August 14th, 2009 / 9:27 pm
Random
Blake Butler
Random
Heehaw, the Book
What’s the funniest book you ever read? May not necessarily be the book that made you laugh the most.
Tags: funniest book
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Meta
A Confederacy of Dunces made me lol a lot, but I was also 12 when I read that; betting you’ve already eaten.
Chump Change by David Eddie.
2nd half of Ham on Rye.
Most recent and probably funniest of all time for me, and I think it’s comically brilliant, and brilliant in all other ways too, is Gascoyne by SC.
A Confederacy of Dunces made me lol a lot, but I was also 12 when I read that; betting you’ve already eaten.
Chump Change by David Eddie.
2nd half of Ham on Rye.
Most recent and probably funniest of all time for me, and I think it’s comically brilliant, and brilliant in all other ways too, is Gascoyne by SC.
my answer is so obvious it’s not even funny….
*catch-22*
runner-up: portnoy’s complaint
my answer is so obvious it’s not even funny….
*catch-22*
runner-up: portnoy’s complaint
At Swim-Two-Birds is pretty funny and Letters to Wendy’s is pretty funny and Breakfast of Champions is pretty funny and the Littlest Hitler is pretty funny and I totally love those books.
Funniest book I’ve ever read, though, is The Lecturer’s Tale by James Hynes.
At Swim-Two-Birds is pretty funny and Letters to Wendy’s is pretty funny and Breakfast of Champions is pretty funny and the Littlest Hitler is pretty funny and I totally love those books.
Funniest book I’ve ever read, though, is The Lecturer’s Tale by James Hynes.
The Tetherballs of Bougainville by Mark Leyner.
I think it was so amazing and almost exhausting in its humor that Leyner hasn’t published another book of fiction since.
The Tetherballs of Bougainville by Mark Leyner.
I think it was so amazing and almost exhausting in its humor that Leyner hasn’t published another book of fiction since.
Peoples history of america by howard zinn
Peoples history of america by howard zinn
Breakfast of Champions and Letters to Wendy’s. Yes, of course. Also, Home Land and some Sedaris stuff. And here’s a sleeper pick: A Portrait of Yo Mama as a Young Man. It’s actually kept in the “humor” section but it’s one of the weirdest oddities I’ve ever read. Kind of mind-bending in its unexpected brilliance.
Breakfast of Champions and Letters to Wendy’s. Yes, of course. Also, Home Land and some Sedaris stuff. And here’s a sleeper pick: A Portrait of Yo Mama as a Young Man. It’s actually kept in the “humor” section but it’s one of the weirdest oddities I’ve ever read. Kind of mind-bending in its unexpected brilliance.
Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh
The Diaries of Auberon Waugh
Wake Up, Sir! by Jonathan Ames
Love Creeps by Amanda Filipacchi
Masters of Atlantis by Charles Portis
Guide by Dennis Cooper
Murphy by Samuel Beckett
The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien
Don Juan by Byron
anything by Emil Cioran
Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh
The Diaries of Auberon Waugh
Wake Up, Sir! by Jonathan Ames
Love Creeps by Amanda Filipacchi
Masters of Atlantis by Charles Portis
Guide by Dennis Cooper
Murphy by Samuel Beckett
The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien
Don Juan by Byron
anything by Emil Cioran
There are passages in The Third Policeman that literally had me in tears of joyous laughter.
There are passages in The Third Policeman that literally had me in tears of joyous laughter.
Awesome.
Awesome.
finnegan’s wake.
naw, just playin’. really, geez, i really love and value funny books, but thom jones, all three of his, spring to mind. bernhard’s a no-brainer, too — maybe extinction?
also, this blog post practically makes me cry every time i read it (otherwise have no opinion about neal pollack, but damn. and he totally had frey’s number way before the whole oprah thing).
http://www.nealpollack.com/cgi-bin/blog/do.cgi/200304290132/permalink
and here’s the clusterfuck frey profile where pollack got most of his material, also just so so amazing:
http://www.observer.com/node/38243
finnegan’s wake.
naw, just playin’. really, geez, i really love and value funny books, but thom jones, all three of his, spring to mind. bernhard’s a no-brainer, too — maybe extinction?
also, this blog post practically makes me cry every time i read it (otherwise have no opinion about neal pollack, but damn. and he totally had frey’s number way before the whole oprah thing).
