[Closed] Funniest book you've ever read?

Peter Kay's autobiography...The hills are alive with the sound of laughter...a complete hoot!

Mil Millington writes some funny stuff...

In fact, if you want a taster:

www.thingsmygirlfriendandihavearguedabout.com

Frank Skinners autobiography had me crying with laughter.

Tom sharpe - riotous assembly. Its one of the few books that has me in tears and unable to breathe from laughing. Also 'don't tell mum I work on the rigs, she thinks I am a piano player in a whorehouse' is also amazing

Tim Moore (e.g. French Revolutions) did it for me. Not everyone agrees though.

Saw the title and immediately thought of Wilt, read it over two days when I was a nipper.

The Ascent of Rum Doodle.

Or Milligan's War Memoirs.

Robert rankin - the brentford trilogy, think are four or five of them.

The tim moore book is brilliant but didn't make me totally crack up laughing

I read "Adolf Hitler: My part in his downfall" by Spike Milligan when I was about 13 and thought it was the funniest thing in the World.
Not sure if I would now.

Cosmic Banditos is high up there.

+1 The Ascent of Rum Doodle

Good omens for me.

Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace's books, while not high brow provided lots of laughter. Often out loud on the bus.
A great book is A kind of intermacy, its a chick lit book, but after hearing the girls at work talk about it and how funny it is and clever. It was, not laugh out loud funny, but very clever and funny.

Cugel's Saga - Jack Vance.

Even if you don't feel the humour it's a great story.

I bought a deaf friend of mine a cheese grater for Xmas one year
He phoned me up thanking me , and said it was the most violent book hem had ever read

I'll get my coat.........

I read that Tim Moore book and just thought he was a tool.....

Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy

As a kid I can remember having to read a Prof Brainstawm book aloud in class, couldnt I was laughing so much, very very funny in a way that appealed to a 10 yr old.

Robert rankin - the brentford trilogy, think are four or five of them.

Seven, by my reckoning.

Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy

Good man.

Really enjoying Tom Holt at the moment. The series starting with The Portable Door is tremendous.

If you like crime fiction but want something a bit lighter, Mike Carey's Felix Castor novels are a blast.

"Around Ireland with a fridge" by Tony Hawkes.
+1 for Peter Kay, Tom Sharpe, Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace

I've recently read 'The lost diaries of Adrian Mole' and ' Adrian Mole and the weapons of mass destrucktion' by Sue Townsend. Easy to read and very funny.

now I have to correct myself...*destruction 😉

Tom Sharpe for me. True genuis.

Christopher Brookmyre books are pretty good, doesn't even take you away from crime fiction too!

Tom Sharpe for me. True genuis.

I found him hit and miss; though, I was rather young when I read them. I remember Wilt and The Throwback being particularly good.

Christopher Brookmyre books are pretty good, doesn't even take you away from crime fiction too!

Wholeheartedly seconded, good call.

The Flashman books by George MacDonald Frazer are all hilarious and well written.

Ditto Tim Moore not being very funny. Quite good but hardly (meant to be) funny.

"Indecent Exposure" by Tom Sharpe, much better than his later efforts.

"Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K Jerome

Carl Hiassen (spp?) is an American version of Chris Brookmyre and a couple of his have been ok.

I read "Adolf Hitler: My part in his downfall" by Spike Milligan when I was about 13 and thought it was the funniest thing in the World.
Not sure if I would now.

Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy is brilliant but don't try and read it all too quickly or you get tired of it. A bit like stuffing your face. It suited the radio format

Three Men in a Boat is a top read some amazingly funny passages.

Managed to get a first edition for my brothers' 40th.

Magnus Mills - The Restraint of Beasts. Very funny.

spike milligan..puckoon

top IRA comedy

Ok. In order.

Peter Kay - the only book I have ever read that made me want to hunt someone down and smack them in the face. On a matter of principle I would never watch his particular brand of shite. Anyone that can happily admit to casual theft, then get his (not insubstantial) arse in his hands when someone has the temerity to loot his dressing room deserves all they can get. Silly fat ****.

Frank Skinner - yep. Very funny. Good Albion lad 😉

Tom Sharpe - good shout

Not read Tim Moore but will look it up....

