Looking for a funny book... - by the_grip
the_grip on 8/7/2012 at 18:32
Thanks everyone for the recommendations!
I'd love to try the Flashman Papers, but they don't seem to have Kindle/eBooks available. American Psycho has been on my list for a while - I'll have a look.
Angel Dust on 8/7/2012 at 19:54
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Oh, I'll second that. It really is very funny, some of it laugh out loud funny. It's because it's just so preposterous. Come to think of it David Cronenberg's new film - Cosmopolis - has a similar feel.
That's because it's based on a book by Don Delillo - a big influence on Bret Easton Ellis. But, yeah,
American Psycho is frequently very funny, Easton Ellis has a great ear for dialogue (my favourite part is the four-way phone call were they are trying to organize where to eat). I still wouldn't recommend it for anyone looking for a 'funny book' though because it's also horrific and deliberately tedious in places.
The last book I read that made me laugh out loud was
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. It was excellent and reminded me of the Enfield Tennis Academy stuff from
Infinite Jest in both setting, characters and tone (that mixture of funny and sad) minus the linguistic gymnastics.
Yakoob on 8/7/2012 at 20:20
THREAD BOOKMARKED.Second Catch-22, my favorite book. I want to read Heller's other novels too, are they just as good or should I lower my expectations?
I also almost finished T.H. White's
Unce and Future King which is kind of a schizophrenic piece awkwardly and abruptly switching between kiddie-fantasy story, slaptstic comedy, philosophical analysis of medieval culture and downright morbid stuff
Beginning 200 pages of PG-13 faries, Robin Hoods and silly knights with silly jousting, followed by incest and boiling a living cat in the same 10-page chapter. Made me go all "whoa" While not really lough-out-loud material, if you like king arthur / medieval shtick and "silly slapstic" you may find it quite amusing.
Quote Posted by LarryG
Any of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett.
.
I was meaning to check these out, never read anything by Pratchett - which of his books would be a good starting point? Do they go in chronological order or should I just pick one randomly?
Quote:
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman
A great book indeed, though, one of the few rare cases where I would say the movie is actually better than the book.
SubJeff on 8/7/2012 at 20:28
I wouldn't bother with Pratchet if I were you. They are funny when you're a teenager but if you've become any more sophisticated I feel they are best left to the realm of nostalgia. I tried reading one about 4 years ago and it was just embarrassing.
Sulphur on 8/7/2012 at 21:11
Sharp assessment. I can partly relate to that too. I figure when I'm 104 and the years behind me have dulled all my edges into rounded corners, I'd probably go 'Guh!' at the inurbane crassness of a Charlie Chaplin short or Monty Python movie floating on my holovid system, and put out a cigarette end on my cat in an expression of abject bourgeois contempt.
the_grip on 8/7/2012 at 21:45
True, there are some... I was trying to start at the beginning:
Flashman: A Novel. Can one jump in the middle and not miss anything?
EDIT: interesting, clicking that link says that the title is not available on the Kindle in the US
SubJeff on 8/7/2012 at 22:06
You can jump in anywhere but it's best not to.
The first one is just called Flashman and it's about the Anglo-Afghan war in 1839 onwards. Fabulous.
The whole idea of it - taking a fictional character from another novel (Tom Browns Schooldays) and expanding on him through a series of "non-fictional" memoirs is rather amusing in and of itself. The character and his escapades are highly amusing, and the historical events are actually very accurate.
Beware - the books are not published in chronological order with regards to the events. Flashman is first, Royal Flash second; but this is the published order. Flashmans Lady, published after Royal Flash, takes place between the first two published books.
Read them in published order as they refer to each other in a way that only makes proper sense this way. If you're being a purist anyway.
Beware 2 - Flashman is a terrible racist and misogynist. It's not malicious but rather a sign of the times, iyswim, and almost a by the by. It isn't hatred, more... ignorance. Sometimes it's hilarious because of how pompous and outrageous it is.
LarryG on 9/7/2012 at 01:55
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
I wouldn't bother with Pratchet if I were you. They are funny when you're a teenager but if you've become any more sophisticated I feel they are best left to the realm of nostalgia. I tried reading one about 4 years ago and it was just embarrassing.
A matter of opinion. In mine, they remain funny but for different reasons.
As to which to start with, again, it's a matter of opinion and availability. There are several threaded series all taking place on Discworld: Rincewind & the Unseen University, The City Guard, and finally The Witches. All the novels (if I remember correctly) belong to at least one of those series, and some belong to more. (Maybe Small Gods is on its own?) Just go to Amazon or your favorite non-virtual bookstore and browse.
