Can someone recommend a funny book....

[the boy]

As above.

[HowieBass]

I enjoyed 'Cider With Roadies' by Stuart Maconie http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cider-With-Roadies-Stuart-Maconie/dp/0091897459

[Roland Rock]

Are we talking music themed, as we're in General Discussion?

[the boy]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1410383063' post='2548936']
Are we talking music themed, as we're in General Discussion?
[/quote]
Preferably not music themed. I've read enough stories and tales about crazy bands and their antics etc etc... So I'm basically looking for a good laugh.

[geoffbyrne]

'Unreliable Memoires' by Clive James. Don't read it in public - people will wonder why you are laughing.

G.

[Roland Rock]

In which case....

Puckoon - Spike Milligan
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Without Feathers - Woody Allen
Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

[gelfin]

Early Terry Pratchet stuff. The colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic etc.

[the boy]

Wow some good recommendations there. I'll post info on my choice and how I got on. I'm not sure about Terry P though, isn't it all a bit ghouls and goblins. Please let me know if I'm wrong as I'm always open to new ideas.

[peteb]

'The Throwback' by Tom Sharpe immediately springs to mind...

[gelfin]

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1410383883' post='2548952']
Wow some good recommendations there. I'll post info on my choice and how I got on. I'm not sure about Terry P though, isn't it all a bit ghouls and goblins. Please let me know if I'm wrong as I'm always open to new ideas.
[/quote]

Not about Ghouls etc. About a disfunctional wizzard for the first two books. A very humorous take on life in general. Got to be worth a try. First two are fairly short books.

[the boy]

[quote name='gelfin' timestamp='1410384162' post='2548961']


Not about Ghouls etc. About a disfunctional wizzard for the first two books. A very humorous take on life in general. Got to be worth a try. First two are fairly short books.
[/quote]
Ok... The colour of magic it is then. Bought downloaded and soon to be consumed. Thank you.

[PlungerModerno]

[quote name='gelfin' timestamp='1410383419' post='2548945']
Early Terry Pratchet stuff. The colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic etc.
[/quote]

+1

Mort is a great one, as is any of the night watch series. Actually I might read Mort again (happen to have a paperback to hand!).

[gelfin]

Of the later books "Small Gods" is my favourite. Off I go to find it and read it again.......

[Paultrader]

Lucky Jim gets my vote every time.

[Dad3353]

For thoughtful laughter and 'humour', I'd suggest '[i]My Life and Hard Times', [/i]by James Thurber (You could look it up... [size=4] )[/size][size=4]. Many other titles of his; that's a starting point.[/size]

[alyctes]

'My Family And Other Animals', Gerald Durrell. Not a comedy, but fun to read and funny as well.

Second vote for Mr Pratchett's 'Small Gods'.

Stella Gibbons, 'Cold Comfort Farm' - a classic, in its class-riddled way.

Damon Runyon makes me smile.

Also, see if you can find a Best Of Beachcomber.

I think I'm showing my age here - most of these are pre-1940... (okay, that does mean I'd be showing someone else's age )

[Skol303]

Charlie Brooker's 'Dawn of the Dumb' (non-fictional ranting) has had me laughing out loud on public transport, but it's probably not everyone's cup of tea.

[keeponehandloose]

A Bright Moon For Fools by Jasper Gibson.
Harry Christmas , the main character is a gem.

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='gelfin' timestamp='1410385245' post='2548978']
Of the later books "Small Gods" is my favourite. Off I go to find it and read it again.......
[/quote]

It is good, as is anything with Death (or Mort).

In the same vein, Good Omens by Terry P and Neil Gaiman

[bertbass]

Magic kingdom for sale / sold! Terry Brooks. First in a series, brilliant!

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1410383357' post='2548943']
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller[/quote]

Catch-22 is darkly hilarious and just generally brilliant. In a similar vein you've got your Kurt Vonneguts - Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five are great books.

[Beer of the Bass]

In a non-fiction vein, I like Tim Bradford's The Groundwater Diaries. It's a sort of travelogue following the lost rivers of London which keeps digressing into ramblings about high-strength lager and the Danish punk scene.
For fiction, I'd recommend Magnus Mills' The Restraint of Beasts. It's an extremely dry, deadpan sort of humour in a book which is written in a deceptively simple manner.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Beer of the Bass

[moonbass]

The Liar - Stephen Fry
Gridlock - Ben Elton
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Dave Gormans Googlewhack Adventure

[BassTractor]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1410385767' post='2548994']
James Thurber
[/quote]

Ah! Great call!

Also, IMS, Kinky Friedman's "Greenwich Killing Time" as well as his "A Case Of Lone Star" were funny.

If translated to English:
Knut Pettersen's "The Patients" (aka "The Pig Farm") had me in stitches.

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1410386284' post='2549003']
'My Family And Other Animals', Gerald Durrell. Not a comedy, but fun to read and funny as well
[/quote]

I read that for the first time this year and love it - an utterly charming book