# seriously funny



## Scott Pixello (May 4, 2013)

As someone who struggles daily with trying to make readers laugh, what in your opinion makes a really funny book? Do you have a favourite comic character, scene, line that stands the test of time and still makes you laugh? And if so, how/why? Of course, all comedy is subjective but it continues to have low critical status (in literature & film) and yet it's one of the hardest genres to get right.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Well, I'm NOT 'someone who struggles daily with trying to make readers laugh', but I do have an opinion on what's funny.

I think _Big Bang Theory_ is a very funny show. I thought _M*A*S*H_ was also frequently funny. Never much cared for _I Love Lucy_ or that Archie Bunker show. _Three Stooges_ is just Stupid. _Monty Python_ can be cleverly amusing -- also frequently silly.

Some shows you have to be in the mood for: _Red Dwarf_ comes to mind.

_The Simpsons_ is funny but also has some 'heart'. The rest of the Fox Sunday animated shows are mostly just crude and get more so each week it seems.

I do NOT like physical comedy . . .that which relies on someone potentially getting hurt . . . .and I really despise the kind of comedy that's based on laughing at someone because they're not IN on the joke.

For example, I generally like Ellen Degeneres, but don't like her segments where she sends staff members or others out and tells them to act idiotic to try to get people's reactions. Of course, none of those people end up on camera without having signed a release, but still.

Similarly, Stewart and Colbert can both also be funny, but they're usually at their best when just observing how things are and pointing out glaring inconsistencies. I do NOT like when they go (or send correspondents) to 'interview' people who, it is often pretty clear, are not at all in on the joke. Feels like bullying.

In both cases, I record these shows and fast forward through those bits.

I do like adventure movies and tv shows to have an 'element' of comedy. . . . . funny comments that are appropriate and in character. _NCIS_ has a lot of that and it generally works very well. _Castle_ likewise. OTOH, while I generally enjoy _CSI_, most of the humorous comments don't really work for me.

I don't get _The Office_ at all -- tried to watch it several times and never found it the slightest bit amusing. 

I don't tend to like my comedy in book form, however. I've picked up books by comic writers -- Dave Barry, Ellen DeGeneres. They're o.k. But really, not that great. So I'm almost never going to buy a book that's mainly billed as 'laugh out loud' funny or anything like that. I don't mind humor in a book -- just want it to be only one aspect of the story, and probably not a big one at that.


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## Scott Pixello (May 4, 2013)

Thanks for your thoughts oh wise Moderator.
You highlight another fun aspect of the difficulty for writers in that comedy almost instantly, for most people, means film and much more commonly, TV. Nothing wrong with that but it's like TV is the default setting for all things funny. It is (or at least feels like to me) the main, and sometimes only, source of shared cultural experience with our fellow human beings these days (apart from visual gags on YouTube).


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## Shaun4 (Jun 29, 2012)

It's very difficult for prose to make me laugh. When it does happen it tends to be because of a good line of dialogue. Oddly enough, GRRM's Ice & Fire books have made me laugh a lot because of so many well-defined people taking little verbal jabs at each other.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

For me, the best comedy books are those that use their comedy to support their themes -- which means they need to actually have themes -- not just comedy for comedy's sake. Don't get me wrong, I can quite enjoy a humorous book just for the fun of it, but it probably won't rise into any of my "best" lists.

Usually that means at least some of the humor is in the form of satire, irony, "comedy of manners", absurdity, and/or parody. When Terry Pratchett is hitting on all 8 cylinders, he gives you some of all those with additional condiments of slapstick and word-play. I guess one of the reasons I enjoy so many of his books is because I like that smorgasbord of comedy types.*

If I were to teach a class on writing humorous novels (which I'm not), I might pick as the 3 books to study:

  

I just ordered that last one, as this is the first I've noticed that it's now available on Kindle. 
__________________
* Just to extend the food metaphor a bit**
** Some of Sir Terry's best comedy is in his footnotes -- sort of a novelist's version of a dramatic "aside"


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## FMH (May 18, 2013)

I was a stand up comedienne for 5 years in LA and we wrote all of our own stuff (until we are famous, and even then). I studied the best. Black and white tv perf of Woody Allen and Richard Pryor to the modern day of Eddie Izzard my current favorite. There are - and this works in books as well as tv shows, movies, on-stage perf. All of it. People laugh 1) at the absurd 2)when they feel superior 3) when they relate (recognition laughter)

They say if you make your partner laugh, you have the ability to stay together -because you can surprise one another. That's the key to real gut wrenching comedy writing. When the audience does not see it coming. But hey. I could be wrong. I'm a woman.  (See?)


