How 'bout the books by Carl Hiaasen. Most of those are funny, at least to me. Offbeat situations such as fishing tournament cheaters and crooked developers. Most take place in south florida which is kind of a funney place itself.
GaryM
I’ll second the following:
Dave Barry (who can be remarkably silly, but who can also turn surprisingly serious, or incisive).
P.G. Wodehouse, particularly the “Jeeves” novels. Some poor souls prefer the “Blandings” books, but I suppose that’s just to spite the rest of us.
S.J. Perelman, who isn’t laugh-out-loud funny as often as some of the other writers mentioned, but who is a must for anyone who loves wordplay.
Terry Pratchett, though his books have gotten somewhat darker as they went along.
Douglas Adams, though he can be quite silly (especially towards the end of the “Hitchhiker” series).
Connie Willis, whose short novel Remake is also a hoot.
John Kessel; Corrupting Dr. Nice is the ultimate screwball time-travel comedy that Hollywood will never make.
Ian Frazier, whose “Coyote Vs. ACME” piece is worth the price of the whole book by itself.
Neal Sternberg, for the books mentioned above and for An Alphabet of Modern Annoyances.
and, of course, the incomparable Robert Benchley, whose books seem to be everywhere in used-book shops and nowhere in print.
And I’ll add:
Jerome K. Jerome, author of Three Men in a Boat, perhaps the funniest “classic” around, as well as the great essay collection Idle Thoughs of an Idle Fellow.
Mark Twain, many of whose short fiction and most of whose long nonfiction is still very funny today; I’m partial to Roughing It myself.
Frank Gannon, author of the collections of literary parodies Yo, Poe and Vanna Karenina.
Florence King, a right-wing curmugeon (no, no further right wing than that – she’s a monarchist) who is also hilarious; try her The Florence King Reader.
James Thurber, of whose work I recommend the Library of America collection – huge, portable, and full of great stuff.
P.J. O’Rourke, possibly the funniest Republican possible, and the author of one of my favorite stories ever, the amazing (though not terribly funny) “King of Sandusky, Ohio.”
Paul Reiser’s first book, Couplehood was actually quite a lot of fun, especially for people who loved the early years of his Mad About You show. But avoid Babyhood.
for comic strips, I think Bill Amend’s FoxTrot is about the funniest thing running, but YMMV.
Bill Bryson is very funny; I’ve been re-reading his Notes from a Small Island (about England) in small chunks over the past few weeks.
Kyle Baker wrote and drew two absolutely hilarious “graphic novels” (big fat comics books) that I know have other fans on this board: The Cowboy Wally Show and Why I Hate Saturn.
Joe Queenan is the nastiest, funniest movie reviewer I’ve ever read; I suggest starting with If You’re Talking to Me, Your Career Must Be In Trouble, from the days when semi-major stars didn’t know who he was and would give him interviews. If you can’t find that, Confessions of a Cineplex Heckler is another good choice.
And, to end, I’m reading, right now, a little book called Mike Nelson’s Movie MegaCheese by the estwhile host of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Nelson doesn’t draw blood as often as Queenan, but he’s pretty funny in his own way.
Well, my first two favorites have already been mentioned: Catch-22 and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. If you can read these and not laugh yourself to tears and roll on the floor, then you’re not human…
However, there is a (little known) third book on my list:
“Letters from a Nut” by Ted L. Nancy
This book proves that reality can sometimes be more silly, off beat, and thought provoking than anything imagined. I laughed; I cried; I made milk come out of my nose… (hint: don’t read this book while drinking a beverage).
I couldn’t possibly describe this book and do it justice. It’s not like anything you’ve ever read!!!
The incredible thing about this book is that my kids even liked it! There 'ya go - fun for all ages.
By the way, it could disqualify this book based on some of your criteria, but (although he’s never admitted it) most people believe that Ted L. Nancy is a pseudonym for Jerry Seinfeld (who is credited with writing the forward).
Robert Asprin’s Myth books always make me laugh. They are kind of a goofy sci-fi/fantasy series with lots of puns. For instance, the hero comes from a backwater dimension called “Klah,” so naturally he is known as a “Klahd.”
Wow, a lot of response! Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve actually already read a lot of them (Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, PJ ORourke, Dave Barry, Mark Twain, James Thurber, and others) so I know you guys have good taste. Saltire, I think the funniest short story I’ve ever read was Patrick McManus’ “My First Deer”.
But there’s a lot of great suggestions here I look forward to trying. Time for a trip to the bookstore!
