# Funny Books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586 "2004-08-26T13:03:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/41 "2004-08-26T22:10:04Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > Also, check out Jean Shepherd’s [In god we trust; all others pay cash](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385021747/qid=1093555716/sr=ka-2/ref=pd_ka_2/002-4551189-2504022) and [Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories (and other disasters)](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385116322/qid=1093555716/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-4551189-2504022). These are the books from which the the episodes that make up the classic 1980’s Christmas movie, “A Christmas Story” were taken - and who doesn’t love that movie? They’re absolutely hilarious. I’d disagree about Shepherd. The movie is absolutely top-notch, but I thought the book was wretched. The same goes for _The Princess Bride_, by William Goldman. ---
**Author:** ![Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lathe_of_Heaven)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/42 "2004-08-26T22:24:17Z")
Try a one-two punch of light yet engaging reading: 1. Three Men In A Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, about three Victorian guys who go holidaying on the Thames. 2. To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis, a time travel yarn inspired by the above. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/43 "2004-08-26T22:29:14Z")
> [@Roberta Plant](#): > > Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis > > This is probably THE funniest book I have ever read. There is a section in the middle that had me sobbing with pain, I was laughing so hard. I envy anyone who has yet to read it the first time! I heartily second this! _Lucky Jim_isn’t just the funniest book ever, it’s the funniest _thing_ever! Even though I’ve read it twice, it still has me laughing when I open it at random. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/44 "2004-08-26T22:50:01Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Speaking of Christopher Buckley, **Exapno** , I really liked [_Little Green Men_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060955570/qid=1093546968/sr=8-4/ref=pd_ka_4/103-8959341-0054251?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). Seconded, **twicks**. I’d say I liked “No Way to Treat a First Lady” even better, but the thing almost killed me. I actually _did_ inhale my Vienna roast mid-snort. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/45 "2004-08-26T23:10:39Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I’d disagree about Shepherd. The movie is absolutely top-notch, but I thought the book was wretched. Care to elaborate? The movie’s dialogue and voiceovers are taken almost verbatim from the books; the books are practically used as the screenplay. I can’t imagine someone like one but _not_ the other. ---
**Author:** ![\_xiao\_wenti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b782af/32.png) [@\_xiao\_wenti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_xiao_wenti)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/46 "2004-08-26T23:11:58Z")
I highly recomment Bellweather by Connie Willis and Huck Finn by … you know. Terry Pratchett has his moments as well. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/47 "2004-08-26T23:22:45Z")
In junior high school, we had a mandatory reading period of about 20 minutes during the school day. Kids thought I was strange enough, but stranger still because I would read and laugh to classic [Erma Bombeck](http://www.gaylasgarden.com/menu/erma.htm) books. I still miss her much. I tend to read alot of humorous essay books, when I look for humor. Currently I am reading a book by [Michael Thomas Ford](http://www.michaelthomasford.com/), after finishing “Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim” by [David Sedaris](http://www.pacifier.com/~paddockt/sedaris.html). I think they share Erma’s sense of the absurdity in life. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/48 "2004-08-26T23:27:05Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > Not to start debates, but could someone defend David Sedaris? I kept hearing how “hilarious”, “laugh-out-loud funny”, and even “side splitting” his books are, but in reading the entirety of “Naked”, “Me Talk Pretty One day”, and “barrel fever”, I don’t think I even cracked as much as a smile _once_. What am I missing? I saw this post after I wrote my last one. I think that above all, humor is very subjective. I enjoy David Sedaris’ books very much. They do make me smile, and laugh. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/49 "2004-08-27T01:01:59Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I’d disagree about Shepherd. The movie is absolutely top-notch, but I thought the book was wretched. The same goes for _The Princess Bride_, by William Goldman. I second **Freejooky’s** “Huh?” \*A Christmas Story \* was lifted almost word for word from Shepard’s stories. William Goldman wrote not only _The Princess Bride_, but the screenplay to the movie, and from what I’ve heard, rewrote it on the set several times. How can the movie be funny, and the book not? 😕 Maybe this is one of those puzzles Kirk always used to short out The Evil Computer. "But the same man wrote both. Illogical…illogical…does not compute… **ZAP!"** ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/50 "2004-08-27T01:08:36Z")
The authors of the two I always recommend have already been mentioned, but these book IMO are their best. I’ll Take It by Paul Rudnick- this guy from New York goes with his mother and two aunts to New England to see the leaves change. Except he’s a shoplifter. And Aunt Pola, oh what can I say about Aunt Pola… Well you’ll just have to read it. But this one’s out of print. And the other’s The Queen and I by Sue Townsend. The Queen of England gets voted out of office so she and the entire royal family are sent to live on a council estate. Hilarity ensues. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/51 "2004-08-27T01:18:45Z")
