October 13, 2016 
Stacey 
It’s not that often that we talk about books being funny. People look to books for a lot of things, and it’s not always to laugh. Yet there are many authors who write about serious and not so serious matters in a humorous way. And those books can be very successful.
I thought this Slate piece was kind of fun (if not funny) that asks Maria Semple the books that she picks as her top funny reads. Then they asked those three to pick their top books and it goes on in a visual pyramid with all of the colorful book covers represented. All in all, it adds up to 82 books that you can read for a laugh, some of which are by well-known authors (David Sedaris, Philip Roth, Bill Bryson, Sherman Alexie etc.) and a couple of which are recommended twice (THE HATERS by Jesse Andrews, and WHAT I’D SAY TO THE MARTIANS by Jack Handey, must read those).
I’m a fan of classics like A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES and the more recent WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE by Maria Semple for their originality and unique voices. On the nonfiction side, comedians like Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, and Amy Schumer all have huge bestsellers. I enjoy the wackiness of Jenny Lawson, and I think Sloane Crosley is writing smart, funny nonfiction for a younger generation, finding humor in everyday situations.
What are your favorite funny books, or serious books that still make you laugh? It’s a hard balance to strike but I do think there is room in the marketplace for more smart, humorous fiction and nonfiction.
I was always raised to believe that humor was a dangerous controlled substance that literati needed to be protected from, and am even now getting ready to attend the annual gathering at the grave of P.G. Wodehouse where we ceremonially curse his memory and pray for forgiveness for any inadvertent levity we have allowed his books to bring up in our presence. I’d always assumed you were a fellow member and am shocked at your light proclivities. Good day to you madam-we shall pray for your reform!
I knew I liked you, Kevin.
All hail The Master.
Other than Wodehouse, and the poems of people like Ogden Nash and W. S. Gilbert, I’m having trouble thinking of any writers I have found truly funny. Perelman, I guess. Twain, in his lighter moments (his dark ones being very dark, indeed). More modern writers tend to be sophomoric (e.g., Dave Barry).
I write some pretty funny stuff myself (at least, I think so), so I guess I’m a tough audience.
It’s easier, I think, to be amusing orally than in written form. Josh Billings, for all his fame, is painful to read, but perhaps he was entertaining over juleps.
I know what you mean, although some humor varietals simply have a shelf life; I’ve got a 1946 collection of Robert Benchley pieces that date mostly from the late 20’s and early 30’s (you’ll remember Robert Benchley from his great supporting role in I MARRIED A WITCH, among other things) and although he was apparently regarded as a great wit in his day his stuff comes off now as a lot of random musings about whatever he happened to have lying on his desk at the moment and doesn’t hold up all that well. He was, however, Robert Benchley, so his book gets regular offerings of myrrh and spikenard in the hopes that he will introduce me to Veronica Lake (1942 vintage, of course) in the afterworld someday…
Forgot about Benchley. He was cinemagenic (is that a word?). Decent actor I am always glad to see. I think he’s like Will Rogers, Garrison Keillor, George Burns, and a few others: their written work survives IF you can hear their speaking voices as you read.