 Editor in Chief Bill   | 19 Feb 2009 7:47 a.m. PST |
Top 10 Funniest Books According to AbeBooks.co.uk Customers 1. Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1933)
2. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)
4. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome (1889)
5. Wilt by Tom Sharpe (1976)
6. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (1980)
7. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
8. The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse (1938)
9. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding (1996)
10. Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall by Spike Milligan (1971) |
| streetline | 19 Feb 2009 7:52 a.m. PST |
AbeBooks.co.uk Never heard of them, frankly. So "according to a small company with a .co.uk URL", possibly. |
| Pijlie | 19 Feb 2009 8:10 a.m. PST |
Actually Abebooks is a mammoth used book seller… But since Pratchett isn't there (who would want to sell his books once acquired after all?) so it is not to be taken too seriously. |
 Parzival  | 19 Feb 2009 8:15 a.m. PST |
Not a bad list though.
Wodehouse, check.
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), most definitely
Catch-22, can't disagree
Hitchhikers, yep. Makes me want to have a look at the others. But Pratchett does need to be there. |
| Buff Orpington | 19 Feb 2009 8:17 a.m. PST |
I'd agree with having Spike & Adams on the list. I've read Catch 22 & Wilt, good but not that good. |
| nycjadie | 19 Feb 2009 8:39 a.m. PST |
Any list that doesn't have David Sedaris on it is OK by me. |
| mweaver | 19 Feb 2009 9:07 a.m. PST |
Familiar with most of them (including some I haven't read). Pratchett's absence is a bit odd, perhaps, but the list is mostly older books. The average publication date is 1967, and if you drop out Bridget Jones the average publication date is 1965. No George MacDonald Fraser, either. |
 John the OFM | 19 Feb 2009 9:16 a.m. PST |
No George MacDonald Fraser, either.
I would put the MacAuslan books in under "funniest", rather than Flashman, though. ABE is a used book seller, so I am not surprised that there are so many old ones.
If just listing authors, I would certainly put in Donald Westlake. The earlier Dortmunder books are great, particularly the ones with Inspector Mologna (pronounced "Maloney"_. The later ones were kind of on automatic pilot. I would certaily put "Dancing Aztecs" on top. Catch 22 is Great Literature, but not laugh out loud funny. As for Prachett, my favorite "laugh out loud" one is Lords and Ladies. I don't like Rincewind. I am glad to see TWO Wodehouse on the list. Good call there. |
| doublesix66 | 19 Feb 2009 9:38 a.m. PST |
Wheres "Armageddon the musical"?, you can't beat a book with Elvis and an Time traveling Sprout in it. :) |
 Doms Decals  | 19 Feb 2009 9:42 a.m. PST |
I think Pratchett's an understandable omission due to his consistency – he'd rank *very* highly in a poll for funniest author, but those votes would get spread very thin between his many titles, as he doesn't have a stand-out masterpiece, but rather a couple of dozen bloody funny books…. Looking at the titles there, a good few (five of the ten, I'd say) are clearly the best that author wrote, with no other title by them a remotely likely contender. |
| mweaver | 19 Feb 2009 10:48 a.m. PST |
"I would put the MacAuslan books in under "funniest", rather than Flashman, though." Me too. I enjoy Flashman, but love the MacAuslan books. My favorite Westlake is "High Adventure", possibly because it is the first one of his books I read. |
| highlandcatfrog | 19 Feb 2009 12:02 p.m. PST |
My vote for funniest book ever goes to Bored Of The Rings. Nothing else comes close. |
| Neotacha | 19 Feb 2009 6:16 p.m. PST |
Oddly, both Wodehouses are Jeeves & Wooster books. I really do prefer his Blandings Castle sets. Although Uncle Fred is always a delight. |
| Lee Brilleaux | 19 Feb 2009 10:00 p.m. PST |
It's not a bad list at all. Wodehouse was the funniest man of his time, and it was a very long time indeed. 'Uncle Fred in the Springtime'? Another great contender. |
 Jlundberg | 20 Feb 2009 12:47 p.m. PST |
I am there with Wodehouse |
| iouliared | 20 Feb 2009 7:59 p.m. PST |
Sedaris is a snippy Queen but funny. #6 is pretty cool, and I agree with the Pratchett suggestion. |
 McKinstry | 20 Feb 2009 11:05 p.m. PST |
I am surprised "Good Omens" didn't make the list. It is my favorite Pratchett even if Gaman is the co-author. |
| Pictors Studio | 21 Feb 2009 6:58 a.m. PST |
I w ould put Good Omens up there too. I'm also surprised by Vonnegut's absence from the list, while it is a dreary kind of funny it is a very funny kind of dreary. |
| JackWhite | 06 Mar 2009 11:39 a.m. PST |
Catch-22 is the first one that came to mind.
I've also read Hitchhiker's . . . and heard of Confederacy of Dunces. Might have to check out a couple on the list. JW |
| Daffy Doug | 20 Mar 2009 9:28 a.m. PST |
Scanned Hitchhiker's and saw the latest movie adaptation (have it in fact); and yes it's funny, but too much so, if that makes sense! Wodehouse; I've been hearing about this guy for years (being a customer of the Folio Society, after all), and have yet to try any of his stuff. After the above, I am more motivated than before to give him a go. Catch-22 was the first book that both shocked, amused and gripped me all at the same time (I was 18). I turned right around and read it again after the first time. The movie is a good version, imho. (gotta love watching a dozen B-25's taking off together, but that's an aside pleasure). I've never even heard of the others on that list…. |
