Reddit mentions: The best humorous american literature books

I've been waiting for this thread, although sadly I will most likely only be able to torment you.

I grew up with these collections in the local library, and reread them until they literally fell apart. I hope they will offer some guidance in your search for amazing sci fi shorts.

First, some specifics:

Science Fiction A to Z is an excellent cross section of sci fi, covering the far corners and various points inbetween. From everything to a strange time traveling western, to the comical problem of Santa Clause being a threat to national security, and then reaching from an awesome space opera all the way to the simple question of 'why not mount heavy weapons on all vehicles in America', this book is an excellent read.

Asimov's Laughing Space lives up to its name. Filled with the most zany and hilarious sci fi shorts, with scattered poems, comics, and pictures to keep you coming back for more. This is a jewel among sci fi, showcasing some of the best humorists and just plain funniness of sci fi.

The Treasury of Science Fiction (and it's cousin, the World Treasury of Science Fiction) covers some of the giants of sci fi. Well known stories, and some not so well known, fill the pages of this tome.

Onto more general anthologies:

The Masterpieces anthology attempts to pick the best stories from each generation (which I feel is an oxymoron, as there is simply too many "best stories" to fit into a single collection). Regardless, the editor sought to showcase a number of stories, and some are quite excellent, ranging from Ellison's classic "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman", to Harry Turtledove's "The Road Not Taken" (both personal favorites of mine); and of course, "Tunesmith", by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.

The titans of these anthologies are quite arguably Asimov and Campbell, as they both edited and selected the vast majority of these stories. Asimoc truly shined with The Hugo Winners, a giant collection of every story that won the Hugo Award. These stories are truly incredible, made all the more so by Asimov personally introducing each story and giving his thoughts on the story and its' author. This truly helps bring perspective and focus to each story, as well as giving delightful history and background! But do not forget the stories; they will be some of the best literature you will have ever experienced.

Not to be forgotten would be the New Hugo Winners collections, partially edited by Asimov. However, if as I suspect you are looking for more of the older classics, this might be less of what you're looking for.

Campbell however was the editor of Astounding Science Fiction, one of the premier sci fi magazines. And the Astounding Science Fiction Anthology is exactly what it sounds like: the best stories Astounding published under Campbell's editorship. An excellent read of a wide ranging selection of authors.

The Hall of Fame anthologies (Vol. 2) are also worth mentioning, and feature what other great sci fi writers believe to be great sci fi. While many of these stories are well known, there are some that are unknown to the general public, and are well worth reading.

The Best Of collections go into greater detail of several specific years, near the height of the Golden Age. Most of these are lesser known works, but contain a certain energy and uniqueness. I found most of them to be quite enjoyable reading.

And to round it all out, Asimov once again returns with his Great Sci Fi Stories a series that encompasses even more sci fi shorts, many of them not well known (but should be!). Some amazing sci fi stories exist within the pages of these books, including "Ether Breather" by Theodore Sturgeon (and it's followup, "Butyl and the Breather"). I could wax on about the stories contained, but they should speak for themselves.

As an honorable mention, I should include the Tales series from Star Wars, edited by Kevin J. Anderson: Jabba's Palace, Mos Eisley Cantina, Empire, and The New Republic.

And with that, it's late, and I can't remember any other specifics, so I shall leave you with that. I with you luck in trying to acquire the very rare hard copies of these, as most of them have become old, forgotten, and faded into history :(

Wow. An opportunity, and I feel nervous about messing it up. :D

I am going to pitch Welcome to Temptation, by Jennifer Crusie. It's the story of a woman (Sophie) and her sister who travel to the town of Temptation to help their brother's ex-girlfriend make a movie, which ends up being a porn movie, which invites some pushback from some of the townspeople, including the mayor, with whom she falls in love.
Why read it? Well, Sophie comes from a family of con men/women, so there is a lot of clever behavior/interaction with townspeople. Sophie loves old lines from classic films. Sophie is the one who writes the script for the porn movie, kind of based on her own sexual awakening. But it's all very funny. There's a murder, but even that is humorously handled.
Thematically, it addresses the idea of small towns as inherently conservative; Sophie;s arrival is a bit of a catalyst for change. About the sex scenes: in a good romance, the sex scenes are part of character development, and this is a good romance.
If you like Dove Bars and Dusty Springfield, you will like this book! :D
Available on Kindle!

