Funny books

There are, so far as I know, 28 books in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovitch. My wonderful late husband and I almost used to come to fisticuffs over who got to read the latest release first! They're laugh-out-loud romantic/detective/just-plain-fun books.

Here's a link to the first one:

amazon.co.uk/One-Money-Stephanie-Plum-01/dp/0140252924/ref=sr_1_1?crid=35ZAJ7PLI513H&keywords=janet+evanovich+one+for+the+money&qid=1645447545&sprefix=janet+evanovitch%2Caps%2C470&sr=8-1]]

I'll try and think of more, but might be helpful if you could say what genre you used to prefer.

The Commitments a laugh a page ,Roddy Doyle 's trilogy is a joy,as long as you undestand Irish humour .I love his childrens books too

Away with the Penguins by Hazel Prior is very good.

p.s. if you use, or would be able to open an account on Facebook, you'll certainly laugh many times if you join the group "Writers, Readers and General Tomfoolery" . It has more serious stuff too, but loads of fun memes and people's tales, and some great comments.

If you're a horsey person but don't take yourself too seriously, Facebook group "shiteventersunite" is crack-up funny, but a non horsey person just wouldn't get it.

If you have any knowledge of farming, then the irreplaceable Henry Brewis's part story, part cartoon books will have you helpless with laughter. Here's a link to one of his earliest offerings.

www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Laugh-Till-Hes-Sight/dp/1903366976?tag=gransnetforum-21

What have you liked in the past? Rereading can be worth it.

Bill Bryson?

Cold Comfort Farm is funny. Bertie Wooster.

I was going to suggest Bill Bryson and Cold Comfort Farm, too ?

I read Notes on a Small Island on a bus, and it made me laugh so much that people asked if I was ok. My sister and I still crack up at the bit where the men try to outdo one another by recounting car journeys:

'Oh! you took the A17? Really? That's an interesting choice. I much prefer the B74, particularly if you turn off at the third exit of the roundabout near the Red Lion.'

It sounds so much like our husbands, we think he must have met them both ?.

For laugh out loud it has to be Tom Sharpe particularly Indecent Exposure.

Sarnia

Away with the Penguins by Hazel Prior is very good.

i agree sarnia, i'm currently reading it!

Paul Magr's Brenda and Effie series made me chuckle.

They are set in Whitby and have a gothic/detective twist to them.

Blurb from Amazon, 'Brenda has had a long and eventful life, and she has come to Whitby to run a B&B and enjoy some peace and quiet. She and her best friend Effie like nothing better than going out for tea and keeping their eyes open for mysterious goings on in town.

And what with satanic beauty salons, roving psychic investigators and the frankly terrifying owner of the Christmas Hotel there's plenty to watch. But the oddest thing in Whitby may well be Brenda herself. With her terrible scars, her strange lack of a surname and the fact that she takes two different shoe sizes, Brenda should know that people as, well, unique as she is just aren't destined for a quiet life.'

There are seven or eight in the series. I keep waiting for French and Saunders to make it into a series!!

A classic funny book is Diary of a Nobody by George & Weedon Grossmith

Three Men in a Boat is old but really funny!

I too recommend Roddy Doyle. My favourite is The Snapper.
Also Diary of a Nobody.
Calling Major Tom.
Wipe Your Feet Please by Marie Sever. About a B&B. I found it hilarious.

I read Shaun Bythell's book Diary of a Bookseller and immediately read his second book Confessions of a Bookseller. Very dry and funny and a great insight into the world of second hand bookshops and the people who go into them seemingly with the sole purpose of irritating the book seller.

A great cast of hilarious supporting characters all set in a fabulous old shop in a beautiful landscape.

Just finished 100 years of Lenni and Margot. Humorous, well written, sad and poignant. I liked it a lot.

I love Roddy Doyle, although I've never thought of him as funny. He writes women amazingly well (the woman who walked into doors)

If you don't mind the swearing, my current favourite is also Irish, Caimh McDonnell. He writes about crime in Dublin. The stories are quite serious, but the people are hilarious. Start with "A man with one of those faces"

The Discworld books. Terry Pratchett RIP.

The Queen and I. I reread it recently and still found it funny.

Another vote for Diary Of A Nobody. Hilarious.

I read McCarthy's Bar on a late evening flight. Lights were down, most people were dozing/sleeping. I had my earphones in with my iPod on, in my own little world, oblivious of the fact that I was screeching with laughter and tears ran down my face. When we landed the woman beside me asked me what I had been reading that made me laugh so much. It wasn't till I got home that I realised my mascara had run down my face and I looked like a red-eyed panda.

Definitely Diary of a Nobody

I had just written that and then realised several other people had recommened it as well.

Also period (1924) and similar is 'Augustus Carp, Esq., By Himself: Being the Autobiography of a Really Good Man'

Somewhere amongst the achingly and unremittingly bleak Angela's Ashes I do remember there were moments of humour that made me laugh. I love Irish humour so maybe should read some Roddy Doyle. In our house we both adored the film of The Commitments, in fact, after moaning at me for my choice of Blockbuster (remember them) video rental for the week end, with mutterings of "not sure it'll be my cup of tea" my husband loved it and would put it in his top ten of all time favourite films, we saw the stage play too having liked the film so much.

I will admit to laughing out loud to --very lightweight--Bridge Jones when I first read it, a long time ago now.

I love Terry Pratchett’s Ankh Morpork series. Very silly indeed, as are Tom Holt’s books, in a similar vein.