I am seeking a list of 10 very humourous books that would be currently
available and where they can be ordered. Kindly include one or two
paragragh(2) text reviews and/or comments by Researchers.  Please
restrict the list to books written in the last five years. A tip will
be given if the list contains books from all over the world. Non-
Researcher comments would also be very much appreciated. A BIG THANK
YOU to everyone who participates.

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Request for Question Clarification by helpful1-ga on 11 Dec 2002 08:11 PST

Dear Brudenell,
Are you looking for humorous fiction or nonfiction?  More importantly,
what would you classify as funny?  As you know, what tickles your
funny bone, may not tickle mine.  And vice versa.  For instance, some
funny authors I've enjoyed include: Dave Barry, Bill Bryson, T.R.
Pearson, Fannie Flagg, Paula Wall, Robert Fulghum.  Any of these
resonate with you?  And then there are the professional comedians
who've written books: Jerry Seinfeld, Dennis Miller, Chris Rock,
George Carlin, etc.  So, if you'll specify your needs, I'll see what I
can find.
Cheerfully,
Helpful1

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Clarification of Question by brudenell-ga on 11 Dec 2002 11:37 PST

Thanks for your request helpful1-ga
After considering your request I am willing to go for authors of both
fiction & non-fiction. However I would prefer non-professional
comedians. It is my hope to be pointed in the direction of emerging
comedy writers who are not yet widely known probably more as a result
of distribution/ marketing etc. The kind of "lol" book described by
Istein0-ga in the comments would be a great selection.

Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson (nonfiction)
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Closing Time by Joseph Heller (published 1996 so slightly more than 5 years ago)
Hotel Honolulu by Paul Theroux

As soon as I saw this queston, I thought of Bill Bryson. His books are
quite funny. If you are interested in hiking at all, I'd recommend "A
Walk in the Woods", it is about his adventures on the Appalachian
Trail. I read it outdoors in Chicago, and was actually laughing out
loud!

Thank you dannidin & Instein0 your comments are very much appreciated!

Brudenell

Books that made me laugh out loud:
"e" by Matt Beaumont at Amazon.com [published 2000]
-- entire novel written in e-mails
"Eating the Cheshire Cat" by Helen Ellis [published 2001]
-- similar to the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous
"Naked" by David Sedaris [published 1998]
-- A great collection of his short stories

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - Toby Young - 2002

Had me laughing out loud through out; dry British sense of humor.

From: http://www.any-book.com/how_to_lose.htm

"You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again meets The Bonfire of the
Vanities, as told by...a male Bridget Jones? And it all really
happened."

Read 20 some pages from the book at:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/030681188X/ref=lib_dp_sp_1/103-1998545-5174215?v=glance&s=books&vi=slide-show#reader-link

I've read lots of funny books, but the funniest I can recall at the
top of my head:

By far, I've never read anything funnier then Douglas Adams:
Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life the Universe and Everything
So Long and Thanks for All the fish
mostly Harmless.

Those 5, along with a short story, amke up his "trilogy" of HHGG
books.
Not only are they a complete riot, but in an elegant sort of waym they
make perfect sense.
Example? Sure:
This never occurred to me before reading the book, but:
from book number 2, restaurant at the end of the universe.
Premise: You travel forward in time to the end of the universe. The
Gnab Gib (reverse of a Big Bang). You enjoy a wonderful multi-course
meal, with live entertainment and lavish atmosphere, with the highlite
being watching the universe come to an end, after which the restaurant
pulls itself back to the brink and begins seating another meal.

So what's elegant?
You don't need a reservation. You just show up. Enjoy your meal, and
when you've gone back a couple of million years to your own time, you
make a reservation for the exact time you showed up.
You don't have to pay. Again, when you return, you put a tiny bit of
money in the bank and let it gather interest for a couple million
years.

Yeah, I know. Whacky. And there's no explanation for how the
restaurant can have different people seated and eating, when the
restaurant is experienceing the same few hours over and over again.


