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Laugh Out Loud Funny

Anything by Patrick McManus. Pate de foi gras (a short story by Isaac Asimov) and The Hut in the Tree in the Woods are all great for making you laugh out loud.
 
I have to agree with Bill Bryson, even his language/science books make you laugh out loud.

Will definitely be trying some of these other suggestions though.
 
Definately Bill Bryson. He's hilarious, regardless of the subject matter (though that is usually interesting too). :D
 
Easily Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy. Only book I have ever read where people have kept looking at me on the train due to intense comical displays.
 
I read Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything and loved it. The man can take drealy, dull facts about science and liven them up to the point I was laughing out loud and still retain the information. Great book.
 
Misreadings by Umberto Eco is very funny in places, especially the pastiche called Regretfully We Are Returning Your... , and also Granita, a reverse-Lolita. Hilarious!
 
I was on a train to Edinburgh and spat a tuna sandwich at someone while laughing at The Timewaster Letters - Robin Cooper. Genius.
 
Definitely Bill Bryson. Down Under had me laughing till my stomach muscles couln't take anymore - the bit where he goes to sleep whilst being given a guided tour. He describes his far from attractive snoring technique. Did that get anyone else hysterical?
 
OK, I'll admit I didn't read all the 149 posts :eek: (but I will), but here's my list of funny authors, heartily recommended:
The obvious ones: Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett :D
The witty English ones: Oscar Wilde, Stephen Fry ;)
The weirder ones: Jasper Fforde, Marius Brill, Magnus Mills :rolleyes:
The satiric/darker ones: Mikhail Bulgakov, Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut :cool:
And then there's e.g. The princess bride by William Goldman, The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss, , and Small world by David Lodge. :)

*mrkgnao*
 
I haven't seen David Sedaris mentioned here. You have got to read The Drama Bug, a totally hilarious story from a collection of his. He hasn't got a huge oeuvre or anything, so it shouldn't be hard to find. They are all pretty painfully funny.
 
What Is Goth? by Voltaire made me laugh about every three seconds or so. It is not fiction, but it is hilariously funny. You'll be cracking up whether you're a goth or a "mundane", as was one of my friends who read it. Basically, this guy gives you a detailed and humorous description of the gothic subculture, the do's and don't's of gothic fashion, a history of the usage of the word "gothic", a gothic poem generator, and a list of dance moves to be used at goth clubs, among other things.
 
mrkgnao said:
And then there's e.g. The princess bride by William Goldman, The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss, , and Small world by David Lodge. :)

*mrkgnao*
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The Princess Bride kept me very amused, and i read it because i love the movie, but the book is better i think. i also liked candide by voltaire. the innuendo was magnificent.
 
Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim and Me Talk Pretty One Day, both by David Sedaris. And there's a (very) short story in True Tales of Amercian Life called Man vs. Coat that had me laughing out loud for hours.
 
R.K. Narayan wrote super fabulous stories of south India. Some are SO funny. He was from an earlier era - born 1906, probably why I don't hear much about him anywhere. He wrote a pretty famous series of novels set in the fictional village of Malgudi and are hence called Malgudi Stories, Malgudi Days, and some others without Malgudi in the title. They are so funny, and I wish someone else here would read them too! Your library will have more titles. The biting, yet loving portraits of local characters are simply not to be missed.
 
bren said:
R.K. Narayan wrote super fabulous stories of south India. Some are SO funny. He was from an earlier era - born 1906, probably why I don't hear much about him anywhere. He wrote a pretty famous series of novels set in the fictional village of Malgudi and are hence called Malgudi Stories, Malgudi Days, and some others without Malgudi in the title. They are so funny, and I wish someone else here would read them too! Your library will have more titles. The biting, yet loving portraits of local characters are simply not to be missed.
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Just looked up our library data base Bren and they have no records of any :(
They sound great.
 
Sometimes if you go in and speak to a reference librarian they may be able to do an advanced search, beyond your immediate region. That's what I do when I can't find an obscure book. I did this with a set of outdated books that were published only in the UK. She was able to find a copy from San Diego that I was able to keep for a little while and see what the fuss was about. I must have a really great library here, I love those librarians!
 
i just finished reading small gods. i loved it, but it's not for those that are devoutly religious though, or so i would think. it makes fun of religious dogma. it's by terry pratchett btw.
 
I also did not read the entire thread but anything Douglas Adams definitely tops my list. Also "A Walk in the Woods" Bill Bryson. The scene when he purchases the back pack and finds out he needs a backpack cover in case it rains nearly made me pee my pants.:D
 
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