January RandomCAT: LOL

comedy, comedy, comedy, COMEDEEEE TONIIIIGHT:
https://youtu.be/sMrjeejmCpI

This month's theme is laughter.

You can read something that makes you laugh.

You can explore the history of the comic theatre from Aristophanes down to the present day.

Why do we laugh? You might want to explore the psychology behind laughter or a cross-cultural study (another culture's comedy is one of the most difficult things to "get").

Some books from my collection I tagged humour:



And don't forget to add to the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2021_RandomCAT#January:_-_Theme:_LOL

Great theme! Probably what a lot of people need right now!

Love the theme! I could use a feel good book in January and Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse should hit the spot.

YES! I like this idea! Looking forward to figuring out what to read :)

Perfect theme for dreary old January!

Great way to start the new year! I've had A Dead Red Heart: humorous mystery on my shelf since 2011. Time to dust it off and take it for a spin.

Putting my thinking cap on.

Oh, this is something to look forward to! Thanks!

Oh, excellent choice of topic Robert! Sounds like the perfect time to break out my new copy of Janey Godley's Frank Get The Door (which doesn't seem to have a touchstone yet), and if I have time later in the month I might head to the next (for me) in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde.

Shakespeare for Squirrels. Just the title makes me laugh.

I think I'll read Letters From a Nut by Ted L Nancy. Hope it's funny.

Oh, yay! What a great way to start the year!

I think I'll probably read Notes from a Small Island for this one. Bryson never fails to make me laugh right out loud.

I've got some Ogden Nash anthologies that I've yet to explore, this would be a good month to do so!

I'll join the chorus---great theme! I've been wanting to read some David Sedaris. Maybe this is the time. I'll see if I have any others on my virtual shelf that fit.

I am going to read a vintage romantic comedy with Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp.

Love this theme! My first thought is P.G. Wodehouse...or I might go with Don't, Mr. Disraeli! by Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simon.

I think I'll read Rumpole and the Angel of Death by John Mortimer, a book of 6 short stories.

>16 christina_reads: ohh, there's a thought. Wodehouse. I've got a few unread on the shelf...
*scurries off to check the piles*

I love Wodehouse! I need a Bertie and Jeeves fix. I also just looked through my Rumpole collection, so something there might work for me too. This is a great choice for RandomCAT January.

>16 christina_reads: >19 LadyoftheLodge: I'm more team Blandings than team Wooster, so one of my choices is going to be Summer Lightning.

>16 christina_reads: I went through a Caryl Brahms period in my teens and twenties, but haven't seen any of her books for years.

>20 Robertgreaves: I read No Bed for Bacon a couple years ago and found it fairly hilarious, so I'm excited to try this one as well.

Such a wonderful idea! This is my first time trying the RandomCat, and I'm looking forward to some laughs to start the new year. Lots of good suggestions here.

Perfect theme to start the year!

Apparently I have a couple of Stephen Leacocks as yet unread, so I've set aside Nonsense Novels for this challenge.

The last few years, I've not been very involved in participating in the category challenge's CATs and KITs but I definitely hope to remedy that in 2021. Laughter/humor is perfect for that, especially for my category of books on things that have helped me get through the pandemic. Of course, humor is one such thing.

One of the funniest humorous series I know of is the Alexander McCall Smith series featuring Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. There hasn't been a new book in the series for at least 10 years. I was excited to see that there'll be one in 2021 but, alas, Your Inner Hedgehog wont be out til later in the year. Hmmm, I wonder if this is on Net Galley. No, drat.

I'm thinking of Noir: A Novel by Christopher Moore.

This is such a great theme! I'm sure to get a lot of BBs from all of the books to be read here. Haven't decided yet, but I do have a Wodehouse on the shelf I haven't read, if all else fails.

My possible contenders if I read anything for this category are

Painfully British Haikus by Dale Shaw
Schweres Geknitter von @KriegundFreitag

These are both very funny short books that I gifted to my husband but wanted to read as well. The second one consists of short cartoons by a German instagram artist.

If I have time for a longer read I might choose Stardust by Neil Gaiman, again a book recommended to me by my husband and one of the first films we ever watched together, but I still want to read the book!

>27 MissBrangwen: Oooh, Neil Gaiman! I will never not chime in and encourage a Gaiman choice. He's the best!

I've got a couple picked out. I'm hoping I can do both on audio:
Furiously Happy / Jenny Lawson
The Tao of Martha / Jen Lancaster

Maybe Good talk by Mira Jacob.

I want to say thanks for setting up this topic. It has made me more aware if when I laugh, and that's a good thing!