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

I HATE pranks. I sometimes enjoy slapstick in TV/movies but only when it's completely unexpected (such as in the West Wing when CJ fell into a pool) and I don't think it comes across well in books. In books, I enjoy witty dialogue, dark humor, observational humor, and comical situations. I don't mind offensive humor but of course you run the risk of crossing lines. Self depreciating humor can be good too.

Some hilarious quotes from Janet Evanovich: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2384.Janet_Evanovich

Also some funny ones from Bernard Cornwell's Agincourt: http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3312295

My favorite comedian is Michael McIntyre: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=michael+mcintyre&oq=michael+mc&gs_l=youtube.3.2.35i39l2j0l4j0i3j0l3.62214.63417.0.66273.10.10.0.0.0.0.95.560.10.10.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.QV87geRQS7A



Shaun4 said:


> It's very difficult for prose to make me laugh. When it does happen it tends to be because of a good line of dialogue. Oddly enough, GRRM's Ice & Fire books have made me laugh a lot because of so many well-defined people taking little verbal jabs at each other.


Agreed! I loved Jamie, Tyrion and Bronn for this reason. I was going to post a link to ASOIAF quotes but the funny ones are overrun with philosophical ones.

Here's some good ones:



> "You are your mother's trueborn son of Lannister."
> "Am I?" the dwarf replied, sardonic. "Do tell my lord father. My mother died birthing me, and he's never been sure."
> "I don't even know who my mother was," Jon said.
> "Some woman, no doubt. Most of them are."





> "Her name is Brienne," Jaime said. "Brienne, the maid of Tarth. You are still maiden, I hope?"
> Her broad homely face turned red. "Yes."
> "Oh, good," Jaime said. "I only rescue maidens."





> "Jaime," Brienne whispered, so faintly he thought he was dreaming it. "Jaime, what are you doing?"
> "Dying," he whispered back.
> "No," she said, "no, you must live."
> He wanted to laugh. "Stop telling me what to do, wench. I'll die if it pleases me."





> "Woman?" She chuckled. "Is that meant to insult me? I would return the slap, if I took you for a man."





> Tyrion: My gentle sister seems to have mistaken me for Ned Stark.
> Bronn: I hear he was taller.
> Tyrion: Not after Joff took off his head.


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## sighdone (Feb 4, 2011)

Humour is so subjective.

What I learned as a stand up is that you have to reveal something of yourself to the audience, that way they will be more willing to laugh.

It's somewhat the same with writing. My sitcom scripts all focus on character comedy, rather than one liners, and that's where the comedy comes, because it engenders empathy.

It's the same with books.

If you don't care, you don't laugh.


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## FMH (May 18, 2013)

Totally agree with that, in terms of story telling. And what you care about is subjective but yes, filling out the character, the situation, the history, puts things in context for the reader and then they can get on board the train. Otherwise, yes, they'll watch it go by and shrug. 

Surprising them, and also showing a character where they recognize themselves - great ways of bringing out comedy. It's one of the reasons why reading Bridget Jones Diary was so Funny - women could relate to her lists and her screwups.


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## Simon Haynes (Mar 14, 2011)

Humour in fiction is a real mixed bag. Some novels go for the humour and forget about plot and characters, while other novels pile on the humour when there's nothing else happening.

People will often recommend 'funny' books to me which are anything but - because, yes, humour is subjective and there are many types of humour. For example, I've never watched the movie 'Borat' because it just doesn't appeal to me, despite me supposedly loving anything 'funny'. 40-year-old Virgin, the movie, wasn't funny to me - I stopped watching a third of the way in because I felt it was gross and unpleasant.


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## zandermarks (May 20, 2013)

Scott Pixello said:


> As someone who struggles daily with trying to make readers laugh, what in your opinion makes a really funny book? Do you have a favourite comic character, scene, line that stands the test of time and still makes you laugh? And if so, how/why? Of course, all comedy is subjective but it continues to have low critical status (in literature & film) and yet it's one of the hardest genres to get right.


Mark Twain. Pretty much anything by Mark Twain.

The whole issue of being funny in print is something I've been giving a lot of thought to recently, because I did a promotional collaboration with a comedian by the name of Dwayne Perkins.