http://www.nealpollack.com/cgi-bin/blog/do.cgi/200304290132/permalink
and here’s the clusterfuck frey profile where pollack got most of his material, also just so so amazing:
http://www.observer.com/node/38243
pollack on frey is one of my favorite online reading moments ever, i think about it at least once a year
vincent gallo’s ebay post when he was selling his film shit with all the shit talking in it was pretty transcendental also
pollack on frey is one of my favorite online reading moments ever, i think about it at least once a year
vincent gallo’s ebay post when he was selling his film shit with all the shit talking in it was pretty transcendental also
but the book that made me laugh and experience happiness in the amazement of a brain working way beyond mine, in the way of someone who had written something intended for me to read in a way of delight, is far and away Infinite Jest. nothing compares.
but the book that made me laugh and experience happiness in the amazement of a brain working way beyond mine, in the way of someone who had written something intended for me to read in a way of delight, is far and away Infinite Jest. nothing compares.
Portnoy.s Complaint made me laugh out loud on the train a few times. So did “the Alcoholic” by Jonathan Ames. “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by Sedaris was a good one. Vonnegut.
Portnoy.s Complaint made me laugh out loud on the train a few times. So did “the Alcoholic” by Jonathan Ames. “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by Sedaris was a good one. Vonnegut.
mother courage and her children by brecht
mother courage and her children by brecht
I’m with Baumann, Confederacy of Dunces sticks out in my mind, i remember embarrassing myself in public reading that book i was laughing so loud, tears in my eyes probably. And Mark Leyner is always good for a laugh. And yes, Sedaris, but maybe he doesnt count because he’s trying to be funny.
I’m with Baumann, Confederacy of Dunces sticks out in my mind, i remember embarrassing myself in public reading that book i was laughing so loud, tears in my eyes probably. And Mark Leyner is always good for a laugh. And yes, Sedaris, but maybe he doesnt count because he’s trying to be funny.
Confederacy of Dunces probably had me laughing out loud in public more than any other book. McCarthy’s Suttree might be a close second.
Confederacy of Dunces probably had me laughing out loud in public more than any other book. McCarthy’s Suttree might be a close second.
Catch 22, I am Not Sidney Poitier and a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
Catch 22, I am Not Sidney Poitier and a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
suttree, yes.
suttree, yes.
Steve Aylett’s LINT.
Steve Aylett’s LINT.
Second and third votes for Confederacy of Dunces, Portnoy’s Complaint (reading this as a teenager was both enlightening and hilarious) and The Third Policeman. The other day I read The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick and felt like there’s another comic mastermind on the scene.
Second and third votes for Confederacy of Dunces, Portnoy’s Complaint (reading this as a teenager was both enlightening and hilarious) and The Third Policeman. The other day I read The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick and felt like there’s another comic mastermind on the scene.
For some reason I have a mental block on the funny in Infinite Jest (except the line “Something smelled delicious!” which makes me titter grotesquely every time I think of it, including right now). The title essay of Supposedly Fun Thing, and selections from Brief Interviews, would be on my “funny” shortlist.
Know what you mean about the happy, amazed, brain-changing funny. Didion and Kafka have given me that more consistently than any other writers, I think.
I need to try Confederacy of Dunces again. I never get more than a few pages in, I just do not cotton to the style. Gaddis talks at length about Confederacy (and Bernhard) in his final novel, which is funny, but not as funny as JR or Frolic, which maybe also belong in that brain-changing delight category.
For some reason I have a mental block on the funny in Infinite Jest (except the line “Something smelled delicious!” which makes me titter grotesquely every time I think of it, including right now). The title essay of Supposedly Fun Thing, and selections from Brief Interviews, would be on my “funny” shortlist.
Know what you mean about the happy, amazed, brain-changing funny. Didion and Kafka have given me that more consistently than any other writers, I think.
I need to try Confederacy of Dunces again. I never get more than a few pages in, I just do not cotton to the style. Gaddis talks at length about Confederacy (and Bernhard) in his final novel, which is funny, but not as funny as JR or Frolic, which maybe also belong in that brain-changing delight category.
The Enderby Books
Lolita
Confederacy of Dunces
Ocean of Lard
Infinite Jest
Ham on Rye
Our Beloved 26th
Those are the ones that made me laugh the most
The Enderby Books
Lolita
Confederacy of Dunces
Ocean of Lard
Infinite Jest
Ham on Rye
Our Beloved 26th
Those are the ones that made me laugh the most
Infinite Jest
Amazons by Cleo Birdwell (DeLillo)
The Tetherballs of Bougainville by Leyner
End Zone by DeLillo
Infinite Jest
Amazons by Cleo Birdwell (DeLillo)
The Tetherballs of Bougainville by Leyner
End Zone by DeLillo
The Wild Boys, William S. Burroughs.
