.

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

I nearly died when the cows kept coming through the roof. Innocence Abroad, too: There was only one donkey in the holy land I could ride, because I hadn't seen its back.

 

I will have to pull that one down. I don't think I ever really understood the power of true wit before I read Twain. I could not stop laughing.

[Stacia]

Yep, how could I forget Mark Twain?! Or Oscar Wilde....

[Daisy]

Cheaper by the Dozen by Gilbreth

[Catherine]

Bill Bryson's Notes From a Small Island. It made me LOL.

[Dobela]

I keep James Thurber in my nightstand when I need a good laugh. Poetry by Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky will do the trick too.

[kalanamak]

I keep James Thurber in my nightstand when I need a good laugh.

 

Oh, how I remember being read The Night The Ghost Got In! "...ate dead burnt hoss flesh, ate dead burnt hoss flesh, ate dead burnt hoss flesh". Or after Grampa shot the police man, the boy saying "He thinks you're deserters from Mead's Army." Back, ye lilly-livered cattle, back to the lines! Or were those from The Night the Bed Fell?

 

There are some very funny scenes in My Family and Other Animals and his other Birds, Beasts, and Relatives. I particularly remember his mother thinking syphilis was being discusses, rather than erysipelas.

[kalanamak]

Cheaper by the Dozen by Gilbreth

 

Please Don't Eat The Daisies is too often forgotten.

[Mom-ninja.]

"Sh!t My Dad Says" by Justin Halpern. Also, not for very conservatives. He uses a lot of curse words. However, I laughed so hard.

[Mrs Mungo]

Lots of good choices so far, I heartily second many of them.

 

But, THE funniest? Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

 

Douglas Adams has some great books, his Dirk Gently books are really funny.

 

And I have said this before, but there is a scene in the second Bridget Jones book that makes it worth reading both of them.

[Jane Elliot]

Thanks, everybody. You've listed a lot of favorites (Twain, Wodehouse, Thurber, Barry), some I haven't thought about in years (Please Don't Eat the Daisies - how could I have forgotten about that one), and many I've never heard of. I'll be making list.

[TrixieB]

Hank the Cowdog... "The Case of the Monkey Burglar" audio book. "The Impossible Chrysanthemum Song" which the author sings on the audio book never fails to make me laugh.

 

Twain's "Letters from the Earth" is good too.

 

Or you could write your own story -- Mad Libs!

[Belacqua]

David Foster Wallace's collection of essays, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again.

 

Jen Lancaster's autobiographies, starting with Bitter Is the New Black.

 

Any of Maira Kalman's kids' books, especially What Pete Ate From A to Z and the Max Stravinsky series.

[LibraryLover]

.

Edited September 29, 2010 by LibraryLover

[GWOB]

Anything by Laurie Notaro.

 

:iagree: I logged on to specifically recommend Laurie Notaro, especially The Idiot Girl's Action-Adventure Club. Do not drink anything while reading this. You will spray it everywhere.

[Laurel]

 

Me Talk Pretty One Day was the first thing that came to mind. It's also really good as an audio book.

[greensummervillian]

Wigfield by Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, and Paul Dinello As I read this I laughed uncontrollably until my family decided I had lost my mind.

 

I also agree with some of the others who recommended Me Talk Pretty One Day. Everything I've read by David Sedaris has been great.

[jenn&charles]

 

The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden

 

Here's another... One of the rare books that made me laugh out loud.

 

Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood

Edited September 29, 2010 by jenn&charles

[Stacia]

Thought of another... Kinky Friedman's books

[Stacia]

 

The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden

 

I can already totally relate to this book by the title alone! I must check this one out. :lol:

 

(BTW, I'm not the OP, but thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I've already requested quite a few from my library.)

[PygmyShrew]

I like Lewis Grizzard books:lol:.

Here's some of my favorites titles:

The Best of Lewis Grizzard

 

If I ever get back to Georgia, I'm gonna nail my feet to the ground

 

Don't Bend over in the garden, Granny - you know them taters got eyes

 

They tore my heart out and stomped that sucker flat

 

If love were oil, I'd be about a quart low

 

My dad was a pistol, and I'm a son of a gun

[LaissezFaire]

Cheaper by the Dozen.

[KidsHappen]

Anything by Dave Barry. Bill Cosby and Erma Bombeck are also good.

Edited September 30, 2010 by KidsHappen

[Kareni]

At four weeks postpartum, the funniest book around is Baby Blues: This is Going to be Tougher Than We Thought by Kirkman and Scott. My husband and I laughed until we cried. Of course, we were in that walking zombie stage so perhaps anything would have seemed funny ....

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Lilymax]

Ditto on Barry, Bombeck and Grizzard...and Bridget Jones.

 

But my absolute favorite funniest read is "The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37 3/4ths" by Adrian Plass. Plass is just awesome, period. Love him--and am always surprised that we don't hear more about him here in the states. He's an amazing writer.

[nd293]

I always go back to two authors when I want to laugh - Gerald Durrell (the naturalist), particularly his books about his family while they were living in Greece during WWII. Those are Birds, Beasts and Relatives and My Family and Other Animals. Any of his are funny, really. They are all focused on animals.

 

The other author is Peter Mayle, and his books about living in Provence - A Year in Provence and Toujour Provence. There's another in the series, but I forget the name.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay by Skinner and Kimbrough.

Down the Garden Path by Beverly Nichols.

A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson.

[MamaBirdX7]

Broken record here, but Dave and Erma. I seriously laugh out loud when reading Dave's books.

Edited September 29, 2010 by ceecee75
Spelling error.

[Socalmom]

We listen to audio books on long car trips. My husband, 2 girls, and I loved "Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing up Scieszka" by Jon Scieszka. It is stories from the author's childhood, growing up with 5 brothers in the 1950's. Amazon lists it for grades 3-6 but we all thought it was very funny.

 

Margie

[Lucy in Australia]

I second My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. I never laugh out loud and this book had me snorting :) It was so fascinating, I read it in one night.

[Hedgehog]

Anything by Bill Bryson, and 1930's Beachcomber. James Herriot. Even Jane Austen, at times.

[Negin]

Funny in Farsi and its sequel Laughing Without an Accent.

 

 

There were some parts that I would read to my dh, and we both laughed till we cried. :lol: We were on vacation and in a hotel room in PA. 5 o'clock in the morning, laughing our heads off, and waking up the kids ... :lol:

[Onceuponatime]

The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald

James Herriot's books

 

and probably one noone has heard of: God and Mr. Gomez

[shanvan]

The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald

James Herriot's books

 

and probably one noone has heard of: God and Mr. Gomez

 

Yes, I second James Herriot books. I read through them all this summer for the first time. I can't believe I never read them before. My family constantly asked me 'What's so funny' I giggled so much as I read. I shared a few of the stories, but ended up telling them they had to read it for themselves!

 

Shannon

[jujsky]

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. Along those lines there is also Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

[Lacie]

I like Terry Pratchett a lot.

 

I love Terry Pratchett too. I started reading him about 14 years ago. He is hilarious.