Love Danny Wallace/Dave Gorman/Tony Hawkes

But the winner has to be...the mighty

BILL BRYSON

I'm sure you've all read them, but if not - look out for 'Neither Here nor There' and 'Lost Continent'. The funniest, most heartwarming books I have ever read.

+1 for Rum Doodle.

And Spike Milligan - The Looney. Still cracks me up.

Roddy Doyle's Barrytown books - especially The Van, also awesomely funny. The bit about the cat and the chip shop is a classic.

Also the Thick of It Book - Malcolm Tucker's Missing Diary or whatever it's called. Read it in massive check-in queues in Geneva Airport on 3 Jan this year. Was about the only person in the entire airport who was enjoying themselves I reckon.

"Around Ireland with a fridge" by Tony Hawkes.

Also playing tennis with the Moldova football team and one hit wonderland

Tom Holt "Expecting someone taller" or "Flying Dutch"

Hawks and Bryson certainly fit the bill for me.

Penguins stopped play, by Harry Thompson made me laugh and cry. Wonderful.

Flashman are funny, 'tis true, but hardly belly laugh material.

This is hilariously funny;
[img] [/img]
As is Modern Manners, by the same author.

Danny King's 'Diaries' series is pretty funny, particularly the first (The Burglar Diaries) and the last (The Pornographer Diaries), probably because they're based on his own experiences.
Some of Charlie Brooker's collections of articles are worth a look, and I'd give Tim Moore a +0.5 (a good read but only a couple of laugh out loud bits).

I love books but it's hard to think of any that had me laughing out loud.

Hitchhikers guide definatly gets closest.

What's that steel rat series? They were quite funny.
The red dwarf books were pretty good and

But no, thinking about it, the best was 'The Da Vinci Code'. Absolutely laugh out loud funny. What a ridiculous book. If it wasn't meant to be serious it would be perfect comedy. Terribly written, silly idea, get a grip hilarious. And then they made a film about it that was even worse!

Quality stuff.

What's that steel rat series? They were quite funny.

Harry Harrison, Stainless Steel Rat. Qualitage.

I recently enjoyed "Why We Suck" by Denis Leary......if you hate celebrity/reality TV/people who blame everything that happens to themselves on everyone else/idiot parents/dumb people then it'll be right up your street......if not, you won't

Carl hiaasen books are great. Especially the ones with the ex mayor, Skink.

Christopher Brookmyre is good too but can go off on one with the detail.

There are a couple of books by an ex copper, set on a 70's sink estate in Manchester . One is called Horses Arse. They are an only slightly exaggerated version of life back then. Very funny indeed 🙂

Kill Your Friends. Like American Psycho but English and properly hilarious.

Now I've thought about it there are two although I can;t remember the titles. 😉

One was written by a french guy about a professional scapegoat.
The other was about a record producer.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Throwback-Tom-Sharpe/dp/0099435527#_

(sorry for advert but wanted to check title)

this was a laugh out loud for both me and a mate, some of same authors others at about same date - the ones set in South Africa were also good

I can't recall titles but, in the distant past, I seem to recall Willie Rushton writing some good stuff.

I also find Bill Bryson's sense of humour good. I dread to think how much research goes in to his more factual books (which also show humour) such as At Home.

"The Throwback" is the 2nd funniest Tom Sharpe IMO. Unfortunately I recognise some characteristics in that book that may apply to myself....

I'd rate them
1. Indecent Exposure
2. The Throwback
3. Riotous Assembly (sequel to Indecent)
4. then the rest.

Three Men in a Boat

French Revolutions

To hell in a handcart... Such a true reflection of the UK written into a hilarious story.

I read "Adolf Hitler: My part in his downfall" by Spike Milligan when I was about 13 and thought it was the funniest thing in the World.

By the end of page one I was unable to breath I was laughing so hard.

Milligan's War Memoirs for me too.

I stopped reading French Revolutions, I just didn't like the way he told the story and thought he was a bit of a knob. I might have to try it again.

A big +1 for PJ O'Rourke's Batchelors Home Companion from me. The first book of his I've read and still probably the funniest although he has some great pieces in Republican Party Reptile.

I like Pratchett, have been a fan for 20 years now - the only author to have mad me actually laugh out loud, although his later books don't quite have the edge that the earlier books did. I'd say books 3-15 from the discworld series are his better stuff

Can I plug my brother-in-law's book here, I genuinely did enjoy it, very amusing and very well written

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teachers-Great-Small-Andy-Seed/dp/0755362128

go on, buy it for your mum. She'll love it.

