Librarians' Line-Up: Funny Books

Happy April Fool's Day! In the spirit of the day, we have collected some of our favorite funny books to share with you. There's a little bit for everyone here.

Many funny books have I read in my day, but I will go with the one that made me laugh out loud when I snagged it off the shelf. I Could Pee on This: and other cat poems by Francesco Marciuliano is a delightful book of poetry by cats. Cats are ruthless death machines who use humans as feeding machines and scratching posts, but darn it if they’re not cute! Here is a great poem from it called "I Lick Your Nose":

“I lick your nose/ I lick your nose again/ I drag my claws down your eyelids/Oh you’re up? Feed me.”

~Kristin M.

My favorite funny book is Allie Brosh’s memoir, Hyperbole and a Half. Inspired by her blog of the same name, Hyperbole tells a half dozen stories or so from different points in her life. They vary from her childhood obsession with cake to her battle with depression. But it’s her intentionally crappy doodles make me laugh until I cry.
~Meredith T.

One of my favorite funny books of all time is Phule's Company by Robert Aspirin. Take a bunch of space mercenaries, now take individuals which don't fit in, and ship them all off to one place. Now, put a multibillionaire playboy captain, Phule (Pronounced as "fool"), in charge and let the hilarity ensue. This book may have been written in the 90's, but it still makes me giggle.
~Mary P.

I've read a lot of funny books recently (including Hyperbole and a Half-it's hilarious), but one that sticks out is Tina Fey's Bossypants. Last year I watched all of 30 Rock, and gained quite the appreciation for Ms. Fey, but reading her book enhanced it much more. She narrated the audiobook, and it made all of the difference. I loved hearing about her improv theater days and how she rose to fame. She's just a good storyteller.
~Cailey

When I want funny fiction, I go to Christopher Moore. I started with You Suck (which was second in the series I didn't realize, but I was able to jump in no problem). His characters say funny things and the situations are ridiculous. I would also recommend Tiny Fey's Bossypants, if you're in the mood for non-fiction.
~Amanda D.

It took me a while to warm up to David Sedaris. He has a kind of deadpan humor that takes a bit of getting used to. When You Are Engulfed in Flames is composed of short stories drawn from Sedaris’s life, varying from the mundane to the extremely bizarre. He refuses to quit smoking, and as a result must spend his book tours in increasingly marginal hotels, he ends up in Japan trying to read safety instructions, and many other subtly odd situations.

~John F.

Those are our funny picks. What's your favorite funny read? Let us know!