Also very funny is anything by Erma Bombeck.

And the scripts to the show Red Dwarf are super funny.

sparky4ca-ga

Hi again,
Since I don't really know you or what you find funny, I realized I
could not certain I could provide a satisfactory answer, so I'm
posting this to the comments.  Humor, as you know comes in myriad
flavors: satire; the absurd; regional; political; visual; etc.  So
rather than try to guess what you'd like and come up with 10 books for
you, let me point you to a good Web site called The Funny Bookshop
(http://www.less-stress.com/humor/).  It lists best-selling humorous
books in 11 categories, ranging from general to sports humor.  Each
listing comes with a brief description of the book and a link to
Amazon UK or Amazon US where you can purchase the book. Just pick a
category and browse.
Cheers,
Helpful1

Brudenell --

Knowing your objective, a change in strategy to finding funny WEBSITES
would yield many more budding comics.

Anyone publishing a book has probably already done a tour, been on
some radio or TV shows, and had a little exposure.  If they had the
sense of timing and drama to make a good comic they'd probably already
have surfaced.

There are hundreds of funny websites and the chances to uncover more
raw talent.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Just a random book that I found hilarious was "Rommel? Gunner who?" by
British comedian Spike Milligan. It's an autobiography of the time
Spike spent in North Africa during the Second World War. It's
certainly no Saving Private Ryan. I've never laughed so hard.

One of the strangest, funniest, and most memorable books I've read in
a long while is "The Bear Went Over the Mountain," by William
Kotzwinkle. My sister gave me this book for Christmas five years ago,
and I have enjoyed rereading it several times since.

Amazon.com: The Bear Went Over the Mountain
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805054383/qid=1039742774/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-5813950-2789556?v=glance&s=books&n=507846#product-details

A plot summary does not capture the immense, quirky charm of this
book. The story is about a bear (a real, in-the-woods type bear) who
publishes a book, and has interesting encounters with various kinds of
human beings while on his way to fame and fortune.

This is not a kiddie book, and although it is filled with laughs, it
is also filled with inducements to deeper thought. Imagine "Being
There" starring Smokey Bear instead of Peter Sellers. ;-)

THANKS espresso-ga, denco-ga, sparky4ca-ga, helpful1-ga,
omnivorous-ga, jumpingjoe-ga, pinkfreud-ga. Amazon.ca is going to be
much busier thanks to all of you. LOVE THE COMMENTS! It was a pleasure
to explore The Funny Bookshop
  (http://www.less-stress.com/humor/). All of you who wrote that it is
difficult to answer as you are unable to know what I find 'FUNNY' have
a point. Let's just say that I enjoy general humour...  although I
enjoy much more... its simply easier to define. I very much appreciate
your time & postings.

Brudenell

One last comment... I too thought immediately of Bill Bryson, and my
next thought was Al Franken.  You might also like to try David Sedaris
books (which are even funnier as audio books.)

Happy laughing!

Rebeccam-ga, Google Answers Researcher

Ascent of Rum Doodle by W. E. Bowman (new edition with an introduction
by Bryson; classic among mountain climbers but a hilarious farce that
will have you all rolling....)

Also, saw this very funny, cynical young American writer on a Canadian
TV show the other night...Sarah Vowell, "The Partly Cloudy Patriot"
http://www.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/newsworld/viewer.cgi?FILE=HT20021206.html&TEMPLATE=hottype.ssi.new&SC=HT

thanks,
ragingacademic

Thanks for the posts rebeccam-ga & ragingacademic-ga. And to think
that there is still time through Amazon for Christmas delivery!
Bryson's royalties will be up! I very much appreciate the time to
comment. Brudenell

Don't miss "God is My Broker: A Monk-Tycoon Reveals the 7 1/2 Laws of
Spiritual and Financial Growth" by Christopher Buckley.
see a review at 
http://www.fed-soc.org/Publications/practicegroupnewsletters/financialservices/book-finanv2i3.htm