August 14th, 2009 / 9:27 pm
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Heehaw, the Book

last laugh PDVD_000

What’s the funniest book you ever read? May not necessarily be the book that made you laugh the most.

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76 Comments

  1. Ken Baumann

      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.

  2. Ken Baumann

      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.

  3. Matt Cozart

      my answer is so obvious it’s not even funny….

      *catch-22*

      runner-up: portnoy’s complaint

  4. Matt Cozart

      my answer is so obvious it’s not even funny….

      *catch-22*

      runner-up: portnoy’s complaint

  5. Matthew Simmons

      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.

  6. Matthew Simmons

      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.

  7. KevinS

      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.

  8. KevinS

      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.

  9. michael james

      Peoples history of america by howard zinn

  10. michael james

      Peoples history of america by howard zinn

  11. KevinS

      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.

  12. KevinS

      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.

  13. alan

      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

  14. alan

      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

  15. Shya

      There are passages in The Third Policeman that literally had me in tears of joyous laughter.

  16. Shya

      There are passages in The Third Policeman that literally had me in tears of joyous laughter.

  17. Ken Baumann

      Awesome.

  18. Ken Baumann

      Awesome.

  19. mark

      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

  20. mark

      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

  21. Blake Butler

      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

  22. Blake Butler

      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

  23. Blake Butler

      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.

  24. Blake Butler

      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.

  25. Sabra

      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.

  26. Sabra

      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.

  27. andrew

      mother courage and her children by brecht

  28. andrew

      mother courage and her children by brecht

  29. Derek

      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.

  30. Derek

      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.

  31. Dan Wickett

      Confederacy of Dunces probably had me laughing out loud in public more than any other book. McCarthy’s Suttree might be a close second.

  32. Dan Wickett

      Confederacy of Dunces probably had me laughing out loud in public more than any other book. McCarthy’s Suttree might be a close second.

  33. Drew

      Catch 22, I am Not Sidney Poitier and a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

  34. Drew

      Catch 22, I am Not Sidney Poitier and a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

  35. Blake Butler

      suttree, yes.

  36. Blake Butler

      suttree, yes.

  37. ryan

      Steve Aylett’s LINT.

  38. ryan

      Steve Aylett’s LINT.

  39. Mike

      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.

  40. Mike

      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.

  41. mark

      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.

  42. mark

      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.

  43. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      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

  44. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      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

  45. Brandon Hobson

      Infinite Jest
      Amazons by Cleo Birdwell (DeLillo)
      The Tetherballs of Bougainville by Leyner
      End Zone by DeLillo

  46. Brandon Hobson

      Infinite Jest
      Amazons by Cleo Birdwell (DeLillo)
      The Tetherballs of Bougainville by Leyner
      End Zone by DeLillo

  47. Janey Smith

      The Wild Boys, William S. Burroughs.

  48. Janey Smith

      The Wild Boys, William S. Burroughs.

  49. Lincoln

      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…

  50. Lincoln

      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…

  51. reynard seifert

      amateurs by donald barthelme, easily

  52. reynard seifert

      amateurs by donald barthelme, easily

  53. Mr. Wonderful

      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.

  54. Mr. Wonderful

      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.

  55. Sabra

      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.

  56. Sabra

      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.

  57. Dan Wickett

      Great call on Amazons – especially if you are a hockey fan, laugh out loud funny frequently.

  58. Dan Wickett

      Great call on Amazons – especially if you are a hockey fan, laugh out loud funny frequently.

  59. davidpeak

      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.

  60. davidpeak

      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.

  61. Drew

      Also hate Confederacy. I don’t get it.

  62. Drew

      Also hate Confederacy. I don’t get it.

  63. dave

      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.

  64. dave

      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.

  65. Jac Jemc

      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

  66. Jac Jemc

      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

  67. Matthew Simmons

      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.

  68. Matthew Simmons

      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.

  69. Matthew Simmons

      I forgot Pastoralia. Pastoralia is really funny.

  70. Matthew Simmons

      I forgot Pastoralia. Pastoralia is really funny.

  71. Matthew Simmons

      So, yeah. What Dave said.

  72. Matthew Simmons

      So, yeah. What Dave said.

  73. jensen

      that jincy willet book is so funny. her novel is pretty great too. winner of the national book award.

  74. jensen

      that jincy willet book is so funny. her novel is pretty great too. winner of the national book award.

  75. Schulyer Prinz

      Nazi Literature in the Americas is a fucking riot.

  76. Schulyer Prinz

      Nazi Literature in the Americas is a fucking riot.