As a stand-up comedian myself, I find a lot of so-called funny books to be hugely disappointing. In these days of authors wanting their amazing works listed in every possible category on Amazon, you often find books in the humor sections which have severely mistaken ‘a somewhat light tone’ or ‘occasional moments of levity’ for being actual comedies. And don’t even get me started on the reams of literotica with covers featuring musclebound torsos that fill up any search for something supposedly funny. Kindly f*ck off, writers of the latest Billionaire Bad Boy Romance—you do not belong here. Instead, here are some books that will actually make you laugh.
I wrote...
Sam, Jake and Dylan Want Money: A Badly Behaved Comedy
Written by legendary Saturday Night Live writer Jack Handey, this is a trippy book dense with hilarity, quite literally joke after joke, which still somehow flows into an actual story, albeit a weird one. I’d suggest that you only need to read the first sentence of the blurb to know if it’s for you or not. "Are you a fan of books in which famous tourist destinations are repurposed as unlivable hellholes for no particular reason? Read on!"
The legendary Deep Thoughts and New Yorker humorist Jack Handey is back with his very first novel-a hilarious, absurd, far-flung adventure tale.
The Stench of Honolulu
Are you a fan of books in which famous tourist destinations are repurposed as unlivable hellholes for no particular reason? Read on!
Jack Handey's exotic tale is full of laugh-out-loud twists and unforgettable characters whose names escape me right now. A reliably unreliable narrator and his friend, who is some other guy, need to get out of town. They have a taste for adventure, so they pay a visit to a relic of bygone…
If you’ve ever read the viral email correspondence by the unhinged (or perhaps, remarkably sane?) author David Thorne, of cult website 27B/6, about how he tried to pay a phone bill with a picture of a spider, you’ll know what you’re in for. Whether you have or not, this is a complete collection of Thorne’s hilarious email exchanges, which has on occasion reduced me to laughter almost painful—I do not recommend reading in public, unless you want everyone giving you crazy looks.
Every existing, deleted, viral, popular & unpopular email correspondence ever posted on 27B/6 in one massive volume. That's right, even the one about ordering concrete from a florist that no-one liked.
"That's a fat book. Shipping will be expensive." Gary the accountant
"My 11-year-old thinks you're hilarious. He has autism." Michelle Thompson
This fantastical story stars Elvis Presley and a time travelling Brussels sprout—need I say more?—from one of the most celebrated humorist authors going. The good news is, if you like it, there’s more in the series, then heaps of other crazy books by Rankin to devour.
Theological warfare. Elvis on an epic time-travel journey - the Presliad. Buddhavision - a network bigger than God (and more powerful, too). Nasty nuclear leftovers. Naughty sex habits. Dalai Dan (the 153rd reincarnation of the Lama of that ilk) and Barry, the talkative Time Sprout. Even with all this excitement, you wouldn't think a backwater planet like Earth makes much of a splash in the galatic pond.
But the soap opera called The Earthers is making big video bucks in the intergalactic ratings race. And alien TV execs know exactly what…
A classic on the absurdity of war which remains relevant to this day. It also has a really interesting and unique structure—no spoilers, but it’s not exactly linear—which I think of more like a complex painting, each chapter filling in a bit more of the canvas, until by the end you feel like you have the complete picture. Plus, very funny, of course.
Explosive, subversive, wild and funny, 50 years on the novel's strength is undiminished. Reading Joseph Heller's classic satire is nothing less than a rite of passage.
Set in the closing months of World War II, this is the story of a bombardier named Yossarian who is frantic and furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. His real problem is not the enemy - it is his own army which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. If Yossarian makes any attempts to excuse himself from the…
A collection of American humorist Dave Barry’s newspaper columns, which I’m often re-reading and laughing a great deal. Definitely ‘of it’s time’ in parts (aka a bit dated), but it also contains plenty of general observations about life, family, and defending your home against tornados. A good one for the loo, as shaking with laughter might help you ‘move things along’.
What Dave Barry did for the men’s movement in his Complete Guide to Guys and for foreign relations when he did Japan he now does for . . . everything in America. The rapacious observer of Tupperware ladies and leisure concept salesmen sounds off on:
Football—Football is more than just a game. It is a potential opportunity to see a live person lying on the ground with a bone sticking out of his leg, while the fans, to show their appreciation, perform “the wave.”
When a failed writer, a part-time redhead and a violent jerk all live together in the worst apartment block in the known universe, what desperate degeneracy will result? Will they be able to make a buck selling illegal seafood to children in the park? Or solve the problem of their broken air con by blowing up the very sun itself? Or avoid their spineless waft of a landlord, to whom they’ve never paid a shred of rent? Or what?
Find out the answers to these, and other dumb questions you would have never thought to ask, in this stupid collection of unnecessary tales.
I first went to Berlin after college, determined to write a novel about the German Resistance; I stayed a quarter of a century. Initially, the Berlin Airlift, something remembered with pride and affection, helped create common ground between me as an American and the Berliners. Later, I was commissioned to write a book about the Airlift and studied the topic in depth. My research included interviews with many participants including Gail Halvorsen. These encounters with eyewitnesses inspired me to write my current three-part fiction project, Bridge to Tomorrow. With Russian aggression again threatening Europe, the story of the airlift that defeated Soviet state terrorism has never been more topical.
Stopping Russian Aggression with milk, coal, and candy bars….
Berlin is under siege. More than two million civilians will starve unless they receive food, medicine, and more by air.
USAF Captain J.B. Baronowsky and RAF Flight Lieutenant Kit Moran once risked their lives to drop high explosives on Berlin. They are about to deliver milk, flour, and children’s shoes instead. Meanwhile, two women pilots are flying an air ambulance that carries malnourished and abandoned children to freedom in the West. Until General Winter deploys on the side of Russia...
Based on historical events, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader delivers an…
In the second book of the Bridge to Tomorrow Series, the story continues where "Cold Peace" left off.
Berlin is under siege. More than two million civilians in Hitler's former capital will starve unless they receive food, medicine and more by air.
USAF Captain J.B. Baronowsky and RAF Flight Lieutenant Kit Moran once risked their lives to drop high explosives on Berlin. They are about to deliver milk, flour and children's shoes instead. Meanwhile, two women pilots are flying an air ambulance that carries malnourished and abandoned children to freedom in…