First, let me second the nominations of Wodehouse, Perelman, David Lodge (though for my money you can break off after Trading Places and Small World), Ian Frazier (though you should be aware that Family, Great Plains, and On the Rez aren’t really humorous, though they have some funny bits – Coyote vs. ACME and Dating Your Mom are wonderfully funny), Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley.
The one classic name not previously mentioned in this thread is Evelyn Waugh. Start with either Decline and Fall or Vile Bodies, but for God’s sake don’t get Eve and Ukulele Ike in another shoving match over which is better.
A name that doesn’t usually get brought up in these threads is Cynthia Heimel. While I’m sure it’s quite dated now, I found her early eighties book Sex Tips for Girls hilarious when I read it fifteen years ago. Have only read one of her subsequent books, But Enough about You, and can’t vouch for the others, but Sex Tips is worth looking at (though it does steer rather close to your prohibited category of “Numbnut complaints-stretched-into-a-book about men, women, office politics, or scatological insecurities”).
Anguished English and Fractured English by Richard Lederer. The Misplaced Thread by APB999 was pretty funny too.
Since I didn’t see them mentioned above, I do recommend John Kennedy Toole’s “A Confederacy of Dunces” and Mark Twain’s “Innocents Abroad” as randomly selected picks from a [short] lifetime of enjoying witty books.
I don’t think any of these were mentioned yet:
Spider Robinsons’s Callahan books
Gregory McDonald’s Fletch books
Dennis Miller’s Rant books (Yeah, I know they’re from his stand-up. Still funny.)
You might also try Robert Fulghum.
If you get Dave Barry, make sure you include the Book of Bad Songs.
And Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos novels are pretty good in the humor area, but maybe that’s just me.
And for comics, get Prehistory of the Far Side.
Oh, and if you like puns (I mean really, really like puns), get a Piers Anthony Xanth novel.
Trust me on this: Naked
Also: A walk in the woods
I didn’t actually read the entire thread, so I don’t know if this has already been suggested but…
Douglas Adams has written a series of books the first of which is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. There are four in the series and they are rather clever and if you read them you might even learn the secret of life.
Okay, I’m going to throw some out that I don’t believe have been said so far.
Irvine Welsh: Author of Trainspotting, Marabou Stork Nightmares, and various other great books. While they are somewhat dark (quite often about the underbelly of society) they are also very funny in many, many places. They are also all great books.
Chuck Palahniuk: Fight Club, Survivor, and Invisible Monsters. Also dark, but very satirical about society and very funny in many parts. Also with a lot of very good social commentary.
Robert Anton Wilson*: Check out the Illuminatus! Trilogy, one of my favourite books (along with those by the other authors I have mentioned). Very fun and funny (written with Robert Shea). Many of his other books are also very good.
Check out anything by Donald Westlake…
(I must be the only person who reads him, tho…I don’t know anybody else who has even heard of him!)
The Onion has a couple of books out that are worth reading once, especially if you aren’t a longtime fan. There was a headline in their “Our Dumb Century” book that just about gave me a hernia: HOLY SHIT!! MAN LANDS ON FUCKING MOON!!
Also, for some highbrow literary humor, try Richard Armour - “Twisted Tales of Shakespear” is a good one to start with. He’s kind of the MST3K of literature.
For comedy mysteries try the Maggody series by Joan Hess. Very funny yet still a good mystery.
Ricepad…Westlake…86th preciwhatever…
Been years since I read anything by him…very funny though.
One more that I thought of:
Tom Sharpe, an English author of several hilarious books such as “Wilt”, “Porterhouse Blue”, “The Great Pursuit”
I have all of his books (I think). He is English, but once you get past that they are hilarious. Mostly dealing with people who make dumb mistakes, try to cover them up, and end up being horribly embarrased.
And I second “A Confederacy of Dunces”
No, NO. NO!
Go to the library. The people there are nicer than the children working and the bookstore, and they will give you all the books you want for free[sup]*[/sup].
[sub]*Really. I mean it. Free.[/sub]
ACCCCKKKKK!!!
That’s the 87th Precinct…and you’re thinking of ED McBAIN!!!
(Actually, the 1968 installment of the 87th series, Fuzz, is a VERY funny mystery novel.)
Donald E. Westlake is primarily known for his comic caper novels featuring John Dortmunder, a criminal with astonishingly poor luck. And yes, they are very, VERY funny.
The most recent titles are What’s the Worst That Could Happen?, Don’t Ask, and Drowned Hopes.
The funniest thing I have read recently is “Cactus Tracks and Cowboy Philosophy” by Baxter Black the Cowboy Poet and former large animal veterinarian.
It is a collection of his NPR commentaries. If you like western style humour, and some poignancy, it should serve your needs well.