"at your library" in the north island eagle: booklists: we could use a laugh

As I mentioned here, I'm posting three of these columns each week until I'm caught up.

Booklists: We Could Use a Laugh

I have one last booklist for you before I write about other things for a while. As the pandemic enters its second year, we could all use more humour in our lives, so here’s a list of funny books. 

Of course humour comes in many different flavours. A book that makes you laugh 'til you’re gasping for air may leave your friend totally cold – or worse, may offend them. Use this list with caution.

Title: Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls
Author: David Sedaris
A collection of essays with Sedaris’ trademark humour: witty, sly, warm, personal, often easy to relate to. If you haven’t tried him yet, this is a good place to start.

Title: Bossypants
Author: Tina Fey
Essays on the crazy things that happen in life. Heartwarming, self-deprecating, funny observations on a wide range of topics from the creator and star of the clever sitcom “30 Rock”.

Title: A Confederacy of Dunces
Author: John Kennedy Toole
An extremely clever spoof novel and a modern classic, this book is full of crazy characters and dialogue written in New Orleans-ese. 

Title: Hyperbole and a Half
Author: Allie Brosh
A clever, witty, honest, self-revealing graphic novel. Look online for Brosh’s wildly popular blog.

Title: Good Omens
Authors: Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Two literary comics offer a cutting satire of religion and other social institutions. 

Title: Cold Comfort Farm
Author: Stella Gibbons
First published in 1932 – and never out of print – this book’s dry, tongue-in-cheek humour could have been written yesterday. A clever parody and a “country mouse, city mouse” tale.

Title: Albatross
Author: Terry Fallis
This modern fairy tale follows an unlikely hero and his even more unlikely success. A sweet, funny book from a witty Canadian writer.

Title: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13-3/4
Author: Sue Townsend
The fictional diary of a pretentious, un-self-aware teen who fancies himself an intellectual. If you like it, you’re in luck – it’s the first in a series.

Little Victories: Perfect Rules for Imperfect Living
Author: Jason Gay
This humorous “how to live” book celebrates small, everyday wins that make life happy and rewarding, if we know how to recognize them.

Title: How To Be a Woman
Author: Caitlin Moran
An irreverent memoir of what it’s like to be a woman in the 21st century. Moran is brutally, hilariously honest, skewering every institution and social convention that holds women back.