RDK Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 Two words: "Portnoy's Complaint" by Philip Roth. A novel about masturbation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 Dave Barry has two (newer) works out that are action/mystery/adventure books with tons of off the wall jokes sprinkled in. Barry just seems to "hit" me right. I laugh my ass off at his stuff. The two are called "Big Trouble" and "Tricky Business". "Big Trouble" has already hit the big screen with Tim Allen in the lead but if you thought the movie was funny, the book was much, much better. Pick up one or all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mysteries. They're all numbered in the title, "One For The Money", Two For the Dough", etc. Great writing with many gut-busting scenes. I do enjoy these a lot. Later, Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted May 13, 2003 Report Share Posted May 13, 2003 (edited) 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis is one of the funniest books I've ever read. His son Martin's 'Rachel Papers' is a laff riot as well, although there's an undercurrent of bigotry that turns me off. It's not clear if it's an expression of the author's own feelings, or a clever, understated put-down of others who are bigoted. For both men, these were their first novels. Kingsley had some subsequent novels that were quite good, but none rivals his masterpiece. He got more and more conservative as he got older. Martin's subsequent books are uniformly awful. I tried reading about five of them, and never finished one. Bertrand. Edited May 13, 2003 by bertrand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted July 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2003 Pick up one or all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mysteries. They're all numbered in the title, "One For The Money", Two For the Dough", etc. Great writing with many gut-busting scenes. I do enjoy these a lot. I have, or actually my wife has. In a span of just over three weeks, she has read all eight books in the series. I've never seen anything like it. I'm gonna start reading them myself, especially since I've been seeing her giggle so much. (She told me about the dog who ate the prunes, who was subsequently dog-napped. This I gotta read!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleM Posted July 30, 2003 Report Share Posted July 30, 2003 "Confederacy Of Dunces" by Knowles (sp.?) is a hoot, and "Infinite Jest" --see my avitar-- by David Foster Wallace, or any of his books--are very funny. With these two authors, laughs are available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 I second the recommendation of P.G. Wodehouse's novels. A good place to start is "Code of the Woosters." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmjk Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis is one of the funniest books I've ever read. His son Martin's 'Rachel Papers' is a laff riot as well, although there's an undercurrent of bigotry that turns me off. It's not clear if it's an expression of the author's own feelings, or a clever, understated put-down of others who are bigoted. Martin's subsequent books are uniformly awful. I tried reading about five of them, and never finished one. I agree that Martin Amis' The Rachel Papers is quite funny, as are some sections of his second novel, Dead Babies. And I can only interpret any underlying bigotry as satire, not the author's own feelings. Martin is very tongue-in-cheek, but he has a heart, and this comes through clearly in some of his other works. Betrand, if you find Martin Amis' subsequent books awful, then you really are missing the boat, and Amis is probably not your thing. Anyway, Al, you may like to pick up Tom Robbins' Still Life with Woodpecker for a laugh. Actually, I would recommend any of Tom Robbins novels, but Woodpecker is particularly humorous. Other books that have made me smile: *Donald Barthleme - 60 Stories (or any collection of his short pieces) *John Updike - The Witches of Eastwick *Will Self - My Kind of Fun and Cock and Bull A book that is FAR from funny, but is a masterpiece of intensity is American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. It's actually the most disturbing prose I've ever read, but I enjoyed it for its satire and exaggeration of the yuppie lifestyle in the 1980s. Actually, I found myself laughing through parts of it, as it was the only way I could curb the shock of some of the passages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzdog Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 'The Thought Gang' by Tibor Fischer is a hilarious black comedy, As are his other two books, "Under the Frog" and "The Collector". This is one of my favorite modern writers and I wish he had more stuff out there. I love this guy!! Also, Confederacy of Dunces was written by John Kennedy Toole. Sadly he never wrote another novel. Tis one is a Masterpiece though and should interest anyone interested in witty insightful prose and scathing insights to the underbelly of 'Nawlins racial relations and the common stuggles of it's inhabitants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Larsen Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 Has anyone mentioned "The Sot-Weed Factor"? If so, I second him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 Anything by Nathaniel West. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzKitten Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 Here's another vote for Terry Pratchett and P.G. Wodehouse! I've read most of Pratchett's "Discworld" series, and I happen to have just started on his Thief of Time. I can hardly put the book down! Here's an unlikely candidate - Neal Stephenson. I just finished Cryptonomicon, which is not really in the humor category, but it's got some gut busting funny passages that are true gems! (e.g. a brilliant WWII cryptograher/mathematician who graphed out his ability to concentrate w.r.t. the number of days passed without sex!) I'll post some more when I think of them. JK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kulu se mama Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 glad to see vonnegut on this list. i was going to recommend "confederacy of dunces," but it's by john kennedy o'toole. unfortunately he commit suicide before the book was published. his mother took it upon herself to get the book published (his first), and it went on to win the pulitzer prize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted August 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 and "Infinite Jest" --see my avitar-- by David Foster Wallace, or any of his books--are very funny. Checked out Infinite Jest from the library today. 