What are some good funny novels?

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > What are some good funny novels?

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

I find I have a consistent problem when looking for books to read, specifically funny novels. They're never classified as comedy. Douglas Adams is shelved under sci-fi, Terry Pratchett's under fantasy, and if there is a humour section it's full of memoirs and parodies. So how do you find good, funny stories, other than by stumbling across them unexpectedly or following specific authors?

For anyone else having the same problem, I'll start by listing some that I've found and enjoyed. Some of them you've probably already heard of, if not read, but I might as well list them anyway.

Terry Pratchett everyone knows about. Personally I think the Johnny Maxwell trilogy is the best stuff he wrote, but obviously the Discworld series is the main thing he's known for.
Douglas Adams is another one you know. Again I'm going to be contrary and say Dirk Gently is better than Hitchhikers.
David Thorne is mostly known for his website, but I'd say that Look Evelyn, Duck Dynasty Wiper Blades. We Should Get Them is worth a look even if you weren't a fan of his other stuff.
Mil Millington, also originally known for his website, has written four novels. I'd recommend Instructions For Living Someone Else's Life.
Josh Fruhlinger, who also has a website, has written a book called The Enthusiast that I enjoyed.
David Wong, who you may know from Cracked has written three books. I didn't think much of his latest one.
Joey Comeau, author of the webcomic A Softer World, has also written some books. Humour levels vary, but I'd recommend The Summer is Ended and We Are Not Yet Saved (formerly titled Bible Camp Bloodbath) if you like black comedy/horror.
Zack Parsons is a writer for Something Awful, and I enjoyed his novel Your Next-Door Neighbor is a Dragon.

So that's what I've got. What are some other funny books/authors? How do you find good stuff to read?

# ¿ Nov 29, 2016 11:16

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 02:24

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

OWLS! posted:

Sewer, Gas and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy - Matt Ruff.

I've read Bad Monkeys. Is this similar?

chernobyl kinsman posted:

catch-22, heller
the master and margarita, bulgakov

I've read both of these and didn't like either of them or find them at all funny. I do like Vonnegut, but don't find him especially funny.

Trin Tragula posted:

Yeah, we're all in the same boat here, I think. I generally find new people to read by finding someone I enjoy and then working backwards through their influences (and then back forwards through people that those influences said they enjoyed); Pratchett and Adams lead directly to PG Wodehouse (do not pass Go, do not collect �200); and then through Wodehouse you get to turn-of-the-century stuff like Jerome K Jerome, and Diary of a Nobody; and then back forward via Wodehouse to George Macdonald Fraser.

Wodehouse is really good, I should have included him in my original list. I'll have to try Jerome and Fraser.

# ¿ Nov 30, 2016 03:53

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

learnincurve posted:

Funny is subjective, but If you like your murder mysteries then James Anderson wrote three terrifically funny books in the 1970s. They are parodies of 1930s detective stories but with a decent mystery thrown in.

The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy, The Affair of the Mutilated Mink, and The Affair of the 39 Cufflinks.

Then he died on us so there aren't any more

These definitely sound like something I will enjoy.

# ¿ Dec 1, 2016 02:47

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

Ride The Gravitron posted:

Im saddened that no one recommend Christopher Moore.

Well, I am still (always) looking for recommendations.

BTW, I've now read:

Three Men in a Boat - It was uneven, but the good bits were good.
A Confederacy of Dunces - Didn't like it at all or find anything funny about it.
Diary of a Nobody - Same.
The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy - enjoyed it but didn't find it particularly funny. Just struck me as a pretty standard cosy rather than a parody of the genre.

I've taken note of the other suggestions as well and added several to my reading queue.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2017 14:59

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

Peanut Butler posted:

there are more genuine gut laughs in that book than expected, especially if you only know safe, relatively defanged Senator Franken and not the guy who liberally wrote gently caress words and portrayed himself in this book as an increasingly attention-hungry curmudgeon who lays sick burns on Al Gore

And what if I have no idea who Al Franken is at all? How much do you need to know about American politics of the time to enjoy it?

# ¿ Feb 8, 2017 03:26

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

learnincurve posted:

This next one is Mrs Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman (written 1966-1990)

Just read The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax. It wasn't funny.

# ¿ May 13, 2017 03:07

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

precision posted:

The Widow's Son is hilarious.

There are a lot of books called that. Which one are you referring to?

(The search also turned up Their Son's Amish Baby (Expectant Amish Widows Book 4), which sounds like... something.)

Edit:

Amazon.com posted:

Also in this series:
Amish Widow's Hope
The Pregnant Amish Widow
Amish Widow's Faith
Amish Widow's Proposal
The Pregnant Amish Nanny
A Pregnant Widow's Amish Vacation
The Amish Firefighter's Widow
Amish Widow's Secret
The Middle-Aged Amish Widow
Amish Widow's Escape
Amish Widow's Christmas
Book 13 Amish Widow's New Hope (2017 New Release Out Now!)

All Samantha Price books are clean and wholesome reads.

# ¿ May 23, 2017 02:53

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

I picked up the first Mortdecai book at a second-hand book sale recently and just read it this week. It's really good and funny.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2017 04:43

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

Vogler posted:

I've laughed more reading C�line's novels than all other books put together. His name isn't mentioned in this thread so I have to bump it.

Who?

# ¿ Oct 10, 2017 03:15

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

Vogler posted:

Louis-Ferdinand C�line, one of the few originals. There's hardly any subversive litterature that's not been inspired by him.

I can't find anything by him in English on Kindle. I don't know if it's not available at all or if I'm just in the wrong country, but either way I guess I won't be reading it. :shrug:

# ¿ Oct 10, 2017 11:20

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

Earwicker posted:

https://www.amazon.com/Journey-End-Night-Louis-Ferdinand-C%C3%A9line-ebook/dp/B00I5EYC4I/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Wrong country it is then. That shows up as unavailable for me. :shrug:

# ¿ Oct 11, 2017 00:22

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 02:24

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

A human heart posted:

this is why kindles are stupid

A human heart posted:

ah, i can't find an ebook of celine in my region. i could pirate it in like two seconds, or go to a library and get a physical copy, but instead i'm going to read douglas adams for the 18th time.

These two posts don't seem to go together. Don't ereaders enable piracy?

# ¿ Oct 11, 2017 08:37

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > What are some good funny novels?