I thought _Portnoy’s Complaint_ was pretty funny. I’m keeping an eye out for more by Philip Roth. Some people say that a lot of loners identify with _The Catcher in the Rye_. Am I wrong for identifying with Portnoy? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/52 "2004-08-27T03:30:31Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I second **Freejooky’s** “Huh?” > > \*A Christmas Story \* was lifted almost word for word from Shepard’s stories. William Goldman wrote not only _The Princess Bride_, but the screenplay to the movie, and from what I’ve heard, rewrote it on the set several times. How can the movie be funny, and the book not? 😕 _The Princess Bride_ begins with a horribly unfunny hundred pages in which Goldman explores the conceit that he is actually doing a translation of an earlier work. He spends the time bitching about his wife and lamenting his crappy relationship with his son. It’s ghastly. Once the actual “translation” starts, it’s, as you say, almost word-for-word with the movie. It’s so similar to the movie that reading the book for something _new_ is pointless, aside from the aforementioned ghastly hundred pages. As for the Shepherd book, there’s a lot of clutter betwixt and between the funny parts. There are definitely whole sections that aren’t in the movie, and there are parts of the movie that aren’t in the book. The movie distilled everything funny from the book and left out the interminable interludes with Ralph and Flick. Horrible stuff, that. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/53 "2004-08-27T04:12:04Z")
I quite enjoyed [Moo](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=273071) by Jane Smiley. If you went to college at a midwestern university, you’ll recognize a lot of characters. I also recommend Garrison Keilor. His books about Lake Wobegon are hilarious. I’d recommend _Lake Wobegon Days_ to start with. It’s sort of sequel, _Lake Wobegon Boy_ isn’t quite as funny, but still amusing. _The Book of Guys_ is a great collection of short stories about (you guessed it) guys. It’s funny because it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Peter\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/54 "2004-08-27T10:28:21Z")
Patrick F. McManus Great stuff, been re-reading them for 15 years. Dave Barry’s _Big Trouble_ Another good one, read his next one too. Good, but not as good. No dog v. toad conflict was my guess. Ben Rehder’s _Bone Dry_ I’d never heard of the guy before. Think my sister-in-law bought it for me because the cover shows a stuffed deer head with beer bottles on the antlers. :rolleyes: I showed her, and liked it anyway. These are the three that consistently get a laugh out of me. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/55 "2004-08-27T11:21:13Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > Not to start debates, but could someone defend David Sedaris? I kept hearing how “hilarious”, “laugh-out-loud funny”, and even “side splitting” his books are, but in reading the entirety of “Naked”, “Me Talk Pretty One day”, and “barrel fever”, I don’t think I even cracked as much as a smile _once_. What am I missing? I’m in the “I don’t get it” camp with **Freejooky** on this one. I also kept hearing about how great David Sedaris was, especially here in book threads. I borrowed “Me Talk Pretty One Day” from my sister and was not impressed. I found “Naked” in the used book store and picked it up on a whim, and was again terribly underwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/56 "2004-08-27T11:49:15Z")
[If At All Possible, Involve A Cow](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312078102/qid=1093607248/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-1834596-2004124?v=glance&s=books) . I own a copy of this. Non-fiction. Damn funny. Ok. Who’s got the nerve to open the link? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/57 "2004-08-27T16:28:58Z")
If you like your humour black, I’d suggest **Bill Fitzhugh**. _Organ Grinders_ (about selling your organs), _Pest Control_ (an exterminator is mistaken for a hitman) or _Heart Seizure_ (about a heart transplant) are probably his best… For something older, try **Thorne Smith**. My favourites are _Turnabout_ (a couple change bodies) and _The Stray Lamb_ (the hero is changed into a series of animals). They’re both set during Prohibition and are a bit dated, I guess, but still great fun! ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/58 "2004-08-27T17:57:52Z")
**The Bandy Papers Vols. 1-3 (Three Cheers For Me, That’s Me in the Middle and It’s Me Again)** by Donald Jack **The Flashman Series** by George MacDonald Fraser **The Short Stories of Stephen Leacock** I’ll also throw my support in for the afore mentioned **Catch-22** and **The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole** ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/59 "2004-08-27T20:23:22Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > Not to start debates, but could someone defend David Sedaris? I kept hearing how “hilarious”, “laugh-out-loud funny”, and even “side splitting” his books are, but in reading the entirety of “Naked”, “Me Talk Pretty One day”, and “barrel fever”, I don’t think I even cracked as much as a smile _once_. What am I missing? Ditto I love Steve Martin’s latest The Pleasure Of My Company, simultaniously funny and sad. Steve Martin seems to be the exception to the “stand-up comedians can’t write good books” rule. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586/60 "2004-08-27T20:33:04Z")
Add me to the Pat McManus fan list. I own most of his collections. He’s the most consistently funny writer/columnist I’ve ever read. I can grab one of his books, flip open to any story, and be thoroughly entertained. The **Fletch** books by Gregory McDonald are damn funny! At least they were when I read through all of them back in high school. They’re not slapsticky like the Chevy Chase movies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-books/261586.md?page=4)