A really good writer that does a good job at making everyone fleshed out, is A. Lee Martinez.

If you like high-fantasy read In the Company of Ogres

If you enjoy the supernatural elements read Gil's all fright diner

If you want a detective read the Automatic detective

If you want a modern mythological read Divine Misfortune

If you want a a strong female lead with bouts of comedy try A nameless witch

If you want a book that has plenty of monsters try Monster

If you want eldritch horrors threatening the world try Chasing the Moon

And if you want a contrast to the heroes saving the day here is a story of a kobold housemaid who ends up in a perilous situtation Too Many curses

I can't stress enough how wonderful this writer is, his ability to make likable and strong characters is phenominal even when he jumps genres.

I strongly recommend that you pick up at least one of his books, his books were released a while ago and they should be fairly cheap. The Amazon prices were under $10 USD so it shouldn't be hard to get one or two, but he does a good job at making sure no-one you meet is just another cog to play a role.

Jane Austen books take a lot of shit from the menfolk, but honestly I love her heroines. They are usually quite intelligent and have a lot to say about the unfairness of a woman's lot during that period.

Probably my favorite female character of all time, is Cassandra French. If you haven't read Eric Garcia's book, you really should.

I think Dune would be a huge mistake.
My recommendation would be "Crazy" by William Peter Blatty:
"It's a sweet-natured, often hilarious tale cast as the memoirs of an 82-year-old former screenwriter named Joey El Bueno."
"Sassy humor and gentle nostalgia is the surprisingly effective combination employed by Blatty... in this fond look back at 1940s- era New York."
"... the pleasures of this lovely, time-shifting novel, which evokes a lost New York complete with a school excursion to Coney Island and side trips to "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." It's like a classic Jean Shepherd anecdote with supernatural overtones. Blatty also cites Ray Bradbury and Robert Nathan as influences, and "Crazy" more than once invokes Kurt Vonnegut."

I just loved it.
http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-William-Peter-Blatty/dp/0765326493/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0

That's definitely a lot tougher to find, yeah, my suggestion doesn't really fit what you're looking for in that regard. It's easier to find that sort of thing in Japanese light novels, or maybe in comedy stuff. Too Many Curses, for example, has a kobold minion as the protagonist. It's a great read, but definitely a comedy, and I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for either.

I can think of a lot of fantasy heroes that aren't the traditional farmer to hero archetype, but most of them still end up as thieves, fighters, etc. Locke Lamora, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, that sort of thing. I'll think on it.

This isn't a classic, but IMO it should be:

The Fermata centers around a temp named Arno Strine and his sexual escapades as a time-freezing pervert, transcribing temp, erotica ("rot") writer, and sensitive literary aesthete. One of the raunchiest, funniest, deepest, and thoughtful books about the male gaze. I've read it twice and have recommended it to a number of people who love it. Thought provoking, hot, and in the end, kind of sweet and romantic. But deeply philosophical, too.

This book is in my top 5 novels ever, right alongside East of Eden and Brothers Karamazov.

I guess I'm having a hard time with this because it feels like Amazon's fees and the general nature of low low priced books will completely eat away any profit. For instance, I found what looks like a brand new copy of this: http://www.amazon.com/Sizzling-Sixteen-Stephanie-Plum-Novels/dp/B004E3XI8U/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_har?ie=UTF8&qid=1380901290&sr=8-1&keywords=sizzling+sixteen+hardcover for $1. But when I look at the used books, they're going for like $1 plus $4 shipping.

