This week's Booking Through Thursday asks, "What is the funniest book you've read recently?" While I haven't been reading much at all recently, this is a great way to finish telling you about my 15 sticky books.
I'm one of those people who adores romantic comedy movies. I've seen quite a few and have a high tolerance for the bad ones (unless they star Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, in which case, I run the other way). I also like romantic comedy books. It's sometimes hard to find romance and humor in the same book, so I find it to be a treat when I do.
I'd mentioned previously my fondest for Elizabeth Peters. Many prefer her Amelia books, but give me the ones featuring Jacqueline Kirby any day. I also mentioned that Sharyn McCrumb's Bimbos of the Death Sun is delightful.
Therefore, when I stumbled across Jennifer Crusie's Crazy for You several years ago, I felt like I'd hit the jackpot. A new-to-me writer who's novels made me laugh -Yea! And from Crusie, I somehow found Rachel Gibson, another goldmine of funny books.
Shortly before I found Crusie, though, I'd also rediscovered a fondness of mine - travel memoirs. I think I've said before that I don't read much non-fiction, at least, not unless I have to. Reading on my own time is for pleasure and escape. Most of the time, that means fiction, but travel memoirs also fit the bill. The first such book I read in my new "era" was Under the Tuscan Sun. It is also a funny book, but I appreciated it for taking me to Italy. Also, we were in the starting phases of renovating our 100 year old rowhouse, and her descriptions of working with contractors and trying to accomplish repairs resonated deeply with me.
That leaves me with the last book from my list of 15 - the exact opposite of funny. I read 1,000 Acres my first year in graduate school. A close friend of mine recommended it. It was completely depressing and awful. Well-written, but awful. It's a book that I truly wish that I could forget that I read, but I'm afraid will stick with me. I've since learned that my friend prefers novels that deal with issues and social ills and have stopped taking recommendations from her. If her book club has read it, I tend to steer clear of it.
I can't leave you on that depressing note, so I'll mention one of my favorite sad-funny children's books. While dealing with a serious time in our history and some awful events, the family dynamics in this book will have your sides in stitches. I highly recommend The Watsons Go to Birminham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis.
3 comments:
The funniest book I ever read was White Noise (DeLillo). I was on a cruise with my sister and I was laughing while she was trying to take a nap. Then when she read it in college, she called to tell me she finally understood. Straight Man (Russo) is a close second. Funny is hard to do in books, IMO.
I despise Meg Ryan and think Tom Hanks is overrated. I refuse to watch any movie she's in.
My DH is particularly fond of Bill Bryson's books - he writes quite a few travel memoirs. If you haven't read him, you might enjoy him.
As for funny, Laurie Notaro made me snort out loud. Several times. So did David Sedaris.
Definitely not high-brow literature, but some of the funniest books I've read are Tamar Myers series about the Pennsylvania Dutch. I also like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series because of Grandma Mazar who is just hysterical.
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