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.
Try a one-two punch of light yet engaging reading:
- Three Men In A Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, about three Victorian guys who go holidaying on the Thames.
- To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis, a time travel yarn inspired by the above.
I heartily second this!
Lucky Jimisn’t just the funniest book ever, it’s the funniest thingever!
Even though I’ve read it twice, it still has me laughing when I open it at random.
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.
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.
I highly recomment Bellweather by Connie Willis and Huck Finn by … you know. Terry Pratchett has his moments as well.
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 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, after finishing “Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim” by David Sedaris. I think they share Erma’s sense of the absurdity in life.
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.
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!"
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
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?
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.
I quite enjoyed Moo 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.
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.
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.
If At All Possible, Involve A Cow .
I own a copy of this. Non-fiction. Damn funny.
Ok.
Who’s got the nerve to open the link? 
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!
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
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.
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.