Can you break this down for me so I understand exactly what's coming out? I found this book: http://www.amazon.com/Sizzling-Sixteen-Stephanie-Plum-Novels/dp/B004E3XI8U/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_har?ie=UTF8&qid=1380901290&sr=8-1&keywords=sizzling+sixteen+hardcover for $1. It looks practically brand new. Here are my questions

1. Should I list it as new? It could certainly pass for new, or at the very least "like new." It doesn't look like whoever used to own it ever opened it up.
   
   
2. I don't have many books to flip right now, so I'm not currently doing FBA (By the way, a very specific breakdown of exactly how FBA works, how to get signed up, fees involved etc., would be fantastic if you have the time). It will cost me $3 to ship this book with media mail (I weighed it just to confirm). What should I price this at so that I can actually make something with it? Or is it a lost cause?
   
   I guess I'm just having a hard time seeing how to actually make any money with books, since I've spent several hours now looking and haven't found anything that wasn't selling for as little as .01 plus shipping by someone else. Am I just looking at the wrong things? If I am, how do I start finding the RIGHT books? Do you have a quick checklist that helps you determine if it might be a good choice for Amazon reselling?
   
   Basically I'm just frustrated that I got so excited and I've had my hopes dashed in the first week of trying to do this. Any help is, of course, greatly appreciated.

For general fantasy I've enjoyed Gentleman Bastard, The Kingkiller Chronicle, and The Broken Empire. I listen to Kingkiller Chronicle fairly often due to the amount of commuting I do where I live.

For more urban/fantasy maybe try Lives of Tao, Iron Druid Chronicles, or anything by Neil Gaiman. The anniversary edition of American Gods was really excellent on audio-book. Not sure if the others have audio editions or not.

I've also really enjoyed stuff by Drew Hayes (a webnovelist). His banner series is SuperPowereds. But I though NPCs was a great take on an old fantasy trope. Neither come in audio formats unfortunately.

Good luck.

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror also you should read Warm Bodies if you haven't already. I thought it was pretty profound for a zombie love story. I am recommending it as I spoke with someone earlier this week who didn't even know it had been a novel first. I already told you earlier that you need to read Swan Song although it is out of print I believe, so you may need to do some digging. (Or ask an internet friend really nicely if they might ship you their copy to borrow) That's all I can think of for now.

The whole Ender's Game series is really, really good. I highly suggest reading all of the books. Everyone always compares it to the Hunger Games, but I personally don't think they really compare.

2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America is a book I thoroughly enjoyed, and I had my dad read it too. It's it's a bit apocalyptic, and of course it's a fictional novel, but the story sounds so plausible it's scary.

People have already recommended a bunch of books by John Green, but I second those recommendations. He's a wonderful author.

Finally, a coming-of-age book which just so happens to be my all-time favorite book is The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

I can talk about books all day. I love reading so much

Unconventional, eh? Try Tom Robbins. His writing style is beautiful, and his plots are completely out there. For example, his book Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas is written entirely in second person. After I read all of Vonnegut, he filled the void.

There's this one book called The Bear Went Over the Mountain by William Kotzwinkle that I've always adored. It's about a bear who finds a briefcase that changes his life.

I love Max Barry. I'd recommend Jennifer Government.

The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. I'm a fan of time-travel, and history, and I was completely sucked into it. She's got a number of books in the same universe- some comedic, some very dramatic, but The Doomsday Book is my favourite.

If you're at all interested in high fantasy, I'd recommend either Tigana or The Fionovar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay. You either love his prose style or hate it, but if you love it, it will definitely take you away.

If you like SF and haven't read them, I'd try either Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos, or David Brin's Uplift Series (I'd skip Sundiver until later, and start with Startide Rising.)

If you're looking for more light-hearted/quirky, I'd try Christopher Moore- either Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal , or The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror. If you're into a mix of horror/sf/comedy, try John Dies at the End. They're not deep, but they're fun.

