Books laced with humour

[Prrambulate]

I’m looking for books that genuinely made you laugh or smile - the humour can be dark, sardonic, sly, as long as it’s there! I don’t mind the genre. I’ve loved the Strike series partly for this reason, but others too recently - the First Law fantasy series, Exit by Belinda Bauer, Eleanor Oliphant, the Hawthorne novels by Horowitz, and others.

I don’t know why, but I’m struggling with humourless fictional worlds/characters recently. Would love some recommendations.

I find it really hard to laugh at books. I don’t know why!

Love Nina maskers me laugh though

Engleby by Sebastian Faulks
Dark humour ++

Agree with pp re Tom Sharpe. Wilt and Wilt on High. Riotous Assembly. Indecent Exposure. Anything he wrote in fact. Absolutely brilliant and very funny.

Agree, one of my favourite books. V dark, yet funny.

Every book by Paul O’Grady, especially the first in his autobiography series, At My Mother’s Knee (and Other Low Joints)

This Emma Kennedy book is genuinely hilarious. I laughed so much and I often go back to it when I'm in need of a giggle.

Terry Pratchett.
Some dreadful puns (punes!) and he makes fun of pomposity. Any with the witches in are generally good fun.

Jonathan Coe's books. Social trends plus politics plus youth culture and funny at times!

You must have already read the first Bridget Jones books?

A Glasgow Kiss by Sophie Gravia had me spitting out my tea it's hilarious

Me too! I've got a couple of emergency books in my car's glove box. The Tent, The Bucket and Me is one and the other is You Are Awful (But I Like You) by Tim Moore which is a very funny account of his travels around the worst towns in England. I keep them in the car just in case I end up having to hang around for a while and I need something to dip in to.

Anything by Shalom Auslander, but particularly 'Foreskin's Lament'

Gill Sims the "Why Mummy . . . " series. I was laughing & crying. A very real humour. Her latest has just come out "Why mummy drinks on holiday".

Agree with the recommendations for Chris Brookmyre, Terry Pratchett and Chronicles of St Mary's - all funny but in very different ways.

The Pirates in an adventure with... (scientists, whalers, communists and a couple of others) are funny in a very silly way.

John O'Farrell has written some funny novels and also funny history books

The first 3 books in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy still make me smile but I'm not keen on the later ones.

P. G. Wodehouse

Lots of humour in Jane Austen

The Princess Bride

Dean Koontz - Bad Weather Friend, and Life Expectancy. Quirky American characters, unusual plots, bit John Irving (who'd be another suggestion).

I've just downloaded the Tim Moore one, looks like fun.

Absolutely to Chris Brookmyre and Bill Bryson

David Baddiel - particularly Time For Bed and Stephen Fry - particularly The Liar.

Dawn French: A Tiny Bit Marvellous. I cried laughing.

Stephen Fry - particularly The Liar

He's a bit hit and miss imo. I've not read that one, but of the three I've read I enjoyed Making History; The Hippopotamus was meh; and I thought The Star's Tennis Balls was utterly horrible, it's the only book I've ever binned rather than sending to charity if I didn't want to keep it.

The Charles Paris books by Simon Brett. Lots of sly humour about luvvies.

You're right, but I find he gets really self important about 2/3 the way through every book.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads small island is still my favourite of his

Thank you for the recommendations! Will be working my way through a selection when the miserable winter weather sets in proper.