What are some good funny novels?

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

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

Tiggum posted:

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?

None of these books are classified as comedy because none of them are funny.

# ¿ Nov 30, 2016 02:03

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 08:53

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

William Gaddis wrote some funny novels OP

# ¿ Dec 1, 2016 11:42

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

BananaNutkins posted:

Funny and literary rarely mix.

that's completely wrong

# ¿ Feb 7, 2017 05:30

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

here's the facts: the only human to have combined 'funny' and 'literature' is this guy named kurt vonnegut

# ¿ Feb 7, 2017 08:13

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

it turns out that there's two funny authors in the world - kurt vonnegut and a united states senator

# ¿ Feb 8, 2017 09:20

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

Bandiet posted:

For more fun things like this, see: Klaus Kinski's memoirs.

That book is really funny, and it's basically a novel

# ¿ Feb 17, 2017 00:18

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

Huggybear posted:

The Pyat quartet by Michael Moorcock definitely has its moments, though Pyat is an absolutely unredeemable racist and pedophile

you're saying this like it's a bad thing but the same applies to like 40% of funny european literature

# ¿ Feb 18, 2017 05:24

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

That's a really weird thing to say about Tristram shandy.

# ¿ Jun 12, 2017 03:09

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

Kikkoman posted:

Norm Macdonald's Based on a True Story: A Memoir reads more like a novel than any kind of regular comedian memoir and is hilarious throughout.

that's because it is a novel, and not a memoir

# ¿ Jul 3, 2017 04:59

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

Tiggum posted:

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.

this is why kindles are stupid

# ¿ Oct 11, 2017 01:00

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

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.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2017 01:08

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 08:53

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

David Wrong

# ¿ Nov 14, 2017 00:57

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