Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/
This week‘s topic: BOOKS THAT MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD
So not my topic! I like some humour in my books and I do laugh, however comedies are not my thing.
Let‘s start with my favourite book of 2015:
The Martian
by Andy Weir
I read this twice, listened to the audiobook once or twice, watched the movie several times. I love it. And it definitely makes me laugh out loud. Take one smart-arse with a wacky sense of humour, give him some knowledge of botany and mechanical engineering skills, dump him on Mars and abandon him. Watch and be entertained.
“I’m pretty much fucked. That’s my considered opinion. Fucked.”
Good thing he has some bad 70s TV shows, Disco and some Hercule Poirot to take his mind of things and a never ending supply of crazy ideas, how to survive until the next mission to Mars arrives to save him…
“I would only be “in command” of the mission if I were the only remaining person. What do you know? I’m in command.”
“Damn it, Jim, I’m a botanist, not a chemist!”
“Yeah. This all sounds like a great idea with no chance of catastrophic failure. That was sarcasm, by the way.”
“How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.”
“All my brilliant plans foiled by thermodynamics. Damn you, Entropy!”
I thought the snark and humour would get annoying eventually, but they didn’t. Maybe it got old a little, later on in the book, but just a tiny, weeny bit.
“In your face, Neil Armstrong!”
“Beers for everyone if I get back to Earth.”
Another very funny book that really cracked me up:
Notes from a Small Island
by Bill Bryson
Not a good choice for reading in public.
“Is it raining out?’ the reception girl asked brightly as I filled in the registration card between sneezes and pauses to wipe water from my face with the back of my arm. ‘No, my ship sank and I had to swim the last seven miles.”
I am not sure how funny this one is — I tead it in 2011, so my memory is a little fuzzy. But my quote sounds absurd enough…
Does Anything Eat Wasps?: And 101 Other Unsettling, Witty Answers to Questions You Never Thought You Wanted to Ask
by New Scientist
A treasure trove of trivia. If you want to dazzle people at parties with superfluous knowledge, learn this book by heart and you are set.
“Because cats always land on their feet and toast always lands buttered side down, you can construct a perpetual motion machine by simply strapping a slice of buttered toast to a cat’s back. When the cat is dropped it will remain suspended and revolve indefinitely due to the opposing forces.”
page 72
Somehow I don’t think my cat would have seen the funny side of it, if I had tossed him from our balcony with a slice of toast strapped to his back. Tempting.
The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York: A Yarn for the Strange at Heart
by Kory Merritt
“Beware ye of little nerve,
for there is a Story out there,
lurking in the brambles,
and it knows your name.”
Soundtrack: Hotel California.
Our guys are stuck in a weird guesthouse in the middle of a creepy swamp. To pay their bills, the have to tell stories to the innkeeper and his wife.
The Ice Cream Story, eep! Great details, laughed quite a bit. So true, as well!
Ok, Alien Abduction Story, panel 47… Who is the guy on the bottom left, next to Elvis?
Liked the artwork, liked the font, liked the stories and the monsters, was thoroughly entertained.
I am not absolutely sure, what age this is aimed at. Best guess is Middle Grade, based on the bio of the author.
What’s It All About
by Michael Caine
Biographies are not really my genre, but this was an entertaining and funny book. The most vividly remembered parts of this book are his early years, for example London during WWII and his early excursions with Peter O’Toole. I am never quite sure — is he serious or is he taking the piss?
Ok, that‘s it for this week, just five books instead of 10. That makes me pretty even with my really long list from last week… 😝
Cathy's Reading Bonanza 