Reddit mentions: The best british & irish humor books

• The first book (I believe) to be written using some Scottish dialect was Sunset Song and is considered to be a classic. I read it when I was younger and thought it was OK. I probably should give it another go though.
  
  
• A book I loved was How Late It Was How Late which captures the internal dialogue of a Glaswegian through his various trials and tribulations. It (controversially) won the Man Booker prize in 1994.
  
  
• I also loved The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson. I can't remember if it is written in Scots, but I'm fairly sure it is. I think James Robertson is a great author and I've never read a duff book of his yet. I loved And the Land Lay Still. The Fanatic was really interesting and I'm currently reading Joseph Knight.
  
  
• Swing Hammer Swing! was pretty enjoyable.
  
  
• Budda Da was pretty good, worth a read.
  
  Good luck in finding something else you enjoy reading!
  

If you like fantasy things, but enjoy new and unusual twists and turns then the Dragaera books by Steven Brust.

If you like (fantasy) comedy with some interesting parallels to our world then you'll love the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. Similar to that there is a nice series of books by Tom Holt based upon the idea of "real world" + "magic" but in a very comedy-friendly way - particularly in the series of books that starts with The Portable Door.

Finally... I loved Dune, and the sequels, but not the prequels.

The Best of Roald Dahl - a great collection of short stories.

The Portable Door by Tom Holt - funny & a good story.

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich - fast-paced, entertaining non-fiction.

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby - better than the movie. Easy read, funny.

I have yet to read And Another Thing..., but I have heard that it is both good and different. I would say get more opinions on it before reading Mostly Harmless. Moreover, if you do decide to go on with the series and want something that looks good on your shelf, I would recommend The Ultimate Hitchiker's Guide. It is the first five and some short stories, which are also good. Moreover, it is a very nice looking book. Then have And Another Thing... as a separate book beside it, as it should be being from a different author.

If I remember after I get around to reading And Another Thing..., I'll come back and update this.

I read a bunch of Tom Holt's books, they were pretty light and funny, they each (at least the ones I read) had an interesting twist on standard fantasy fare. Neil Gaiman's books also has some pretty awesome (if sometimes twisted) humor in it. I also suggest trying an Anthology (like this one) to scope out some authors and see if you like their writing style.

dude, don't even talk to me about dropping much more on liquids than you should. You should read my review series... i've got so fuckin many bottles. here's the link to the latest one, links to the others at the top of the page. I've got 36 bottles from Gremlin to review and about 18 from rasta vapors that just came in. Prolly do AiV, greenmanjuice and a few others as soon as I can get through what I have left.

Best gift I ever got anyone in my life, i got it for one of my best friends: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Complete/dp/0517226952/ref=pd_sim_b_1

leatherbound with a silk page holder. I don't really like tobacco flavors, but I trust the chef and I love HHGTTG, so I ordered beeblebrox, slartibartfast and deep thought samples. I'll be writing a review of them shortly, along with all the other flavors I didn't try from the chef last time.

Good gravy, please read this ASAP. The Hitchhikers series is phenomenal. I have read the entire series multiple times, and it's great every time. Funny, insanely smart, sarcastic, just great. Douglas Adams was an incredibly smart guy (regularly lectured on technology, etc) and it really comes through in the books.

Seriously. Get this now. I have this bad boy and it's one of my most prized possessions.

There are three recent good translations from Mexican authors and the books are great, considering you liked Aira, Cortázar and Bolaño.

The story of my teeth (Valeria Luiselli)
Signs preceding the end of the world (yuri herrera)
and I'll sell you a dog

enjoy!

Could you please recommend three of the type from India?

Little Hands Clapping was pretty good and kind of messed up. It's pretty short too.

Horns by Joe Hill was also good.

But the two I'd really recommend are The little girl who was too fond of matches

And End of Alice by A.M Homes which is one of my favourite books of all time.

Blind Faith by Ben Elton.. It's so witty and clever, I love the concept too :D Here it is on amazon :)

those are awesome. They come in paperback and hardcover too, but I love the leather bound ones because they look almost like bibles.

Jasper FForde's The Big Over Easy is pretty light, but funny. I'd also reccomend The Automatic Detective. Neither of these are particularly deep, but they're fun stories, imho.

I stumbled on Academy X and it looks baller. I'd also be down to read Point Omega by the incredible Don Delillo or Wool. I'm in the middle of Wool, and it's just a really excellently written and pretty straightforward dystopian novel.

Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse is a good read. Not as laugh out loud as some of the others mentioned, but the setting and characters make it enjoyable.

Also, The Big Over Easy and The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde. If you like Christopher Moore, either one is worth checking out.

What did that picture have to do with your question?

