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Original poster

Can you recommend a good comedic read?

32 replies

CynophobicSadness · 25/11/2017 17:52

I like a book, either fiction or non-fiction, that can make me laugh. I'm a comedy fan in general, so a funny book would be great

Any suggestions would be very welcome

I've read a lot of well-known comedian biographies already, so something different would be nice

OP posts:
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IAmALeafOnTheWindWatchHowISoar · 14/12/2017 18:57

Good Omens; The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

It’s just being made into a film with David Tennant.

grendel · 14/12/2017 14:02

"The Tent, the bucket and me" by Emma Kennedy had me laughing out loud in several places - and at one point shaking so much with suppressed giggles that I woke DH up. Very very funny, especially if you have experienced the joys of camping with your own parents.

Another v. funny book I've recommended to many friends is "Confessions of a failed southern lady" by Florence King. She recounts growing up in the American south with extremely unconventional parents and a whole cast of eccentric friends and relatives.

10FingersOnTheFender · 14/12/2017 13:56

Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

SatsukiKusakabe · 14/12/2017 13:51

Where’d you Go Bernadette also very funny.

SatsukiKusakabe · 14/12/2017 13:36

I was going to say Lucky Jim. There’s a bit where he is trying to cover a mishap in a bedroom that is so funny. Yes to Bill Bryson. Our Man in Havana. Terry Pratchett. Jane Austen. My dh howls at The Flashman Papers and Martin Amis “Money” but may be something of an acquired taste Hmm

The last one I really laughed at was Pedant in the Kitchen by Julian Barnes.

bingebiscuiteater · 13/12/2017 18:45

The Bojeffries Saga by Alan Moore

Darklane · 09/12/2017 18:15

Definitely Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
My copy is ancient & nearly falling to bits as I’ve read it time & time again.

AiryFairy1 · 29/11/2017 22:17

Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis

YesILikeItToo · 29/11/2017 21:57

The Martian by Andy Weir.

Are You Experienced by William Sutcliffe.

YoungYolandaYorgensen39 · 29/11/2017 21:52

Letters from a Nut by Ted L Nancy
More Letters from a Nut by same

Anything by Charlie Brooker. I laughed so loudly while pg in hospital that the midwife came to check I was ok as she thought I was crying out in labour.

pollywollydoodle · 29/11/2017 16:47

Bill Bryson’s Life And Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is laugh out loud funny

YesThisIsMe · 29/11/2017 14:52

Wodehouse, Waugh and 3 Men in a Boat from the classics.
Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers Of London Series are very funny but also thrilling.
Pratchett of course
Georgette Heyer’s lighter ones, like Fridays Child and The Grand Sophie are very funny.
I thought The Martian was funny as well as thrilling.
Gideon Defoe’s Pirates In An Adventure With... books are proper laugh a minute stuff
Sarah Caudwell’s crime series are not billed as comedies but very funny nonetheless.

Strummerville · 29/11/2017 14:37

Jeeves and Wooster always makes me laugh a lot. I do forget which ones I've read though as the plots are quite similar!

InfiniteCurve · 28/11/2017 20:02

Jodi Taylor's Chronicles of St Mary's series -although while my favourite What Could Possibly Go Wrong made me laugh hysterically as I whizzed down the motorway (audio book Smile) it did also make me cry....

iseenodust · 28/11/2017 19:30

Agree Tom Sharpe though some are of their time.
Sick Puppy by Hiaasen (don't be put off by the title, read the reviews).

Original poster
CynophobicSadness · 26/11/2017 19:42

No not read Sue Perkins autobiography, I'll add it to the list! Thanks

DH is going to be working away quite a lot over the next 12 months so I'm going to enjoy burying my head in books. He, along with many of my relatives, complain I'm ignorant when I read so I haven't done much of it for some years. I'm getting giddy at the free time I'll have for reading while he's away! Grin

OP posts:
fascicle · 26/11/2017 10:48

Ha, just seen your last sentence, so you may have read it.

fascicle · 26/11/2017 10:47

I thought Sue Perkins' autobiography Spectacles was very, very funny (her road rage anecdote in particular is superb). It was a hastily grabbed book from the library so I had no expectations of it.

Original poster
CynophobicSadness · 26/11/2017 09:26

Thank you guys. Far more suggestions than I expected. I'm rather excited! Going to check all these out today and add some onto my Secret Santa list.

I've read all the Adrian Moles and loved them. Although I was disappointed with Sue Townsend's Queen Camilla. Not as funny as the Mole books. But I won't write her off completely and will give Middle Aged Woman a look.

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freethebiscuit · 25/11/2017 23:03

'Are you Dave Gorman?' By Dave Gorman (funnily enough) & Danny Wallace made me snort

ChinkChink · 25/11/2017 23:03

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome

TheNumberfaker · 25/11/2017 23:00

Look into the Falco series by Lindsay Davis. Ancient Roman historical crime fiction rather than pure comedy, but some of the characters are hilarious.

Clawdy · 25/11/2017 22:41

Diary of a Nobody - Weedon Grossmith. It's the only book that had me giggling as I read it, and it was written years ago. The central character is like an Edwardian version of David Brent in the Office.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 25/11/2017 18:35

The last book i read which made me laugh out loud was "How I Paid for College".

Sarahh2014 · 25/11/2017 18:33

The Idiot Abroad Diaries by Karl Pilkington are vv funny