13 funny books to get you through tough times

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Books to make you laugh out loud

Back Bay Books; Grove Press; Henry Holt and Company; Random House; Vintage

There’s nothing quite like a good read — or a good laugh. This selection of some of our favorite funny books includes essay collections, memoirs, satires, and cartoons. Read on for details about 13 of the most gut-busting and thought-provoking titles ever published.

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My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell

Penguin

In this autobiographical account of his family’s move to the Greek isle of Corfu, naturalist Gerald Durrell recreates his own adolescent observations with charm, populating the world with eccentric characters and interesting creatures. Order a copy here.

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Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym

Penguin Classics

Pym’s comedy of manners is a quintessential example of British humor, an observational, satirical look at the life of a spinster and her neighbors. The Guardian called it “one of the most endearingly amusing English novels of the 20th century.”

Order a copy here.

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Goodbye, Vitamin, by Rachel Khong

Henry Holt and Company

Khong’s debut novel earned rave reviews for its devastating yet funny depiction of a woman who drops everything and moves back home with her parents. Protagonist Ruth faces her father’s dementia diagnosis with humor and heart as she attempts to find her way in the world.

Order a copy here.

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Up the Down Staircase, by Bel Kaufman

Open Road Media

This epistolary novel tells the story of idealistic first-year teacher Sylvia Barrett (played in the 1967 film adaptation by Sandy Dennis), who hopes to change her students’ lives. The situation is rife with humor as Sylvia comes up against the school’s bureaucracy, her indifferent students, and incompetent co-workers.

Order a copy here.

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A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole

Grove Press

A Confederacy of Dunces follows Ignatius J. Reilly, a “Don Quixote for the French Quarter,” as he cycles through various professions and encounters a cast of colorful characters in his hometown of New Orleans. The novel earned Toole a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Order a copy here.

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Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home, by Nina Stibbe

Little, Brown and Company

Love, Nina chronicles author Nina Stibbe’s time as a nanny for the two young sons of Mary-Kay Wilmers, longtime editor of The London Review of Books. She documented her time with the family through letters to her sister, highlighting her amusing observations about London’s wealthy literary elite.

Order a copy here.

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Absurdistan, by Gary Shteyngart

Random House

Absurdistan is the story of Misha Vainberg, a.k.a. Snack Daddy. In this highly entertaining novel, Misha’s Russian oligarch father murders an Oklahoma businessman, sending Misha’s life plans into a tailspin. He becomes involved in a conflict in a small oil-rich country, the titular Absurdistan.

Order a copy here..

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How I Became A Famous Novelist, by Steve Hely

Grove Press

In How I Became A Famous Novelist, protagonist Pete Tarslaw decides to write a novel “mostly to humiliate [his ex-girlfriend] Polly, and impress people at her wedding.” In a cutting reflection of publishing and popularity, he cracks the code to writing a bestseller — and lives with the consequences.

Order a copy here..

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My Man Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse

My Man Jeeves is a collection of comic short stories, the first to bring together classic Wodehouse characters Bertie Wooster and his butler, Jeeves.

Order a copy here..

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Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris

Back Bay Books

This essay collection from one of our most prominent contemporary humorists explores Sedaris’ formative years in North Carolina and New York, as well as his time in Normandy, France, where he moved with his partner and agonized over not knowing the language.

Order a copy here..

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I Feel Bad About My Neck, by Nora Ephron

Vintage

Much beloved in the world of comedy, Nora Ephron had a long literary career before going on to write and direct films like Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. Her essay collections are sharp, and reflect distinctly female experiences. This 2006 collection tackles aging and the perils of vanity.

Order a copy here..

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Hyperbole and Half, by Allie Brosh

Touchstone

Hyperbole and a Half is based on Allie Brosh’s popular blog of the same name, which combines words and comic art and has spawned some of the most recognizable memes on the web. The book, which Bill Gates called “funny and smart as hell,” deals in both mundane and serious topics, as Brosh finds a way to make everything from her dogs to her depression tender and hilarious.

Order a copy here..

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The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, by Sue Townsend

Open Road Media

The first in a popular series, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole follows a young man’s account of his adolescence. The story delivers biting satire through the political musings of a 13-year-old. (Adrian, for instance, considers Margaret Thatcher his nemesis.)

Order a copy here..

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13 gut-bustingly funny books to get you through tough times

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Books to make you laugh out loud

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My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell

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Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym

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Goodbye, Vitamin, by Rachel Khong

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Up the Down Staircase, by Bel Kaufman

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A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole

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Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home, by Nina Stibbe

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Absurdistan, by Gary Shteyngart

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How I Became A Famous Novelist, by Steve Hely

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My Man Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse

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Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris

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I Feel Bad About My Neck, by Nora Ephron

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Hyperbole and Half, by Allie Brosh

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The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, by Sue Townsend

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