During our collaboration, Dwayne made the point that being funny onstage is a very different experience from being funny in print. Onstage, Dwayne's material goes for wall-to-wall laughs, and he works under the laughs-per-minute constraints of any professional comic. But on paper, his work tends to lean more towards "humorous" than blow-drinks-through-your-nose funny. His written material tends to be more thoughtful and reflective whereas his onstage stuff keeps the laughs coming. It's still quite funny, but it's a different kind of funny.

As a novelist, I enjoy including funny moments in what I write. But I think it would be very difficult to do wall-to-wall funny on paper. Some people can pull it off, but it's a rare skill, especially if we're talking about book-length works. Shorter works lend themselves better to 100% comedic treatments in general, I think.

Another factor that plays into this is one of expectations. If you are positioning a book as being a funny book, then you have set the bar high. But if you are telling a story in which humorous pieces are smoothly embedded in the storytelling, then there's no harm done if the reader doesn't "get" the joke.


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## brainstorm (Dec 8, 2009)

I generally don't find comedy funny. I like dry remarks or sarcasm spoken in the course of serious business. For instance, almost anything Maggie Smith says in Downton Abbey, or any dialog between the two lead characters in the since-canceled In Plain Sight. 

Fannie Flagg's last book, I Still Dream About You made me chuckle a lot. She's good at peppering her fiction with little absurdities, or unusual twists.


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## jhendereson (Oct 22, 2010)

My rule with writing comedy fiction: if it makes me chuckle surely it will do the same for someone else. Not everyone, but a few. Of course some will find it silly, mean-spirited and boring. Honestly, I think anyone with a modicum sense of humor can write comedy. It's not really that hard, especially in writing fiction, because you can always rework the jokes. A few tips: 1. Don't write the story around jokes, but insert jokes into the narrative. 2. Avoid pratfall humor, knock-knock jokes and jokes involving a punchline, which rarely works on paper for some reason. 3. Steer clear of scatological humor. It's easy to write but nine times out of ten it appears childish. 4. If the humor incites a chuckle ten days later it's probably a keeper; if not delete it or rewrite it. 5. Don't try too hard to be funny. This is blatantly obvious in many comedy films, which are quickly forgotten. Story and characters must come first and foremost. 6. Minimize profanity. Profanity in itself is almost never funny. A few stand-ups don't get this. 7. Borrow and borrow some more. In other words, all jokes and comedic scenes you remember from years ago are at your disposal. Use them, rewrite them, and study them. 8. Most emotions if viewed from a humorist angle can be a great source of comedic material. The trick is not to appear too callous. 9. Opposites not only attract but can be very humorist. She's pro Obama, he's a Limbaugh fan--the comedic possibilities are endless. 10. The most important: laugh and laugh often and don't take yourself too seriously.


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## Nancy Beck (Jul 1, 2011)

I love all sorts of humor, depending on how my day is going, how I feel, etc.

Abbott & Costello and Laurel Hardy are faves, but I also enjoy the physical humor of The Three Stooges.

I loved almost every epi of Seinfeld (except for the Bette Midler one, for some reason), and I remember happily talking about the series highlights with a couple of friends a few years ago.

Of course, this is all visual. Yes, I know there's writing involved, obviously, but it's how the joke or situation is delivered that makes the most impact, IMHO. (I'm not a stand up comedienne, nor do I play one on TV.  ) I think trying to be jokey just in book form is even harder. But it is doable.

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series had me laughing out loud in a lot of spots; that familiarity thing the one poster mentioned. (I live in NJ, and when I first started reading the series, my hubby just happened to be working in Trenton at the time.) The first, and so far only, Discworld novel I've read (Must. Get. More.) also had me howling, because of the total absudity of the world that's been created - you'll fall off the edge of the world if you go out thataway, really? It's ridiculous but it makes sense in that world - and I just had to laugh at the silliness of it all. (And it does tell a story, so it's not just a series of unattached vignettes or sketches.)

Ooo, I like one of jhenderson's tips: Don't write the story around jokes, but insert jokes into the narrative. Yes, this! That's what I try to do with whatever I write. If I only wrote jokes and tried to fashion a story around it, I'd probably never get anything written.

Wow, I don't know if I've answered the OP's question. Maybe. Maybe not. But that's where I'm coming from, if anyone can understand my ramblings above.


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## Dan Fiorella (Oct 14, 2012)

well, for starters:

http://splitsider.com/2013/05/a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-best-humor-books-ever-written/

A big book for me was "Catch-22." It was assigned reading in high school and it blew me away. I didn't realize a book could be funny and absurd.

You know what books were funny? The Harry Potter books. They had a healthy vein of British silliness running through them that didn't quite make it into the movies.