Non-fiction- if you haven't read it yet, Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air is very difficult to put down. If you're travelling with someone who doesn't mind you looking up every few pages and saying "did you know this, this is awesome, wow-how interesting", I'd go for Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants or Bill Bryson's At Home: A Short History of Private Life. They're all very informative, fun, interesting books, but they're even better if you can share them while you're reading them.

No book as ever made me laugh more than Apathy and Other Small Victories. I am hoping that it has gained enough popularity for you to have already read it, to be honest.

The Stupidest Angel: A Heart Warming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore

Click Here for the Amazon Link

It's a fun christmas story about what happens when a zombie invasion starts because an Angel shows up 2000 years late to the birth of the baby in the manger and grants a kid a christmas wish.

It's a clever little story for christmas.

>As a thought experiment, how would you feel about bestiality erotica? Infant molestation erotica? Murder erotica? I am not suggesting that these are necessarily the same as incest. Is there, though, a line that can be drawn?

If you have an individual who reads about infant molestation, who's wanted in connection to a child rape case - his kindle purchases can be used against him by prosecution. What we are really talking about here is porn. Child porn is universally denounced, but not for the "thought crimes" it invokes, but for the under age performers.

If someone gets their jollies off reading a book about these things rather than molesting a child, I'm 100% approving of it.

> If it is to Amazon's financial detriment, I have no doubt that they will reverse their policy.

I use to work in a small video chain. Porn videos were easily 30-40% of revenue. It's what allowed the chain to survive against the likes of blockbuster and hollywood video. I'm sure it's out of business today, but I would imagine there is at least 10% of profit stream for Amazon here, where Netflix could see that 30% increase in sales easily.

While a book like Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove isn't an erotic book, there is a short bit of hilarious bestiality in it. Amazon is setting a precedent for removal based on content that's ill defined, and this should disturb people.

Check out Robert Asprin. He had two series that were full of bad puns and more like caper stories than anything serious.

Another Fine Myth and the subsequent Myth series follows a Demon and his apprentice magician.

Phule's Company follows a space legion commander ( Willard Phule) and his rag tag group through some non-traditional missions.

They're good for kids as well as adults. Great fun to read.

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Favorite novel of the year

Just Kids by Patti Smith. Favorite memoir.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu.

Apathy by Paul Neilan.

It wouldn't be a blockbuster by any means, but it'd be a great film to see in the autumn months for some quick (yet, somehow witty) laughs.

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: http://smile.amazon.com/Make-Love-Bruce-Campbell-Way/dp/031231261X


|Country|Link|Charity Links|
|:-----------|:------------|:------------|
|USA|smile.amazon.com|EFF|
|UK|www.amazon.co.uk|Macmillan|
|Spain|www.amazon.es||
|France|www.amazon.fr||
|Germany|www.amazon.de||
|Japan|www.amazon.co.jp||
|Canada|www.amazon.ca||
|Italy|www.amazon.it||
|India|www.amazon.in||
|China|www.amazon.cn||




To help donate money to charity, please have a look at this thread.

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If you're looking for a simple and fun read, check this book out. It's absolutely hilarious. After reading it you won't learn anything or feel any smarter, but it is definitely worth the read because you'll laugh your ass off.

Not to everyone's taste, but really well written smut: House of Holes, The Fermata and Vox all by Nicholson Baker (who writes non-sexy things pretty dang well, too).

On a lighter note, it'd like to recommend [this book] (https://www.amazon.com/Stupidest-Angel-Heartwarming-Christmas-Terror/dp/0060842350) as a fun read for those interested in Xmas (zombie apocalypse) wars. It's very funny.

The Tortilla Curtain or The Brothers Karamazov (linked version is by far my favorite translation). The former deals with race and class relations (in a frequently humorous way), the latter is an absolute classic that deals with more issues that I can list. In the case of The Brothers Karamazov do be sure to pick a good tranlsation as there are some good and very poor ones.

