A Dirty Job discussion

I've been reading a lot of heavy stuff lately and I'm looking for something lighthearted, funny and original. What books have made you laugh out loud?

My favorites are:
A Dirty Job (Christipher Moore)
Foreskins Lament (Auslander)
Bitter is the New Black (Lancaster)

Aside from the works of Moore, Eric Powell's The Goon is hilarious. Of course Douglas Adams is a classic. And Neil Gaiman's Fortunately the Milk" was a hoot.

"A Dirty Job" is definitely high on my list but "Let's Discuss Diabetes With Owls" is a close second.

Lamb (Christopher Moore)OMG 10 stars!

"The Stupidest Angel" by Christopher Moore was crazy hilarious and is a must read for me every holiday season. "John Dies at the End" and "This Book is full of Spiders" by David Wong are crazy funny.

Any book by Carl Hiaasen.

The Stupidest Angel. Laugh out loud funny. A Christmas must read for me.

Ruth wrote: "Any book by Carl Hiaasen."

Totally agree. And anything by Christopher Moore has me rolling. A Dirty Job is his most layered and big-hearted.

I'm always up for a laugh and will check out the others.

To add a few: Donald E. Westlake's Dortmunder series are hilarious capers. Elmore Leonard's Tishomingo Blues is darker but its comic turns are brilliant.

Dirty job is great. Laughed my butt off all the way through. A re-read maybe.

one of my favorite light hearted books of all time is Night of the Avenging Blowfish by John Welter. I nearly fell off my chair laughing so hard the first time I read it, and still find it hilarious every time I re-read it.

The Good Luck of Right Now had me laughing out loud. I mean, literally, out loud in public!

A Dirty Job, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Mindswap by Robert Sheckley, and the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett.

Here's my list of consistently laugh-out-loud authors -- you can choose just about anything they've written and enjoy:

1. Christopher Moore -- Seems to be on everyone's list, and rightfully so... My favorites are "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove", "Island of the Sequined Love Nun", and "Practical Demonkeeping", but you can't go wrong choosing any work by Moore.

2. Robert Rankin -- With lots to choose from, I would start with either "Armageddon: The Musical" or "Nostradamus Ate My Hamster". Just reading a list of Rankin's titles will make you smile.

3. Tom Holt -- Not every novel begins with the protagonist hitting God (...well, a god...) with his car; "Expecting Someone Taller" is a good introduction to Holt. If you're hooked, move on to "Who's Afraid of Beowulf?", "Flying Dutch", "Faust Among Equals", "May Contain Traces of Magic"...

4. Patrick McManus -- An absolute joy if you live outdoors, probably just befuddlement if you live on the sofa. If you've ever been sunburned, mosquito-bitten or poison-ivy'ed, pick up "The Grasshopper Trap", "A Fine and Pleasant Misery", or "They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?".

5. MY SLEEPER PICK -- It may be hard to find, but try Arnold Sawislak's "Dwarf Rapes Nun: Flees in UFO". It'll be worth the hunt.

If you like Hiaasen, try Christopher Brookmyre - especially his earlier stuff. Quite Ugly One Morning or Not The End of the World are a great place to start.

Terry Pratchett always gives me a lighter interlude, I'd recommend Mort as a starter as I think the books where Death is the main character are the best.

When it comes to Christopher Moore, my choice is "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove." For Fantasy/Geek literature fans, I'd check out "Critical Failures" by Robert Bevan. An obscure book that I love and makes me laugh every time I read it is "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me" by Richard Farina.

Fool picked it up in an airport between flights, was great, then listened tot he audio book, even better.

I really like Christopher Moore's first book Practical Demonkeeping, but everything I've read of his has made me laugh out loud.

Another good one is Gil's All Fright Diner. So funny.

Anything by Christopher Moore, David Sedaris or Chelsea Handler

Christopher Moore, and Tim Dorsey (Serge Storms is funny)

Terry Pratchett. His Discworld series is great. I'm partial to the ones taking place in Ankmorpork especially the ones with Samuel Vimes.

The funniest books of all time (and I'm actually really surprised they haven't been mentioned) have to be P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster. They are the absolute best and always a pleasure when in need of something light and fun!

I liked "Lamb" by Christopher Moore. It's the early life of Jesus as chronicled by his best friend, Biff.

I also enjoyed the "Mr. Monk" series by Lee Goldberg. I emailed my sister and told her she might enjoy the books and that they made me laugh out loud. She wrote back and told me the series had been on television for years. Oops. I don't have a television but I got some DVDs and....the books were better.