As for writing, I read something on how Harold Lloyd and his team wrote, the plot was a clothesline to hang the jokes and set pieces from. It couldn't be too flimsy but it couldn't be too complicated either. I ready try to adhere to that.


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## MineBook (May 31, 2013)

For me irony of real life makes book really funny.  Like reading classics how Erich Maria Remark books with irony dose. Best thing in serious book is when author with irony laugh at life troubles and moments.


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## SFWriterNorm (Jun 3, 2013)

Hi Scott,

I just went and looked this up for you ... http://archive.org/details/BickersonsThe

There was once a medium that was shot through with gems that would make you laugh out loud. The Bickersons is just one teensy example. I defy you to listen to the shows featuring Don Ameche for more than 5 minutes and not start guffawing enough to make people wonder about you.

The link goes to the Internet Archive, and the Bickersons collection. There are about 14 buhzillon more shows from the late 20's to 1961 available. Smart people are still stealing their ideas even today. Let me know what you think.

Norm
Way down in Cowchip Alabama



Scott Pixello said:


> As someone who struggles daily with trying to make readers laugh, what in your opinion makes a really funny book? Do you have a favourite comic character, scene, line that stands the test of time and still makes you laugh?


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## D_Kirn (Jun 10, 2013)

I think funny isn't always what you say, but how you say it. I can see how it is hard to write comedy. If it isn't written in the right way, the reader might not get the tone of the piece and think its funny. I admire those that can write a humorous book, script or article. 

Off the top of my head things I find funny: old school Saturday Night Live, Stephen Colbert, John Stewart, New Girl, the first few seasons of The Office. 

I like jokes and stories about office humor. These I find I can relate to and are a guaranteed laugh.

I hope you are successful in your next project!


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

I like observational humour - people doing what they do naturally. Think in terms of_ Educating Rita_ and _Shirley Valentine._ (if you're old enough to remember  )


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## brainstorm (Dec 8, 2009)

> Think in terms of Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. (if you're old enough to remember Roll Eyes )


That's spooky. They are among my favorite movies of all time. I thought I was the only one who remembered ER or saw SV.


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## Scott Pixello (May 4, 2013)

Writing which overtly sets out to be comedic often feels a bit like someone who prefaces a story with "Hey, this really funny thing happened to me yesterday...." It sets up a level of expectation, which can be very hard to satisfy. In both situations, it can feels a bit like someone is just trying a bit too hard. That said, it's the genre I seem to find myself in.
It's perhaps worth noting that people often find Shakespeare's tragedies funnier than his comedies. Or maybe that's just the people I know.


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

brainstorm said:


> That's spooky. They are among my favorite movies of all time. I thought I was the only one who remembered ER or saw SV.


Good to know that a Texan appreciates British humour


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Scott Pixello said:


> Thanks for your thoughts oh wise Moderator.
> You highlight another fun aspect of the difficulty for writers in that comedy almost instantly, for most people, means film and much more commonly, TV. Nothing wrong with that but it's like TV is the default setting for all things funny. It is (or at least feels like to me) the main, and sometimes only, source of shared cultural experience with our fellow human beings these days (apart from visual gags on YouTube).


It's not just TV, but live and in person. I think its delivery. Think about it....reading a joke is not usually funny because you don't have the comic timing or delivery. Imagine reading a stand up comic's notes....not funny. That's why written laughs for me usually come with the pithy one liner


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## josephinebrooks (Jun 19, 2013)

I've wondered the same thing.  As others have said, humor is subjective.  

I love humorous fiction but few do it well.

Authors I enjoy are Terry Pratchett, Christopher Moore, Janet Evanovich, Douglas Adams, Mark Twain and Joseph Heller.  

Hm.


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

When someone suggested I read _The Cat Who Came in From the Cold_ by Deric Longden I refused on the grounds that something bad might happen to the cat, but when assured nothing bad happens to the cat I read the book - and it is one of the funniest, most delightful and charming books I have ever read. Someone who can anthropomorphise a raisin and call it Ralph has got to have a special talent. 
I was so enamoured by the book that I actually wrote to the author via his publisher and received a lovely appreciative reply.


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## sighdone (Feb 4, 2011)

Laughter is a communal experience. The more people around you, the louder the laughter becomes. We may not laugh out loud at humour books, but we do still find them funny. We've all quoted something we've read to a friend, and found ourselves laughing as we did so, even when we didn't laugh when we read it the first time.

If you watch a sitcom alone, you will laugh out loud less often than if you watch it with others.


