# Humorous books out there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054 "2006-07-26T06:05:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/41 "2006-07-27T03:58:37Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] I liked **Waiting for the Galactic Bus** by Parke Godwin a lot. [/QUOTE] Oooh, good one! Also, **The Snake Oil Wars** , the sequel, is quite good. I think there’s a third, but I’ve never read it. Both of those are in my “comfort, humor, reread” collection. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/42 "2006-07-27T04:48:15Z")
url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671638106/sr=8-1/qid=1153975598/ref=pd\_bbs\_1/002-9161653-5447225?ie=UTF8]_The Book of the SubGenius_ will give you a larf **and** save your soul! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/43 "2006-07-27T04:50:00Z")
[Fixed link.](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671638106/sr=8-1/qid=1153975598/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9161653-5447225?ie=UTF8) ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/44 "2006-07-27T05:23:57Z")
One of the best writers of satire I’ve ever run across is Jean Shepherd. The movie _A Christmas Story_ is based on his stories (and he narrarated it, too). You might try Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, and Other Disasters, or In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash Other than that, I’ll second David Sedaris and Dave Barry. ---
**Author:** ![Sharky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Sharky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharky)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/45 "2006-07-27T08:47:18Z")
[Bill Bryson](http://www.randomhouse.com/features/billbryson/flat/home.php) ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/46 "2006-07-27T09:19:45Z")
Bill Bryson is incredibly funny- the sort of funny that leaves you laughing hysterically on public transport as you read, with the other passengers making nervous glances towards the exits and wondering if they can quietly slip off the train at the next stop. P.J. O’Rourke has done some great stuff, too (I thoroughly recommend _Holidays In Hell_), and Harry Harrison’s _Stainless Steel Rat_ series doesn’t really qualify as “Funny”, but it is thorougly tongue in cheek and not intended to be taken entirely seriously. _Golfing For Cats_ by Alan Coren is quite a good read, and Scott Adams (of _Dilbert_ fame) has written a number of semi-serious _Dilbert_ books that are very amusing, tongue in cheek, and worth checking out- I especially recommend _The Dilbert Principle_, _The Dilbert Future_, and _Dilbert and The Way Of The Weasel_. Some of the more notable stand-up comedians have written surprisingly good books- Drew Carey’s _Dirty Jokes and Beer_ and Jeff Foxworthy’s _No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem_ are surprisingly good and well worth a look. It goes without saying that the _Red Dwarf_ books are must-reads, and Rob Grant’s book _Colony_ is very much in the same style. Not all of Ben Elton’s books are humorous, but many of them are, and if you like _Red Dwarf_ and _Blackadder_, then you’ll probably enjoy his work as well. Not really novels, but the “Jetlag Travel Guides” to fictional countries- currently [_Molvanvia: A Land Untouched By Modern Dentistry_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molvan%C3%AEa) and [_Phaic Tan: Sunstroke On A Shoestring_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaic_T%C4%83n)- are quite funny and will no doubt raise a smile or two. Have a look in Remainder Bookstores for relatively obscure books by one or two-off authors- I’ve found quite a few great little humorous books with titles like _Doomsday: The Survivor’s Guide_, _How To Be An Evil Dictator_, and _The Action Hero’s Handbook_ in remainder bookstores and the like. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/47 "2006-07-27T11:16:56Z")
I will second **PJ O’Rourke**. I especially enjoy Holidays in Hell. Great, great stuff. **Bill Bryson** makes me want to walk the Applachian Trail even with Katz\*\* and all over England. ( I haven’t made to his other books as of yet, but he has a wonderful way of observing things in a semi-romantic yet cynical way. [Gil’s All Fright Diner](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765314711/sr=8-1/qid=1153998656/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3709918-6133718?ie=UTF8) is horror lite with heavy doses of laughter. This coming from a woman who will not watch scary movies or read horror novels. (I do like paranormal stuff.) I’ve been in the forbidden world of Romance Novels for two decades [size=1]I’m not proud. and the only scary movie I’ve ever seen has been The Thing, TYVM. Back when it came out 20+ years ago. I am a total pussy and that’s ok. The title of the book alone jumped out at me off the New Release section at the library. I read the back cover and was intrigued. The Author’s thank you part cracked me up and after the first page, I was hooked. I’ll shut up now. I’m sure if I re-read it it would probably collapse like a house of cards, so grab it/read it before my enthusiams wanes. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/48 "2006-07-27T11:31:04Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] _The Phoenix Guards_, by Steven Brust, is a fantasy adventure written in a style that simultaneously mocks and pays homage to Alexander Dumas’s _The Three Musketeers_. It made me laugh a lot. _The Liar_, by Stephen Fry, was also pretty funny, especially if you like pornographic gay humor set in a British boarding school. Daniel [/QUOTE] In Regards to the Phoenix Guards, it looks to be a part of a series. Is it necessary to read the entire series or what? ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/49 "2006-07-27T11:39:28Z")
As it seems Terry Pratchett has been mentioned…over and over. I’ll be more specific and mention **Good Omens**. Terry Pratchett AND Neil Gaimen. Channeling Douglas Adames. You need this book. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/50 "2006-07-27T11:40:29Z")
I didn’t say i could spell ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054/51 "2006-07-27T11:49:17Z")
I found [The Sex Lives of Cannibals](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767915305/sr=1-1/qid=1154000810/ref=sr_1_1/102-2467838-1984916?ie=UTF8&s=books) by J. Maarten Troost outrageously funny. It put me in mind of _Last Chance to See_, which really is a must-read for any Douglas Adams fan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humorous-books-out-there/366054.md?page=2)