Any suggestions for a book that'll make me laugh?

[Nickmiles74]

Does anyone have any recommendations for something humorous? I went out on a limb and bought a few books on my kindle, but so far I haven't found anything worth while. I only have two more books to go before I'm finished with my blind buys, so I'd appreciate any suggestions from my fellow readers on what to try next. I'd like to find something new or different. Thanks!

[Casper Parks]

Powder River by Ralph Cotton, a western filled with great dialog that will make you laugh.

[Meb Bryant]

Nick,
I'm going out on a limb and suggesting THE SPELLMANS, a humorous mystery by Lisa Lutz. She's written a series about a dysfunctional family in the private eye business. I love the sarcasm. Good luck with your search.

[Geoffrey]

Nick,

What are your preferred genres?  Here are some random suggestions but I hope I'm not way off on your preferences ...

• If you enjoy fantasy, I would suggest any of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett - very funny series and much of it is stand alone so you can start anywhere.
• You could also try anything by Christopher Moore - if you enjoy religious humor, try Lamb or for some Christmas zombies, try The Stupidest Angel.
• For more travelogue related humor, Bill Bryson can be quite funny - my favorite book of his, Notes from a Small Island, isn't on kindle but all of his books are highly entertaining.
• If you enjoy dark humor, you could try Chuck Palahniuk - he's the author of Fight Club and a very twisted writer in the best possible sense.
• If you're in the mood for some lad lit, you could try Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook - a very entertaining book.
• Finally, if you would enjoy some corporate satire, try Company by Max Barry - it's a little pricey, but it's an excellent read.

[foreverjuly]

Catch-22 + Office Space = 

[Ann in Arlington]

You seriously can't read this and not be happy and content at the end.

[ciscokid]

1st of a series.  Its hilarious and the movie is coming out the last of this month.



Fannie Flagg's first book. I read this while on a long car trip with my hubby and he kept giving me the strangest looks because I kept laughing outloud. He doesn't read for fun and can't understand how a book can be that funny.

[Tony Rabig]

Ann in Arlington beat me to it on The Princess Bride.  But I'll toss in Dave Barry's Big Trouble.

Kindle edition of Big Trouble is way too pricey, I think, but if you want funny The Princess Bride and Big Trouble will do the job nicely.

[Ann Herrick]

It's an oldie, but I recommend Growing Up by Russell Baker. It has a lot of humor in it and I laughed outloud at some of the anecdotes, the one when he enters the Navy in particular.

[RobertLCollins]

The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the first two sequels, by Douglas Adams. Funny if you like science fiction, and probably the same if you're not.

[MariaESchneider]

What genre?  For cozy and chick-lit/zany, the spellmans above is good, so is Karen Cantwell.  I also liked several of Janet Evanovich.

For zany fantasy, you might like the Hal Spacejock series.  Also good for some grins is Jim Hines Goblin series (He has a short story antho that is cheap -- it's on sale for 99 cents right now.  I have read it, but can't remember all the stories.  Some were funny, some not so funny.)

I love the Vicky Bliss mysteries by Elizabeth Peters.  Some good zany humor in those. 

But again, give us some genres.  Because if you don't read cozies you won't find them funny anyway...

[Tony Richards]

The early books by P.J. O'Rourke -- Holidays in Hell and suchlike -- were achingly funny, even if you didn't agree with him politically. Later on, I think he started taking himself a bit too seriously.

[Tony Rabig]

O'Rourke's Parliament of Whores, his attempt to explain the government, is worth the price of admission just for the chapter in which he figures out how to balance the federal budget.  Hard work, and it took him an hour and a half, he says, and then explains how he did it.  One of O'Rourke's finest hours.

[R. Doug]

Funniest book I ever read . . . several times:

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

[UnicornEmily]

Is Terry Pratchett available on the Kindle?  I love his books.

Patrick McManus is hilarious if you like well-phrased nonfiction (about hunting, in this case).  Robert Asprin is fun if you like adventurous fantasy.

[soyfrank]

I think Christopher Moore is really funny.

[Ann in Arlington]

Is Terry Pratchett available on the Kindle?  I love his books.

Patrick McManus is hilarious if you like well-phrased nonfiction (about hunting, in this case).  Robert Asprin is fun if you like adventurous fantasy.

yep:  Terry Pratchett

[hamerfan]

• For more travelogue related humor, Bill Bryson can be quite funny - my favorite book of his, Notes from a Small Island, isn't on kindle but all of his books are highly entertaining.

+1 for Bill Bryson. A Walk In The Woods is highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Rediscovering-Appalachian-ebook/dp/B000S1LSAM/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1326633739&sr=8-1

[Sheldon]

I have been reading a lot of historical fiction lately, a light humorous read is in order! Just ordered samples from princess bride and the spellmans  Thank you.

[nogdog~6op6ou]

Does anyone have any recommendations for something humorous? I went out on a limb and bought a few books on my kindle, but so far I haven't found anything worth while. I only have two more books to go before I'm finished with my blind buys, so I'd appreciate any suggestions from my fellow readers on what to try next. I'd like to find something new or different. Thanks!

As far as the "blind buys" issue, if buying from Amazon, you are aware that you can download free samples, right?

I'll add a third or fourth vote here for Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" books, and throw in "Good Omens" as well, which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman. If you are not a regular reader of epic fantasies, you might find either Guards! Guards! or Wyrd Sisters to be better entry points into the Discworld than the first book, The Color of Magic, as the former two are better overall stories, while the latter is more a pure parody of the genre.)

For sheer light-hearted fun with the benefit of being in the public domain, you can search for the assorted free collections of P.G. Wodehouse, and in particular his "Jeeves" stories.

[Sheldon]

When parents text

[Thumper]

• You could also try anything by Christopher Moore - if you enjoy religious humor, try Lamb or for some Christmas zombies, try The Stupidest Angel.

^^This^^

Lamb was the first Christopher Moore book I read, and I laughed so hard I thought I was going to have slight incontinence issues. That book put him on my Will Always Read list. I don't think I've ever been disappointed by any of his work.

[Rejean]

I'm currently reading

http://www.amazon.com/Suzannes-Canadian-Motorcycle-Adventure-ebook/dp/B0052NFMY4

just $3.99

[Tony Rabig]

You might also try John Collier's Fancies and Goodnights, a wonderful collection of short stories.  Not all of them are funny, but there are some in there (notably "Over Insurance," "Bottle Party," and "Ah, the University") that crack me up every time I read them.  If you like the sort of short fiction that Roald Dahl wrote, you'll love Collier.

[Debra Purdy Kong]

Not everyone likes Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I loved it. Also, if you like mysteries, Janet Evonavich (not sure of spelling) writes the Stephanie Plum series. I've only read one, but there were a couple of scenes that had me laughing out loud.

Linwood Barclay also writes a humorous (at least it is for me) series, one of which is called Bad Guys, which had been laughing. And Steve Brewer's mysteries are funny as well. Boost is really enjoyable.

Hope this helps!