Humour Books > G Humour Books > W

Advantages: good characters, interesting plot with lots happening
Disadvantages: men aren't going to want to read it, but they should give it a try

If you’re about my age, you’ll probably remember a band called Sleeper. They had a bit of success in the early 1990s, their biggest hit being ‘Inbetweener’. I personally liked their first album, and not much else, and will freely admit to finding their singer, Louise Wener, an annoying, skinny tart. Fast forward a few years later, and I spot a review of a book called ‘Goodnight, Steve McQueen’ by the erstwhile Ms Wener. Touted as a ‘Nick Hornby’ ...
...by his girlfriend, I was intrigued. Wener obviously had the inside knowledge needed to make a book about a musician believable (in much the same way as Hornby wrote believably about a music fan), and yet her feminine touch would no doubt make it a light, bedtime read on nights when I might have otherwise chosen something by Louise Rennison. **First shock** When I eventually got my filthy mitts on it, I realised this is no light read. It weighs ... Read review

Advantages: Very funny, huge variety of subject matter, lots of book for your money, informative, passionate
Disadvantages: Doesn't suit being read in one go, topics recycled and stale towards end

Born To Be Riled is good. It's probably not Jeremy Clarkson's best book, but it certainly makes for great reading, either as a bedtime book, where the short columns are ideal for a quick spell, on the commute or on holiday. It will certainly make you laugh, and the variety is great. It's just missing that little something. The best, and in some cases worst, thing about Born To Be Riled is the fantastic scope of subject matter. Clarkson writes about ...
...connects you to the book. Born To Be Riled is humorous and interesting to read, and is very easy to pick up and get into, perhaps making it best read in short spells, allowing more attention to each individual column. Born To Be Riled certainly has the wit and charm of Clarkson's other books, and the only thing that really lets it down is perhaps it is so long, that by the end, you've read about everything two or three times. However, it is definitely ... Read review

Advantages: hilarious
Disadvantages: not enough of it!

...hilarious! He doesn't just do cows though; chickens, bears, ants, ducks, scientists, and many more feature! There are some of his non-cow sketches included, along with sketches that make sense, sketches that don't and sketches that are just plain absurd! If you're new to Larson you have to take a few minutes to appreciate each picture and the message it may (or not) be hinting at. Don't dismiss the caption, it usual helps the understanding, and ...
...then don't worry about it! The best book of Larsons is the 10th Anniversary Edition (not featured on here but should be!) which includes a bit of biography, original sketches, development of some of the more notable cartoons and plenty of his own thoughts about his work. It makes a very interesting read and enhanced by his natural narrative which gives you a sense of his natural wit and humour. Indulge your grown up childish nature, get a cup of ... Read review

Advantages: Funny and witty.
Disadvantages: boring

The Book in itself is quite funny, full of witty jokes and remarks about almost anything. The book lists everything that the authors hate (in alphabetical order) and why they hate them. It is obviously going to get a bit tedious reading paragraph after paragraph on any random thing that the author dislikes, but when is reading an encyclopedia ever fun? This book is definitely not for the light readers, but meant more of a relaxing read for serious ... Read review

Advantages: Witty, well-constructed, well-written stories
Disadvantages: Not much read nowadays

...it really 100 years since The Gentle Grafter was first published? Not that I was around at the time, you understand, but it was a book I grew up with and it never occurred to me that it was already half a century or so old by then. Re-reading it today, I can readily see that it's jam-packed with coeval allusions and expressions that place it as precisely in its pre-First-World-War era as would carbon-dating of the original manuscript. But as a boy, ...
...timeless entertainment value of the stories. In fact, I grew up with a lot of O Henry, not just this one. In a bibliophilic family with no television and little musicality we would, believe it or not, often amuse ourselves, and perhaps occasionally each other, on winter evenings by reading aloud. Short stories were ideal for the purpose, and O Henry's were among the ones I chose most often when my turn came: just the right length, full of humorous ... Read review