[i]How I Escaped My Certain Fate[/i] - Stewart Lee.

Bit old fashioned but -

Go to book shop, online or real - ask for PG Woodhouse section - select book at random - laugh til you cry.

Works every time.

Magnus Mills - The Restraint of Beasts. Very funny.

I love that book, but is it funny? I thought it was a bit depressing, maybe it was my mindset at the time.

My suggestion is What a Carve Up by Jonathan Coe. If I was writing the blurb for the back cover I'd say "A devastating and devastatingly funny critique of modern Britain and a perceptive comedy of manners - even more relavant now than when it was written in the 1980s."

The Thought Gang by Tibour Fischer is actually laugh out loud funny.

Thomas Pennman! Without a doubt the funniest book for me, got to have a perverse sense of humour though!

STW is great sometimes. Just bought a load of books recommended here both in paper and on the kindle, thanks chaps.

+n for Milligan, Bryson, Douglas Adams (The meaning of Liff is superb).

There's a cycling based sequel to Three Men in a Boat called Three Men on the Bummel (which is German for 'pointless journey'!). Well worth a read, still relevant.

Wodehouse is hilarious. The Golf stories are great, even if you hate the game.

Rogers profanisaurus is probably the funniest of the lot, though.

chakaping - it is a bit bleak, but that's why I found bits of it so funny I think, totally deadpan and absurd.

Orange Crush - Member

I can't recall titles but, in the distant past, I seem to recall Willie Rushton writing some good stuff.

Good call, I remember one book about decorating almost had me in hospital from laughing. It was years ago so might not be so funny now.

Found it!
Practical Decorating for Practically Everyone (essay and illustrations by Rushton) (Polycell, 1976, 1977?)

Tea & sympathy, can't recall author but he is/was a serving London ambulance service paramedic.

STW is great sometimes. Just bought a load of books recommended here both in paper and on the kindle, thanks chaps.

+1, just downloaded a couple of suggestions from the Kindle store on Amazon.

I found Mil Millington's stuff hilarious as well. A mate lent me a book when I was recovering from a fractured pelvis and I had to stop reading after a while cos I was laughing so much the pain was unbearable!

Runiair by Paul Kilduff is very good - story about the authors travels round Europe using Ryanair and other budget airlines, that's got some hysterically funny observations and phrases.

An old one;

Diary of a Nobody.

"The Throwback" is the 2nd funniest Tom Sharpe IMO. Unfortunately I recognise some characteristics in that book that may apply to myself....

I'd rate them
1. Indecent Exposure
2. The Throwback
3. Riotous Assembly (sequel to Indecent)

All brilliant 🙂

This thread has also inspired me to get some more books (despite only managing about two a year nowadays), think I'll investigate Douglas Adams' non-Hitchhikey work.

I realise with mild horror that I own hundreds of books, of which none are (or are intended to be) funny. 🙂

The Thought Gang by Tibour Fischer is actually laugh out loud funny

+1
I got a lot of funny looks a few years ago on holiday when I properly laughed out loud plenty of times whilst reading this beside the pool 😀

I can't believe we've got this far and no one's mentioned A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O'Toole!

It was good but not [i]hilarious[/i], I thought.

People recommending The Thought Gang: Do you have a working knowledge of philosphy? I liked it a lot but wondered if it would be funny to anyone who hadn't studied the subject.

PJ O'Rourkes early books I found laugh out loud funny. Considering I'm at the other end of the spectrum politics wise that was a fair achievement.

The Barrytown Trilogy by Roddy Doyle

Kitchen Confidential with chef Anthony Bourdain
Really well written, very real, and made me burst out laughing.

I found a lot of "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" by Bill Bryson to have a lot of laugh of loud parts. Even on the 3rd reading that are parts that made me laugh.

Yes Man.

Not the best book I've read, but definitely the funniest.

Just bought a load of books recommended here both in paper and on the kindle, thanks chaps.

What did you get, out of interest?

The first four brentford books, a spike milligan, the throwback which I'm sure I've read but happy to read again and the four men in a boat one.
I also saw that the latest Neal Stephenson's book is out so I got that too.