If you’re interested in reading books that are very funny, here is my list of the funniest books ever written: (NF = Non-fiction) (Yes, these are in order.)
- Three men in a boat – Jerome K. Jerome (the funniest book ever written)
- Anything by P.G. Wodehouse (no, don’t look for a book called “Anything”) – the greatest humourist of the 20th century
- The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde (the funniest play, ever)
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams (funny science-fiction – yes!)
- Without Feathers – Woody Allen (NF), a true comic genius
- Nonsense Novels – Stephen Leacock (wonderful parodies of literary styles)
- A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur’s Court – Mark Twain (the best book ever written about time travel)
- Catch-22 – Joseph Heller (a classic illustrating the insanity of war)
- Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene (yes, Graham Greene can be very funny)
- Life of Pi – Yann Martel (the book is better than the movie)
- Stuff White People Like – Christian Lander (NF) (take his test and see how white you are!)
- So Anyway – John Cleese (autobiography) (NF)
- Me Too & Three Cheers for me – Donald Jack (any of the “Bandy Papers” books)
- The Diary of Adrian Mole – Sue Townsend (the sequels are also good)
- The Incomparable Atuk & Oh Canada Oh Quebec (NF) – Mordecai Richler
- Scoop – Evelyn Waugh (not a big fan of Waugh, but this is funny)
- Anything by Dave Berry (NF) (a great satirist)
- Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut (better than “Slaughterhouse Five”)
- Tobacco Road – Taylor Caldwell
- Cannery Row & Travels with Charley (NF) – John Steinbeck
- The Boat That Wouldn’t Float – Farley Mowat
- The World According to Garp – John Irving
- Sunshine Sketches of a Small Town – Stephen Leacock
- The Complete Yes Prime Minister – Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay (from the hilarious TV series)
- Shall we join the ladies – Eric Nicol
- Jake and the Kid – W.O. Mitchell
- Bridget Jones’ Diary – Helen Fielding
- How to be a Canadian – Will Ferguson (NF)
- Malarky – Anakana Schofield
David J. Mills 