But, to answer your question (if I didn't already have a fully packed bag), if I had a minute or two before I had to flee I'd grab my backpack and pack it with (and my answer will not include things already packed in my BOB, just regular normal stuff here in my apartment)...

Peanut butter

Tuna fish

Can opener

Tylenol

Caffeine pills

Ephedrine

Contact case, contact juice, all my extra contacts

the glasses they issued me in boot camp

2 pairs of socks

2 pairs of underwear

1 pair of the pants they issued me in boot camp (mine are slightly different than the one in this link. No drawstring, they have the typical zipper and button like normal jeans and typical front pockets found on jeans)

my Dad's old Navy cold weather jacket he was issued in the 70's. (Very similar to this but without the hood. I'd secure it to my backpack with the straps on the bottom made for a tent or sleeping bag.)

Leather belt

the knife they issued me at my first duty station

the largest Nalgene-style water bottle I own, filled with water

Several bottles of water

Flashlight, extra batteries

Ear plugs

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide

Pocket magnetic chess set

I have a large and light weight hiking backpack, I've fit a cube shaped 36-pack of beer in it with room for more. And of course, I'd walk out the front door with my two melee weapons in hand: a homemade mace/baton and short sword.

Ben Elton’s new book Identity Crisis .

> Why are we all so hostile? So quick to take offence? Truly we are living in the age of outrage.

> A series of apparently random murders draws amiable, old-school Detective Mick Matlock into a world of sex, politics, reality TV and a bewildering kaleidoscope of opposing identity groups. Lost in a blizzard of hashtags, his already complex investigation is further impeded by the fact that he simply doesn’t ‘get’ a single thing about anything anymore.

I’m only half way through but really enjoying it so far, it has passed the 6 laugh test.

Hey and welcome and although I'm almost sure someone has already told you, you should read "A year in the Merde" although after 6 years it might already be too late =)

Sounds like Happiness by Canadian author Will Ferguson. Great book!

"My Uncle Oswald" is an excellent Roald Dahl book, quite different to a lot of his other writings. I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/My-Uncle-Oswald-Roald-Dahl/dp/0140055770/

You know what strikes me as a commonality in your list here? Narcissistic protagonists. With very few exceptions these are all novels of profound selfishness. The quintessential narcissist is Holden Caufield, but recommending The Catcher in the Rye feels too easy. Instead I'll give you Lux the Poet, by Martin Millar. It's got Angels, Punk Rock, the Brixton Riots and a good dashing of cocaine.

The Portable Door by Tom Holt is great. British humor with a fantasy element. And goblins. Lots of goblins.

• Jingo - Book 21 - $3.79
  
• The Color of Magic - Book 1 - $3.99
  
• The Light Fantastic - Book 2 - $3.99
  
• Pyramids - Book 7 - $3.99
  
• The Long Earth - $3.99
  
• The Fifth Elephant - Book 24 - $3.99
  
• Making Money - Book 36 - $3.99
  
• The Last Continent - Book 22 - $3.99
  
• Thud! - Book 34 - $3.99

This is the best, in my opinion

The Deluxe Version is awesome

And the BBC Radio series is not too shabby either.

Ben Elton's Blind Faith is quite a good read

It's a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy themed case. If you haven't read the books, I really wish that I were you so that I could read them again for the first time.

Check out The Salmon of Doubt, an interesting collection of Adams' essays, short stories, letters, and other tidbits that were assembled posthumously by his editor.

Ben Elton's novels have an uncanny way of getting things right. Dead Famous deals with would-be celebrities' desperation and what they will do for fame, which is why I am citing it in this thread, while Blind Faith bears more than a passing resemblance to the potential Dystopian results of adhesion to political correctness and Past Mortem looks uncannily like the activities of Jimmy Saville would have come as no surprise to him.

There is a quote in Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett referring to this. It is called
Crab Mentality, it's a prominent plot point in the book. But I can completely see it used in ASOIAF, maybe by Davos or as a lesson taught to Arya.

Ninja edit to fix clarification.

I'd pick it up used off Amazon if I were you

The book: http://www.amazon.com/My-Uncle-Oswald-Roald-Dahl/dp/0140055770

This might be what you're looking for: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Complete/dp/0517226952/

I believe that's the version I have on my shelf at home.

Here you go.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (better yet: The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, with the four following novels)

reminds me of this book.

I would do it on a particular printing of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Au fait, pour motiver ton mari, fais lui lire "A year in the Merde" et demande lui s'il veut être "Jake the American" dans le roman.

The book that I had contained all of the books in the series bound together. Similar to this

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Complete/dp/0517226952

Here ya go!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0517226952?ie=UTF8&at=&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

Out of all of the books I have ever read, I think about only one book more than I do Hitchhiker's. That book is the Art of War.

THIS is the version I have, and highly recommend it.