Ten Favorite Funny Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every Tuesday, you pick ten books on that week’s topic. And this week, we spotlight our ten favorite funny books. In no order of priority, here they are!

{1} The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

In a Victorian world where everyone’s brimming with insincerity and money-mindedness, Oscar Wilde talks about the importance of being earnest. No easy thing, when even wanting to be called ‘Earnest’ is going to make our heroes sweat with desperation. This was written as a play, but I personally felt reading the book was far funnier than watching it acted out in the 2002 movie.

{2} Tintin in Tibet by Herge

There are those who will disagree, saying The Castafiore Emerald and The Calculus Affair are so much funnier. There are those who will disagree because they think Herge’s depictions could be discriminatory. But if there’s one thing that makes Tintin in Tibet so hilarious, it is the number of epithets that Captain Haddocks comes up with in this one.

{3} Quick Service by P.G. Wodehouse

No, not Blandings Castle and no, not Jeeves (sometimes, I find Freddie too silly and Jeeves too haughty). But Quick Service hits all the right notes. As usual, Wodehouse does wonders with his bag of imposters and henpecked husbands all locked up in a country house. It all starts with a beef-manufacturing tycoon wanting to steal a portrait — which several other people also want. Mayhem ensues, and much madcap laughter. Sadly, this particular book has not gone through the makeover that the other Wodehouse books have, so I have to put up a really old book cover.

{4} The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

Put Wodehouse in the Regency Era, and what do you get? You get Georgette Heyer. Heyer excels at putting our heroines in priceless situations of confused identities, crazy adventures, absolutely laughtastic relatives and a sparkling comedy of manners. In Talisman Ring, a ring gets stolen, a naive girl runs away, a dangerous smuggler escapes, an architect makes bad drawings, the policemen get confounded, and Tristram refuses to ride in haste. This is the closest I can get to describing the plot. It is making me laugh even as I write it.

{5} The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf by Gerald Morris

The odd impish Roger from The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf has a dry sort of wit and knowing-ness that always has the last word. His humor is sadly Not Appreciated by his audience, let me tell you. But for the reader, it is all sorts of fun. In fact, all of Morris’s The Squire’s Tales series are excellent comic takes on the Arthurian Knights.

{6} Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema by Lindy West 

I reviewed this here recently. Quoting from the review: “It’s a hilarious relook at old blockbuster movies, with tons of punchlines thrown in. Nobody is spared and every single movie trope and trick is held to the microscope for a close and hysterically funny analysis. Trust me, this book makes you laugh like crazy. Pick it up on one of those downer days, and watch your gloom evaporate.”

{7} William the Fourth by Richmal Crompton

Not to be confused by the old King William! The Just William series by Crompton deals with the exploits of young rascal William. The book blurb for the fourth book in the series says it best: “There is only one William. The loveable imp and his band of Outlaws have been harassing his unfortunate family and delighting hundreds of thousands of readers for years.” Truer words were never spoken, haha. I recently found out there’s also a TV series on this, must really watch that one!

{8} Social Climber’s Bible: A Book of Manners, Practical Tips, and Spiritual Advice for the Upwardly Mobile by Dirk Wittenborn & Jazz Johnson

This is a social satire masquerading as a parody self-help book. Dale Carnegie wrote How To Make Friends and Influence People, and Wittenborn gives it a dark, manic touch as “How to Lie and Cheat Your Way into the Upper Classes“. There really is no other explanation for the outlandish suggestions in the book, for hobnobbing at auctions and cocktail parties. All of this in a deadpan comical way. The oddest part is that it has a grain of truth. People do say these kinds of ludicrous things and behave in attention-seeking ways and lie outrageously to win over others.

{9} Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

Whoever knew Steinbeck wrote something so chortle-worthy? This is Steinbeck’s take on Camelot, as Danny and his band have all kinds of misadventurous fun in Tortilla Flat (a paisano district that sits upon a hillside above Monterey). The characters want to do good from time to time, but wine and women often get in the way. It’s very different from Steinbeck’s usual grim work, and while there’s always underlying sorrow, there’s also much mirth and poetry in this one.

{10} To say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

This book gets its title from that old comic classic, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome. Willis has penned a hilarious book about Ned Henry’s unfortunate time travel trip to Victorian England. Poor Ned has been hastily recruited to fix some time travel problems related to a Victorian era cat, but hasn’t been given proper instructions how to fix it. He really has to bumble his way through things, and that’s what makes the book so much fun. To say nothing of the dog in the book.

What do you think? Have you read these funny books before? Which ones would you recommend?