Laugh-out-loud books

[SkyBlueKitchen]

I don't read a huge amount. I've come to realise I will only keep picking up a book if it's lighthearted and puts a smile on my face (unless maybe I'm child-free for a while and had the energy to get into something a bit more serious)!

Books I've really laughed at include the Hitchhiker's Guide series by Douglas Adams, some comedians' autobiographies, and I've just finished a friend's recommendation, Far Far Beyond Berlin by Craig Meighan, which had me laughing nearly all the way through.

I have some Amazon vouchers and some Waterstones vouchers. Can anyone suggest some others?

@HoldontoOneMoreDay

Oh I'm having such a pang for William now, I must go and see if I can find my old copies.

I came on to say I snorted out loud at parts of This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay, but there are some really tough bits in there too.

Marian Keyes always makes me laugh but again there are serious themes.

Yes and yes!

The Mapp and Lucia books. E F Benson. Currently listening to unabridged on audible and laughed out loud several times just yesterday ! Delicious.

Another vote for Just William. All laugh out loud but ‘The weak spot’ (where he, and Robert, grapple with Bolshevism) is my absolute favourite.

Oh, lots to look at - thanks!

Thanks, @SkyBlueKitchen. You've helped me put together a lovely uplifting list of reading and re-reading. There's nothing like a funny well-written book in stressful times.

I would share that my very favourite scene in all of literature is Gussy Fink-Nottle giving out school prizes in Right-Ho, Jeeves. I wonder if there's a thread in that as I'd love to know other people's highlights.

Rip my lovely childhood guinea pig ‘Gussy Fink-Nottle’ (not that we ever used his last name). Brother ‘Orlando’.

I've made my new thread.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/what_were_reading/4276638-Cheer-us-all-up-your-favourite-funny-scene-s-in-literature

But with no wish at all to stop the recommendations coming on here!

PG Wodehouse. He can make me howl with laughter. And Eric Newby could be very grumpily funny, in eg A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. That sort of English thing (yes, I do mean English, and obsolete now I think) of being massively pissed off about something/someone while simultaneously seeing how absurd your situation is.

Bill Bryson's Down Under. I laughed out loud when I first read it. I laughed until I cried when I read it again while actually in Australia. It's not my normal book genre but I'd recommend it to anyone.

One I listened to which was free for members on Audible - Slaving Away by Miranda Kane. There's 3 series. Made me laugh my head off.

Also This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay was funny.

The Wimbledon Poisoner by Nigel Williams.
A Walk in The Woods by Bill Bryson.
Taking notes on all these suggestions.

The Wimbledon Poisoner is one of my most read re-reads along with the Bill Brysons.
If I need comfort food reading, those are where I go. (Not for thalium chicken though!)

Tidying up earlier I came across my old copy of A Planet for the President by Alistair Beaton. It's a satirical look at how the US president decides to solve the problem of climate change and over-population. I think if you were an adult during the Blair/Bush era then the personalities should really resonate and it did make me laugh.

Anything by Bill Bryson, especially A Walk in the Woods.
Carl Hiaasen novels - all linked but different characters in Florida. Includes Striptease, the book of which is truly hilarious in comparison to the film.
Terry Pratchett
PG Wodehouse

Hahaha, I came on to suggest PG Wodehouse, 3 men in a boat, James Herriott and Just William! Seems I've been beaten to it!

3 men in a boat is brilliant but there is a paragraph near the end which is like a sudden punch in the face - glad it's included from a historical interest point of view but it is a real shock after you've been reading it as a comedy until then.

James Herriott disperses the funny reminiscences in among the desperately sad ones, and you never know which it is until you've already read it! If you're and animal lover I'd only read them if you're in a good place already, not necessarily to cheer you up!

PG Wodehouse is always brilliant. 3 men and a maid is my favorite.

I disagree William is wasted on children! I loved them since being 4 or 5! But that's the audiobook versions which are cherry-picked, abridged, and read by the brilliant Martin Jarvis.

I also wouldn't class 'Diary of a nobody' as Laugh out Loud - it's more sort of darkly humorous, the way he's bullied by his 'friends' and all the let downs he has. I like how it ends on a positive note though.

If you like modern chick lit Sophie Kinsella's 'Wedding Night' has some hilarious bits.

Diary of a Nobody

Tim Moore, the earlier ones as they are getting a bit samey:

French Revolutions (cycling the Tour de France route)
Spanish Steps (walking the Santiago de Compostella with a donkey)

Also Maarten Troost travels in the South Pacific - Sex Lives of Cannibals and Getting Stoned with Savages are laugh out loud, DH and I both loved them.

Confederacy of Dunces. I gave an old copy to DS and he was sniggering away.

I found the Grave series by Darynda Jones to be the most consistently amusing books I've ever read. Her chapter headings alone make me laugh out loud.

“Lead me not into temptation. I can find it myself. (T-Shirt)”

“Insanity does NOT run in my family. It strolls through, takes its time, and gets to know everyone personally. —T-SHIRT”

“If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is NOT for you. (BUMPER STICKER)”

"667, the Neighbor of the Beast"

A Year in the Merde

Round Ireland with a Fridge

Unreliable Memoirs - Clive James.
So pleased to see the Gerald Durrel books from his Corfu days already mentioned. And clearly I'm going to have to hunt out Just William!

Not read the full thread so don't know if anyone's mentioned Adrian Mole but it had me in stitches when I read it quite late in life! Also, the Just William books are amazing!