Christopher Moore,
Douglas Coupland,
Max Barry,
Some books that I have, but only the singular novel...
Apathy And Other Small Victories,
The Futurist

hope that helps

How To Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe is about a man who travels through time looking for his father, the inventor of the first time machine. It's beautifully written and quite affecting.

Edit: The author, Charles Yu, also made a list of his top ten time travel books for The Guardian, which you can find here.

this is actually the plot of a great erotic novel by Nicholson Baker called "The Fermata." a guy finds out that he can stop time and basically just uses it for elaborate masturbation fantasies.

https://www.amazon.com/Fermata-Nicholson-Baker/dp/0679759336

enjoy!

This is a common thing in this book (great read, by the way), and it gives a pretty good idea of what it would be like.

I highly recommend the book Apathy to everyone. The protagonist makes a living out of sleeping on the can at work and other WTF stuff. It's awesome.

It hits this topic pretty hard... not to mention its the only book that's ever actually made me laugh out loud continuously. For the record. I don't read, ever. Read this book though. You'll thank me.

I don't know if it counts as life changing, but Apathy and Other Small Victories depicts a rather different, but hilarious narration of some of the more mundane/depressing parts of one man's life. A fairly short read, but it's one of my favorites.

Apathy and Other Small Victories: A Novel

It is dark and weird. I barely remember the plot, but I know it had me laughing out loud.

Apathy and Other Small Victories: A Novel https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312352190/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_oQZ3DbAN6BANT


Also, Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Own Company. And Frank Portman's King Dork.

I agree. Actually, anything by Christopher Moore is hilarious.

One of the funniest books I've ever read was Apathy and Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan. http://www.amazon.com/Apathy-Other-Small-Victories-Neilan/dp/0312351747

Apathy and Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan. It's a dark comedy that doesn't end in a "happy" way. Short and sweet. Plus it's only like $2 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Apathy-Other-Small-Victories-Neilan/dp/0312352190

The Fermata by Nicholson Baker is the story of a man who has the ability to pause time. The guy is a total pervert and he uses his power to act out elaborate pornographic schemes. Hilarious book - really well written but also pretty raunchy

Pretty classic paradox. Reminds me of a highly condensed version of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe.

This novel may interest you.

Edit: To sum it up: "Baker's ingenious fifth novel, about a 35-year-old temp worker who stops time to act out elaborate sexual fantasies."

I know it's not quite a children's book, but "Apathy and Other Small Victories" by Paul Neilan is by far the funniest book I've ever read.

I haven't read it personally, but my friend won't stop raving about Apathy and Other Small Victories

Speaking of funny and politics in the same book, a lot of Carl Hiaasen's novels, such as Strip Tease are political. And hilarious.

If you like this movie, check out The Fermata By Nicholson Baker. (One of my favorite authors.)

My husband and I both loved Striptease by Carl Hiaasen. The movie was awful, and I didn't care for too many of his other books, but this one was really funny.

Almost finished with "Too Many Curses" by A. Lee Martinez. He's one of the few fantasy authors I can stomach anymore, the other being Terry Pratchett. I guess I got sick of serious high fantasy and can only really do light-hearted comedy fantasy anymore. It's a nice light read with some enjoyable characters but some just outright silly stuff I could do without. Almost feels like an early work of his that got reworked and published.

I'm also kind of in the middle of "Slow Apocalypse" by John Varley. It was getting a little depressing, so I put it down for a while. I should have expected that from the title though. I live in the region the book is set in and work in The Industry, so a lot of the places and things and people he mentions in the opening are spot on. Maybe that's why I've found it so disturbing so far.

I'm also a couple of pages into "The Steel Tsar" by Michael Moorcock. I've been wanting to read this trilogy for years and am so glad they decided to republish it. I picked up the first two, "Warlord of the Air" and "The Land Leviathan", a couple months ago and enjoyed those very much, especially from a 'history of sf' sort of perspective. You can see the fledgling steampunk/alternate reality setting as they were interpreted in the early 1970s.