'Bout needed a forklift to get it outta there!!! Only on page four so far, but I'm real tired right now, so it's not sinking in just yet. Also picked up some Tom Robbins novel that I don't have in front of me right now (too tired and lazy to actually get up and get it). Something about "Half-Awake in Pajamas" or something like that. Anyway, the synopsis intrigued me. So, as always, thanks for the recs, guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted August 3, 2003 Report Share Posted August 3, 2003 Also, Confederacy of Dunces was written by John Kennedy Toole. Sadly he never wrote another novel. Tis one is a Masterpiece though and should interest anyone interested in witty insightful prose and scathing insights to the underbelly of 'Nawlins racial relations and the common stuggles of it's inhabitants. Actually, John Kennedy Toole did write another novel. It's called the Neon Bible. It's good but not a comedy." Good comic novels are rather hard to come by. In addition to A Confederacy of Dunces, probably my favorite of all, there's a novel called "Pizza Face" by Ken Siman that is hilarious. I've also enjoyed immensely recently the black humor of the Lemony Snicket series of children's books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted August 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 Just finished Dave Barry's TRICKY BUSINESS. It is every bit as good and funny as BIG TROUBLE. Really, I just read the last 200 pages, and it was a page-turner 'til the end. But I should warn: there's a couple of parts that are DEFINITELY not for the squeamish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 Pick up one or all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mysteries. They're all numbered in the title, "One For The Money", Two For the Dough", etc. Great writing with many gut-busting scenes. I do enjoy these a lot. I have, or actually my wife has. In a span of just over three weeks, she has read all eight books in the series. I've never seen anything like it. I'm gonna start reading them myself, especially since I've been seeing her giggle so much. (She told me about the dog who ate the prunes, who was subsequently dog-napped. This I gotta read!) Al, if you get to read these Stephanie Plum books, wait 'til you get to the scene in the third book where she's chasing someone down the highway and a corpse... never mind, read the books... sick, twisted Pythonesque humor. I nearly wet myself. BTW, a character named Lula is introduced in the first book and she becomes a "regular" as the books progress... any scene with Lula involved is just *going* to be all twisted! Later, Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzdog Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 Actually, John Kennedy Toole did write another novel. It's called the Neon Bible. It's good but not a comedy." Sorry to sound pedantic here, but I believe Neon Bible was published whilst he was still alive (as opposed to the posthumous Dunces). I might have reworded that, but it seemed to make sense! Also, up for another humorous novel... A series actually, Fletch by Gregory McDonald You may know this from the film starring Chevy Chase but the novels are seriously fun and well written. The books arent as wacky as the film but they just get better and better as the series progresses!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montg Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 Anything by Flannery O'COnnor. If you can find the short story "Revelation" in one of her collections start there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 Actually, John Kennedy Toole did write another novel. It's called the Neon Bible. It's good but not a comedy." Sorry to sound pedantic here, but I believe Neon Bible was published whilst he was still alive (as opposed to the posthumous Dunces). I might have reworded that, but it seemed to make sense! The Neon Bible was published in 1989, twenty years after John Kennedy Toole's death in 1969. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted July 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Carl Hiaasen's novels. Where should I start? I read a review of his latest novel, which looks very funny. Also visited his website, and from what little I've read, he seems to be on the same level as Dave Barry. Another hilarious author I've started digging into is Christopher Moore. Saw FLUKE at the store, but decided to start from the beginning, PRACTICAL DEMONKEEPING. That was great! Now I'm halfway through COYOTE BLUE, and laughing even harder! Looking forward to plowing thru the rest of his catalog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rat Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 (edited) Carl Hiaasen's novels. Where should I start? I read a review of his latest novel, which looks very funny. Also visited his website, and from what little I've read, he seems to be on the same level as Dave Barry. Another hilarious author I've started digging into is Christopher Moore. Saw FLUKE at the store, but decided to start from the beginning, PRACTICAL DEMONKEEPING. That was great! Now I'm halfway through COYOTE BLUE, and laughing even harder! Looking forward to plowing thru the rest of his catalog! Double Whammy, I think, is the place to start. My significant other is also ripping through the Moore ouvre, but backward (or as she finds them). I have been instructed to read Lamb. --eric Edited July 28, 2004 by Dr. Rat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l p Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 ethan coen's (of the coen brothers) collection of short stories is good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rat Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Catch-22. Very very funny, especially on second read after you've got the sequence of events down. (It's well worth a second read -- I used to teach it and was always happy to re-read it). --eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted July 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 I have been instructed to read Lamb. Yeah! I can't wait to get to that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 I recommend the Otley series of 60s spy novels by Martin Waddell, especially Otley Victorious. Hope you can find them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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