Not quite anything. P. G. Wodehouse wrote a few duds. But the Blandings Castle novels, starting with "Something Fresh" (published as "Something New" in the US) are wonderful.
Funny short story: My ears perked up when I heard Matt mention somewhere that he likes Saki (H.H. Munro), who deserves to be read far and wide.
“Mrs Packletide’s tiger” always makes me laugh. Well, pretty much everything by Saki is funny, but he crams so much, erm, content into a few pages.
Funny novel: Pnin by Nabokov is such a feel-good and amusing portrait of an anachronism of a man. Or maybe I’m reading it wrong? Love it, whatever the case may be.
Probably trite at this point, but I remember laughing so hard reading Infinite Jest. Another great Twian book, not from a humor standpoint but when I lived in Hawaii I found his letters from Hawaii at a yard sale and found it so good. Him writing a weekly letter to the Sacramento Bee or aomething. Lost the book years ago but reading it under a mango tree is this girls yard ivwas living with at 22 made me feel like I owned the world.
Matt - You should do a piece on the massive wave of stand-up comedy and podcasting that has subverted mainstream channels. It’s not literature, but I think it’s a story and fits with the comedic tones you’ve written so brilliantly about.
I've been wanting to get more into this, do you have recs for these sort of stand-up acts and podcasts (besides maybe some of the obvious ones like Red Scare or Chapo)?
The essay "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" by David Foster Wallace, about his despair aboard a cruise ship had me struggling to stifle laughter in public.
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders, in particular the title story and "The 400-Pound CEO" (anything by Saunders, really)
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead, autobio-esque hapless Long Island summer of 1985
Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
Code of the Woosters by PG Wodehouse (or any Wodehouse in my experience)
A Confederacy of Dunces
Yes! I mentioned infinite Jest but I think I was thinking of this book
Anything by Mark Twain or P. G. Wodehouse.
Not quite anything. P. G. Wodehouse wrote a few duds. But the Blandings Castle novels, starting with "Something Fresh" (published as "Something New" in the US) are wonderful.
Funny short story: My ears perked up when I heard Matt mention somewhere that he likes Saki (H.H. Munro), who deserves to be read far and wide.
“Mrs Packletide’s tiger” always makes me laugh. Well, pretty much everything by Saki is funny, but he crams so much, erm, content into a few pages.
Funny novel: Pnin by Nabokov is such a feel-good and amusing portrait of an anachronism of a man. Or maybe I’m reading it wrong? Love it, whatever the case may be.
Pnin is great. I need to reread that. Nabokov is so funny. Pale Fire (I speak as someone in academia in literature) is hysterical.
Saki!
Pain's off-beat and charming, and something of a self-parody by Nabokov
three men in a boat by jerome k jerome, particularly the bit about the cheeses
YES
Catch-22
Same
Probably trite at this point, but I remember laughing so hard reading Infinite Jest. Another great Twian book, not from a humor standpoint but when I lived in Hawaii I found his letters from Hawaii at a yard sale and found it so good. Him writing a weekly letter to the Sacramento Bee or aomething. Lost the book years ago but reading it under a mango tree is this girls yard ivwas living with at 22 made me feel like I owned the world.
I need to read Infinite Just. Thanks for the reminder.
I just got the audio book, has been years and years since I read. Listening to it now is a joy
Matt - You should do a piece on the massive wave of stand-up comedy and podcasting that has subverted mainstream channels. It’s not literature, but I think it’s a story and fits with the comedic tones you’ve written so brilliantly about.
I've been wanting to get more into this, do you have recs for these sort of stand-up acts and podcasts (besides maybe some of the obvious ones like Red Scare or Chapo)?
Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast & Tim Dillon
Anything from P.G. Wodehouse, but especially anyone of the Blandings Castle novels. The golf short stories are also good.
Tobacco Road - Erskine Caldwell
"Ride Westerly for Pusalina" - from Bats Out of Hell - Barry Hannah
Civilwarland in Bad Decline - George Saunders (doubling down on others' recommendations)
My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist - Mark Leyner
Portnoy's Complaint - Philip Roth (too obvious?)
Any Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser. Wonderful humor and impeccable history.
The essay "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" by David Foster Wallace, about his despair aboard a cruise ship had me struggling to stifle laughter in public.
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders, in particular the title story and "The 400-Pound CEO" (anything by Saunders, really)
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead, autobio-esque hapless Long Island summer of 1985
Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
Code of the Woosters by PG Wodehouse (or any Wodehouse in my experience)
Harpo Speaks!, Harpo Marx's autobiography
Side note - I read DFW's "Consider the Lobster" and never ate a lobster again. Lobster rolls very rarely. But never a steamed lobster.
Here to second A Supposedly Fun Thing...
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Bullet in the Brain, by Tobias Wolff.
The Sirens of Titan
Kurt Vonnegut
“Rented a tent a tent a tent
rented a tent.
- snare drum on mars”
Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle; Nabokov's Pale Fire
George Saunders stories for sure and Naked Lunch is a surprisingly knee slapping read.