Recommendations for really funny books

I needed a funny book and have been reading the Prostrate Years, the Adrian Mole when he is 40ish. I have been lol on the train (it is sad in parts but still v funny)

Have already been suggested, but two of my favourite books ever, that I never tire of reading are.. Jenny Eclair - 'Camberwell Beauty' and 'Having A Lovely Time'. A little bit dark, but definitely laugh out loud.
And Emma Kennedy - 'The Tent, The Bucket And Me' .. Couldn't stop laughing my way through that one.. felt bereft when I finished.

'Secret Diary Of A Demented Housewife' and 'Confessions Of A Demented Housewife' - both by Niamh Greene, are also quite funny.

I'm so pleased somebody else mentioned Clive James' Unreliable Memoirs- it was my first thought. Laugh out loud funny, and his descriptions of childhood in rural Australia are so vivid you can almost taste it. I never tire of reading it.

I read a book called The Mezzanine once and laughed so much I couldn't breathe. My dad, who shares a similar sense of humour, declared it to be a terrible book

Bridget Jones' Diary and Beyond the Edge of Reason. Much much funnier to read than the films make out. I laughed with almost every page - hilariou.

Ben Elton's books do tend to have a basis in reality but they are extremely funny and get you thinking too, especially Chart Throb (piss take of X factor/pop idol), Dead Famous (murder in the BB house - but really funny) and Blind Faith (set in a future after polar icecaps have etled and we all have names like Barbie Happymeal).

I second the vote for anything Pratchetttoo. He's a genius.

I agree with Sue Townsend and Janet Evanovich - very light, easy to read and hilarious.

I also agree with Nancy Mitford and would add Damon Runyan for 1920s humour that is still side-splitting. All his stories are set in New York during prohibition and are full of gangsters, molls, showgirls, gambling rings, wise guys.

I would also add Anita Loos "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" which is still hilarious after all these years.

For non-fiction try Joe Queenan as well. He wrote a book about how he (a New York culture snob) tried every lowbrow form of culture in America (Barry Manilow, Atlantic City, Renaissance Fayres, Billy Joel) which I read so many times it fell apart.

Also Cynthia Heimel - I think some of her humorous writing is still in print in this country but Sex Tips for Girls is genius.

coin operate agree with you wholeheartedly,am reading Etched in blood and hard black pencil just now and its hilarious as is A big boy done it and ran away,the pages at the end giving interpretations of the glasgow words is soooo funny my pals and I nearly wet ourselves,dont know how it would go down with anyone that does'nt know the lingo.Anything by Ton Sharpe is a rib tickler too.

P.J. O'Rourke is well worth a read. "Holidays in Hell" is a good starter.

Bonk:The curious coupling of sex and science by Mary Roach.
had me in stitches.

I recommend "The chronicles of Clovis"...Saki, and funny but also rich and moving, but pretty wierd is "The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman"...Bruce Robinson, the writer of "Withnail and I" which in itself is, obviously, also a hilarious script to read.

Danny Wallace is excellent. I loved Yes Man (the film was crap, but the book brilliant). Haven't read his others but I'm assured that they are also very funny.

How about Gerald Durrell, but not the animal ones? There are three or four that he wrote about his family that make me weep with laughter.

I second Christopher Brookmyre, love his books. Also Good Omens (Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman) probably one of my favourite books of all time, so funny, and a perfect balance between each writers style.

So true about Blair's autobiography. It's utterly hilarious. I keep reading things out to DH when I can't work out whether he's serious or not.

Peter Moore.

He's like Bill Bryson but funnier.

The Bryson going back to the US was called 'Notes from a Big Country' in the UK, but yes it's excellent.

Terry Pratchett.
Christopher Brookmyre, especially All Fun and Games until somebody loses an eye
Also Lilian Beckwith The Hills Is Lonely - woman recuperating from illness ends up staying on a Scottish croft. Bit like James Herriot.

One of the funniest books I've ever read (although also slightly disturbing!) Augusten Burroughs - Running with Scissors. I literally wet myself laughing, but as I said, it is slightly disturbing especially due to the fact that it's supposed to be an autobiography. Hilarious!!!

Bill Bryson's I'm a Stranger Here Myself is hilarious. It is a collection of pieces he wrote about returning to live in the U.S. after many years in England.

Really light, very funny, great fun - Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels about a female bounty hunter. They are laugh out loud funny.

I am also a fan of Ben Elton's writing but I know he is not to everyone's taste. My favourite is Chart Throb - his thinly veiled depiction of Louis Walsh in particular is hilarious.

I also love Bill Bryson and the James Herriot novels are really gentle humour - Sunday evening curled up on the sofa type of reading.

P.G. Wodehouse - you can't go wrong there. Very funny.

Just googles the gay catholic and he is Michael Carson. His most well-known books are Stripping Penquins Bare and Sucking Sherbert Lemons. Get 5 stars on Amazon!

Jenney Eclair's books are very funny too, though they definitely have a dark side. I've been really enjoying Jane Fallon's books too.

Oh God, yes, I'd forgotten about A Short History - that is ace.

Blair's autobiography.

The bits about Iraq are a hoot.

David Sedaris is HILARIOUS, and
I laughed like a drain in several places at both India Knight's books.

Cold Comfort Farm is very funny, and Three Men In A Boat is priceless. the bit where they are putting up the tent will leave you needing medical intervention.

Marian Keyes can be very funny too, if you can bear to go quite so lightweight.

In the late 80s I read a couple of books by a gay ex-catholic priest (Michael Carson?? and they used to make me howl and cry with laughter on the train to work.

I second 'The Tent, the Bucket and Me' by Emma Kennedy. Was crying and snorting with laughter on a train full of silent commuters....

Bill Bryson the one where he travels round Europe I think Neither Here Nor There has made me laugh out loud.

Also find Sue Townsend Adrian Mole books extremely funny especially the ones where he is an adult - try The Cappucino Years.

Toby Young's How to Lose Friends and Alienate people was funny although goes abit off towards the end.