Recommend me something/someone to read.....

[Brandane]

There's a cycling forum I occasionally read which has some intelligent humour on it, somewhere!

 

[raleighnut]

There's a cycling forum I occasionally read which has some intelligent humour on it, somewhere!

 

[Globalti]

Currently I'm re-reading Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux, who is the father of Louis Theroux. Just like his son he has a gift for asking searching questions and getting the best out of people. This book is about his trip from Cairo to Cape Town using only the public transport that Africans use. If you want to know more about what really makes Africa tick and enjoy finding out, I thoroughly recommend this book. It will also give you an insight into why desperate Africans are risking their lives to cross the Sahara and then the channel to get to safety. It's very readable and not at all boring like some travel books.

 

[lee1980sim]

I'd recommend David Gemmell, Andrzej Sapkowski, James Barclay for some fantasy reading with hints of humour

 

[User169]

I'm reading Simon Raven's "Alms for Oblivion" series of novels. They're about the post-war upper middle class scene and hugely entertaining though less overtly comedic and far darker in tone than say Tom Sharpe.

There are 10 of them, all self-contained, but various characters recur in series. They're also written in different genres and were published non- chronologically, a structure later used by Pratchett.

If you like cricket, Raven's autobiographical "shadows in the grass" is hilarious.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I'm reading Simon Raven's "Alms for Oblivion" series of novels. They're about the post-war upper middle class scene and hugely entertaining though less overtly comedic and far darker in tone than say Tom Sharpe.

There are 10 of them, all self-contained, but various characters recur in series. They're also written in different genres and were published non- chronologically, a structure later used by Pratchett.

If you like cricket, Raven's autobiographical "shadows in the grass" is hilarious.

Just looked up his obit, what a character, great stuff...

'His considerable earnings went on food, drink, travel, gambling and sex - he said that one of the unsung advantages of belonging to the Reform Club was the presence opposite of a massage parlour where you got "a good housemaid's wank".'

 

[Chris S]

'The Biggest Secret' by David Icke. As a conspiracy theory it's full of holes, as a work of science fiction it's unbeatable.

 

[swee'pea99]

Nothing to do with sci-fi but.

Since you haven't read a book for a while perhaps an easy reintroduction would be something like "A Walk In The Woods" by Bill Bryson. Easily his best and funniest book, easy reading, informative and well worth reading.

Agreed. I'm always hesitant to suggest 'funny' books - it's a bit like saying 'here's a funny joke'. The great thing about Bill Bryson's books (or one of the great things) is that the humour is just part of the mix. Having said which, an important part...

(That from 'Notes from a small island', which I'm reading at the moment, and scanned to send to my sis.)

 

[Paulus]

Try Robert Rankin. His books are a little bit off the wall, but have a theme running through them and are very funny. The first book I read was titled Sex, drugs and sausage rolls. The second was The Toyminator, then I was hooked.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

There's a cycling forum I occasionally read which has some intelligent humour on it, somewhere!

You couldn't send me a link could you? I'm on one but its threads just keep deteriorating in to pointless personal arguments.

I'll give another thumbs up for Good Omens, a nice way to get some Pratchett humour without any of the Discworld baggage. Equally, I'd not suggest starting Discworld with the first two as they just aren't that good. You can see what Pterry is going to become in them and there are some good parts, but they are counterbalanced by some cringe-worthy techniques where he is obviously working out how he wants to do things. Maybe start with Soul Music (or just pick a thing you enjoy and see which book addresses it, there's probably at least one.)

If cycling is your thing, we've really enjoyed the two Ned Boulting books we've read (erm the second two I think) his humour has a light touch to it and is quite self deprecating, but we found ourselves laughing along in places. In a similar way to Bryson probably.

 

[vickster]

I enjoyed The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simison.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Rosie-Project-Don-Tillman/dp/1405912790#

Easy reads

 

[Globalti]

That Bill Bryson story reminds me of the one about the Ameriacn tourist who, on witnessing the poll tax riots in London, asked a Police officer what was going on. The officer responded: "The Brtish public are rioting, sir!"

 

[Red17]

Quite like the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz or the Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay (preferred the books to the TV series which seemed to drag on too long)

 

[MontyVeda]

I'm not as big reader and find fiction really hard to get into , so prefer more biographical works.

Caitlin Moran's How To Be A Woman is a good read and has plenty of funny moments, as is Mark Radcliffe's Showbusiness, Stuart Maconie's Cider With Roadies and Bill Drummond's 45.

 

[Davos87]

PJ O'Rourkes Eat the Rich is hilarious.
Bill Bryson is a good shout,
RJ Ellory Candlemoth is superb,
Starter for Ten by David Nicholls is funny.