Based on your writing style (which is hilarious), I have a feeling you might enjoy this book: Apathy...

Christopher Moore's "The Stupidest Angel". Nothing like some good old fashioned Christmas Zombies to get you in the holiday spirit. Also, it has the greatest one sentence chapter in the world.

You might enjoy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Fermata-Nicholson-Baker/dp/0679759336

Amazon is your friend.

It's one of my favorite book covers

Apathy and Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan. Fucking hilarious, in a lot of the same ways as JDatE.

The Fermata
is a book that deals quite interestingly with just that subject.

there is a book with a similar premise. The Fermata by Nicholson Baker. the pervy narrator stops time and undresses women. fun book.

You guys should check out The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu if you like the premise in the OP. The sequel is pretty bomb too.

There's a great book on the topic!

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove (Pine Cove Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060735457/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Ug4KAbJCH4Y7J

At least some of them are available as Kindle books now, and you can still find used copies floating around. I would say the omnibus is the way to go (in several volumes): Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures Volume 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592221114/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nyZjDbP4FR4VJ

Apathy And Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan is by far the funniest book I have ever come across. http://www.amazon.com/Apathy-Other-Small-Victories-Neilan/dp/0312351747

Nicholson Baker has explored this concept in his novel The Fermata

Hi.

T.C. Boyle is similar to Chuck P but better in MANY ways -- also a bit more literary. He writes a lot of really great fiction, usually with a social message intertwined.

I recommend

1. Tortilla Curtain (about an Illegal Immigrant and Middle Class guy and how their lives become suddenly intertwined),
   
   
   
2. A friend of the earth About an aging environmental terrorist
   
3. Talk Talk About a deaf woman who gets her identity stolen.
   
   
   
   
   

> And how many bears do you see on a regular basis? Do you sit next to them on the bus? Do you work with them? Do you add them on Facebook?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TSC8AK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

This is a very weird book. It's like Being There, but with a bear.

A mental fuck could be nice.

http://amzn.com/B004OA62WC

Thank you for the Contest!

The Tortilla Curtain

The Fermata, for all your rapey fantasy needs

Paul Neilan

http://www.amazon.com/Apathy-Other-Small-Victories-Neilan/dp/0312351747

The Fermata

Here.

A while back in a similar thread someone mentioned a book based on the same premise as the 4chan story: The Fermata by Nicholson Baker.

For those who chose pausing time i suggest reading The Fermata by Nicholson Baker

I first read The Fermata twenty-three years ago. It was my introduction to the genre and left a lasting mark on me.

Have you read The Fermata, by Nicholson Baker?

The Fermata

Apathy and Other Small Victories

http://www.amazon.com/Apathy-Other-Small-Victories-Neilan/dp/0312351747

Have I got a book for you...

http://www.amazon.com/Apathy-Other-Small-Victories-Neilan/dp/0312352190/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377745751&sr=8-1&keywords=apathy+and+other+small+victories



http://www.amazon.com/Stargirl-Readers-Circle-Jerry-Spinelli/dp/0440416779/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377745773&sr=8-1&keywords=stargirl

A book too!

The Fermata by Nicholson Baker

This is for you.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312352190/

The Bear Went Over The Mountain

Thanks Todd. I think your link is broken.

Try this link

How about just cutting funding for bullshit departments? I went to a public uni renowned for being leftist and took chemistry, computer science, bioinformatics, physics, math courses and politics never came up even once in any of them.

The university-mandated general education course about "changing world perspectives", on the other hand... Well, this should be a good indication.

You could stop time and read Nicholson Baker's The Fermata

Apathy and other small victories

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0312352190/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1420420120&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fermata-Nicholson-Baker/dp/0679759336

An amazing writer. Maybe not strictly sane, but a hell of a wordsmith.