The Wild Boys, William S. Burroughs.
When I was younger, Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy for sure. Confederacy of Dunces as well, probably some Vonnegut (Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, etc.)
More recent reading:
Infinite Jest in parts and a lot of Wallace’s essays
Swann’s Way has some truly hilarious parts, although I wouldn’t say it is consistently funny at all.
Home Land – Lipsyte
Pale Fire – Nabokov
Donald Barthelme’s stories
Jack Handey’s books, especially what i’d say to the martians
I like Alan’s call of Cioran. I’d second that.
hmm…
When I was younger, Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy for sure. Confederacy of Dunces as well, probably some Vonnegut (Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, etc.)
More recent reading:
Infinite Jest in parts and a lot of Wallace’s essays
Swann’s Way has some truly hilarious parts, although I wouldn’t say it is consistently funny at all.
Home Land – Lipsyte
Pale Fire – Nabokov
Donald Barthelme’s stories
Jack Handey’s books, especially what i’d say to the martians
I like Alan’s call of Cioran. I’d second that.
hmm…
amateurs by donald barthelme, easily
amateurs by donald barthelme, easily
Is Confederacy of Dunces something you have to read at a certain (young) age to read? Now that I think of it, I read it when I was fairly young and I hated it: really lame, broad humor (including fart jokes) that maybe seems witty or sophisticated because of the elevated language, not too mention some extremely questionable characterization of black characters.
Is Confederacy of Dunces something you have to read at a certain (young) age to read? Now that I think of it, I read it when I was fairly young and I hated it: really lame, broad humor (including fart jokes) that maybe seems witty or sophisticated because of the elevated language, not too mention some extremely questionable characterization of black characters.
Confederacy of Dunces annoyed me. Ignatious was a fat hot dog sucking asshole. It was later I digested the fact that I was “moved” and decided I liked the story for being original and compelling, but I don’t recall laughing as much as just wanting to beat people up while reading it.
Confederacy of Dunces annoyed me. Ignatious was a fat hot dog sucking asshole. It was later I digested the fact that I was “moved” and decided I liked the story for being original and compelling, but I don’t recall laughing as much as just wanting to beat people up while reading it.
Great call on Amazons – especially if you are a hockey fan, laugh out loud funny frequently.
Great call on Amazons – especially if you are a hockey fan, laugh out loud funny frequently.
Anybody here ever read It Happened in Boston? Or any Russel H. Greenan in general? He’s my pick for funniest.
And I know it’s not a book but DFW’s essay on Lynch from “A Supoosedly…” Made me laugh almost every page–especially the part about Robert Loggia standing around with his stand-in. Too good.
Anybody here ever read It Happened in Boston? Or any Russel H. Greenan in general? He’s my pick for funniest.
And I know it’s not a book but DFW’s essay on Lynch from “A Supoosedly…” Made me laugh almost every page–especially the part about Robert Loggia standing around with his stand-in. Too good.
Also hate Confederacy. I don’t get it.
Also hate Confederacy. I don’t get it.
Dog of the South, by Charles Portis
Your Body is Changing, or The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure, by Jack Pendarvis
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline. Pastoralia.
Dog of the South, by Charles Portis
Your Body is Changing, or The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure, by Jack Pendarvis
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline. Pastoralia.
I can totally jump on the Confederacy, Saunders and DFW essay trains.
Also:
Jincy Willett: Jenny & the Jaws of Life
Julie Hecht: Do the Windows Open?
Nabokov: Pale Fire
Stein: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
I can totally jump on the Confederacy, Saunders and DFW essay trains.
Also:
Jincy Willett: Jenny & the Jaws of Life
Julie Hecht: Do the Windows Open?
Nabokov: Pale Fire
Stein: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
The Great American Novel by Roth is really funny if you like baseball. Or just if you like America.
Glad some Charles Portis was mentioned. I think True Grit is pretty funny, too.
The Great American Novel by Roth is really funny if you like baseball. Or just if you like America.
Glad some Charles Portis was mentioned. I think True Grit is pretty funny, too.
I forgot Pastoralia. Pastoralia is really funny.
I forgot Pastoralia. Pastoralia is really funny.
So, yeah. What Dave said.
So, yeah. What Dave said.
that jincy willet book is so funny. her novel is pretty great too. winner of the national book award.
that jincy willet book is so funny. her novel is pretty great too. winner of the national book award.
Nazi Literature in the Americas is a fucking riot.
Nazi Literature in the Americas is a fucking riot.