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What was the last novel to make you LOL, out loud?

Mar. 7th, 2011 at 10:59 AM

I'm a big fan of novels which make me laugh. It could be something that happens in the story, like the excellent funeral scene in Neil Gaiman's, Anansi Boys, (if you get a chance, I thoroughly recommend the audio version, narrated by British comedian, Lenny Henry).

It could be something a character says. Terry Pratchett writes some hilarious dialogue for his characters. I think he's especially good at having people misunderstand another person's words with amusing results eg: In Wyrd Sisters, when Nanny Ogg sniggers at the word 'thespian' which causes Granny Weatherwax to declare in a condescending tone that Ogg 'doesn't even know where Thespia is.'

The Goblin novels by Jim C. Hines (jimhines ) contain a great balance of narrative and dialogue humor. I particularly enjoyed the Goblin sayings beneath each chapter heading in the second book.

The last 'book' to make me laugh out loud the audio version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Professor Dumbledore's subtle brand of sarcasm often goes unnoticed by the people he's talking to, especially when those people are the Dursleys.

How about you?

What was the last novel to make you LOL, out loud?

Current Mood: cheerful

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( 65 comments — Leave a comment )

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(Deleted comment)

Mar. 7th, 2011 05:06 pm (UTC)

Mr. Maberry is a man of many talents :)

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darke_conteur

Mar. 7th, 2011 04:30 pm (UTC)

Maureen Burnbaum-Barbarian Swordswoman. CLUELESS with swords.

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Mar. 7th, 2011 05:07 pm (UTC)

Lol, great description :)

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ex_naomi_ja

Mar. 7th, 2011 04:31 pm (UTC)

I can't remember which book, but I know it was either Spares or Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith. I can't remember what made me laugh, either, but I know it was one of those!

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Mar. 7th, 2011 05:07 pm (UTC)

I'll have to check him out. Thanks for sharing :)

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Mar. 7th, 2011 04:47 pm (UTC)

I can't remember, but it happens to me a lot, luckily :)

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Mar. 7th, 2011 05:08 pm (UTC)

Laughing is always fun :)

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vaughan_stanger

Mar. 7th, 2011 05:25 pm (UTC)

Probably the last Terry Pratchett I read, but that was a while ago. I did find the Diskworld series ultimately a case of diminishing returns.

Twisting the question a bit: the novel that made me laugh out loud the most was David Langford's The Leaky Establishment. It's doubtless a bit dated now, but when I read it I laughed so hard my ribs ached. The plot and details were all so horribly plausible -- and hysterically funny.

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Mar. 7th, 2011 05:36 pm (UTC)

I love it when a book leaves me with aching sides :)

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Mar. 7th, 2011 05:32 pm (UTC)

It's been ages since I've read a book that makes me laugh. I seems I always go for one full of dark mystery.

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Mar. 7th, 2011 05:45 pm (UTC)

There's a lot of dark humor to be had in those books too, I think :)

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Walter Giersbach

Mar. 7th, 2011 05:49 pm (UTC)

“Sideways,” by Rex Pickett. Yes, I know you visualized Paul Giamatti in the movie (which I've seen half a dozen times). But I found the book in the use-book section of our library. A good laugh for 50 cents is hard to come by.

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Mar. 7th, 2011 05:55 pm (UTC)

A good laugh for 50 cents is hard to come by.

There's a great joke in there somewhere, but I'm too tired to think of one right now ;)

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Mar. 7th, 2011 05:51 pm (UTC)

City of Thieves, by David Benioff. Bleak and hilarious, horrific and side-splitting. Dark humor, but laugh out loud.

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Mar. 7th, 2011 05:57 pm (UTC)

horrific and side-splitting

Sounds like my old gran's wedding dress :)

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karen_w_newton

Mar. 7th, 2011 06:08 pm (UTC)

I loved the Chet and Bernie books by Spencer Quinn. They are mystery novels narrated in first person by Chet, who is Bernie's dog. Very funny and a fun read!

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Mar. 7th, 2011 06:37 pm (UTC)

Dogs always make great story-tellers :)

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jongibbs - Mar. 7th, 2011 07:02 pm (UTC) - Expand

(Deleted comment)

Mar. 7th, 2011 06:38 pm (UTC)

Another writer I need to check out :)

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dlgarfinkle

Mar. 7th, 2011 06:57 pm (UTC)

I've read all of Sophie Kinsella's standalone novels, and they always make me LOL.

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Mar. 7th, 2011 07:01 pm (UTC)

Out loud? ;)

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Mar. 7th, 2011 07:03 pm (UTC)

Terry Pratchett's 'The Amazing Maurice' novel. It's the first of his books I've ever read. But surely not the last.

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Mar. 7th, 2011 07:21 pm (UTC)

I thought it a bit far-fetched. I mean, whoever heard of a talking cat, right?

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jongibbs - Mar. 8th, 2011 01:16 pm (UTC) - Expand

Mar. 7th, 2011 07:25 pm (UTC)

The last book that made me LOL was Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. The "police car painting" scene was the one that did it.

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Mar. 7th, 2011 07:35 pm (UTC)

Sounds intruiging :)

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mylefteye - Mar. 7th, 2011 11:14 pm (UTC) - Expand

heleninwales

Mar. 7th, 2011 08:33 pm (UTC)

The last book that made me lol was the one I've just finished, Jasper Fforde's One Of Our Thursdays is Missing. It made me smile, laugh out loud and occasionally groan at a particularly outrageous bit of humour.

If you haven't read Fforde before, don't start with that one though because it's #6 in the Thursday Next series. Start with The Eyre Affair.

And I know the next book on my list is going to make me lol too because it's a re-read of Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm.

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Mar. 7th, 2011 08:52 pm (UTC)

Cold Comfort Farm is on my tbr pile :)

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mylefteye - Mar. 7th, 2011 11:16 pm (UTC) - Expand

(Anonymous)

Mar. 8th, 2011 02:25 am (UTC)

LOL

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

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Mar. 8th, 2011 01:08 pm (UTC)

Re: LOL

Another Hornby fan :)

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