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

sighdone said:


> If you watch a sitcom alone, you will laugh out loud less often than if you watch it with others.


On the other hand, there is nothing quite so off-putting as someone giving you a disparaging look and asking, "Do you think that's funny?"


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## Nancy Beck (Jul 1, 2011)

Jan Hurst-Nicholson said:


> When someone suggested I read _The Cat Who Came in From the Cold_ by Deric Longden I refused on the grounds that something bad might happen to the cat, but when assured nothing bad happens to the cat I read the book - and it is one of the funniest, most delightful and charming books I have ever read. Someone who can anthropomorphise a raisin and call it Ralph has got to have a special talent.
> I was so enamoured by the book that I actually wrote to the author via his publisher and received a lovely appreciative reply.


I'd never heard of the book (I also shy away from stories where I think something bad will happen to an animal), but if nothing does happen...anyway, I've put it on my Wish List. Thanks for the suggestion!


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

Nancy Beck said:


> I'd never heard of the book (I also shy away from stories where I think something bad will happen to an animal), but if nothing does happen...anyway, I've put it on my Wish List. Thanks for the suggestion!


I'm sure you'll love it . He's also written _Enough to Make a Cat Laugh_ among others, and at least one of his books has been made into a film. I'm presently reading _A Play on Words,_ which is a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of_ Lost for Words_, a TV drama based on the book, in which the cats take a prominent part .


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

I love all kinds of humor but I think it succeeds best when it comes from the lips of characters who stay in character yet say something unexpected that cracks the reader up. For instance, see below:

The vicar in *Murder At the Vicarage * by Agatha Christie describing how he met and fell in love with his much younger wife. He was in his fifties and stodgy and content with being single, but met her and in just a few moments fell madly in love. She could not do a single thing well, including cooking or running a household, and invariably said the wrong thing to the wrong people. She was everything a clergyman's wife should not be; yet he had to have her. Then after saying how much he loves her he says quite dryly, "I am convinced more than ever that celibacy is the best life for a clergyman."

The somewhat scatterbrained Miss Bates in Jane Austen's *Emma* informing the vicar Mr. Elton how much she enjoyed his sermon. "Mother and I were speechless, quite speechless, at your sermon on Daniel and the Lion's Den. And we have not stopped talking of it since."

Then there was the precocious little girl in Edith Wharton's novel *The Children*, who was accustomed to having her wealthy jet-setting parents marry, divorce, and marry someone else. When she was confronted with a difficult question she paused a moment before answering and stated, "I would like to consult my attorney."

And humor that comes from seeing the ridiculous side of just about everything works for me as well. My favorite example of that? *A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court * by Mark Twain. He leaves no sacred cow standing as he lampoons the Dark Ages and the Code of Chivalry. A must read if you want some good belly laughs. "Hello, Central." Hilarious!


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## 67499 (Feb 4, 2013)




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## LectorsBooks (Apr 30, 2013)

Many of the funniest things I've ever read have been about travel. Some of the elements that, for me, make something really funny are elements of truth/relatability and surprise. Sort of "oh, I didn't see that coming, but that's so true!" Travel lets you see some of the best and worst of humanity and always has some surprise (and not always a happy one!). Some of the funniest books I've read have been: Three Men in a Boat, Bill Bryson's travel stuff, and Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Some of my favorite comedians are Eddie Izard and Jim Gaffigan - both of whom can be funny without being crude, which is a rare talent.


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## bhazelgrove (Jul 16, 2013)

Straight Man, Wonder Boys, Huckleberry Finn, Catcher in the Rye...a few very funny books. I think with authors  they either have the funny bone or they do not . Impossible to fake. Nothing worse than someone trying to be funny.


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

I think the funniest books are the ones where readers recognise themselves in the situations, but this also means that humour often doesn't travel well. I was recently watching an episode of Mrs Brown's Boys (it was originally a book) and had to explain to my SA friends what a Penguin chocolate biscuit was, and who Sooty was. The rest of the episode they found hilarious.


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## haltenny (Jan 25, 2012)

I don't go looking for funny books, but it seems to me most books do have humor in them, because life is full of humor, and I think most authors reflect that in their characters. A lot of Alistair MacLean's characters were humorously sarcastic, but I seriously doubt his books could be called funny. Same with Clive Cussler. I have a hard time not injecting humor into writing, particularly when characters from different societies, ages, or civilizations interact. But as many have mentioned, to set out to write a funny story or book is ambitious. I commend everyone that has pulled it off.


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