I have said many times over the past several weeks that laughter -- real, in person, spontaneous and organically developed laughter -- is one of the scarcities in 2020. This is a perfect way to start the new year!

I'm thinking I'll read Less by Andrew Sean Greer.

Agreed with >31 EBT1002:--this has been a rough year, and this theme will be a perfect start to 2021!

I'm going to plan on reading Deader Homes and Gardens by Angie Fox. This is the fourth book in the Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries series, and each one in the series so far has been a lot of fun. I normally don't go in for cozy mysteries (paranormal or otherwise), and my mom doesn't normally go in for anything remotely paranormal, but we both adore this series. I can't wait to get back into it!

>31 EBT1002: and >32 whitewavedarling: I was in a zoom meeting (because that is what I do these days) last week and I don't remember the content but someone said something funny and we all cracked up. I mean.... cracked up!!!!! Laughing without breathing. Laughing such that the meeting came to a halt and we all just had to regroup and remind ourselves of where we were in the agenda. Laughing. Out. Loud.

It really struck me how rare this is. I'm incredibly lucky to be able to work from home, to keep earning my generous living with minimal risk to my health (other than the adverse impact of staring at a screen for 9-10 hours every day), but I became viscerally aware of how zoom interactions makes humor more difficult to generate. It was a sweet moment and also an enlightening one. I lead one large meeting every Monday and I try to start it with some lighthearted comment about something non-work-related, but really making people laugh is a challenge.

So anyway, here's to a better 2021, one with in-person meet-ups and in-person laughter!

>33 EBT1002: Those moments are the best! And you're right, it's harder to generate them on Zoom, especially when there are a lot of people on the call.

>33 EBT1002:, That's wonderful! I've been working from home since... wow, 2014... and some of the long meetings fit in some laughter, but you're right that it's rare. I am lucky in that my husband thinks he's Jim Carey, and can be incredibly goofy (complete with weird voices). He's been known to drive me up the wall with them, but he makes me laugh a lot, too :)

The year hasn't even started and I am already changing my mind about what I am going to be reading. I used some of my Christmas gift cards and picked up The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John and I am going to read it for this Cat.

I'm going to read Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for this one.

>33 EBT1002: I love this story, Ellen. Thanks for sharing.

>36 DeltaQueen50: I will await your review, Judy, as I have that one on my TBR.

I had planned on Wodehouse but >10 majkia: reminded me that I have A Dirty Job another Christopher Moore book. The title isn't as funny but I'm certain the story will give me a laugh.

>39 VivienneR:, A Dirty Job is one of my favorite Moore books :)

>39 VivienneR: >40 whitewavedarling: Oh, agreed! Moore's books always make me laugh!

If anyone's still hunting around for a read, I read a perfect book yesterday--Smoke and Gravity by Win Neagle. It's as if Vonnegut and Christopher Moore got together to write a book, and then sent it back in time for F. Scott Fitzgerald and Flannery O'Connor to touch up. Lots of absurdity, strangeness, humor, and dark comedy, and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it, but it was rather delightful. Short, too, at only around 130 pages--definitely a quick, fun read.

Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen just came available for me at the library so I'll read that for this prompt. I may still read Less by Andrew Sean Greer; we'll see how the month shapes up.

Last night I read the first chapter of The Glimpses of the Moon by Edmund Crispin. I don't think I've read this one before as it was written in 1977, long after the other Gervase Fen books.

I completed Dead Red Heart by P. Dahlke which was a billed as a "humorous" mystery taking place in the U.S. south. It was!

I read Here For It by R. Eric Thomas, a memoir in essays that, while not 100% comic, made me laugh repeatedly.

>46 susanna.fraser: I'm reading that one right now, for TIOLI, and I would classify it as humor. I am laughing more than usual, at least.

I am reading a book of cartoons that I gave my husband for Christmas (it made him laugh and he shared some of them with me). Without Reservations by Ricardo Cate

Diary of a Provincial Lady did in fact make me laugh out loud! What a nice way to begin the new year.

COMPLETED The Glimpses of the Moon by Edmund Crispin

My review:

Gervase Fen is not particularly interested in a local murder until another decapitated body is found at the village fête.

Some of the humour has not worn well but other parts still had me laughing till it hurt. The mystery was good fun but it was the surrounding repartee and chaos that really made it worth reading.

>49 NinieB: Diary of a Provincial Lady is one of my favorites! Going to see if I can sneak in a re-read.

>51 kac522: Remember, it's short! You can fit it in!

>52 NinieB: Yep. I did read all of the books in the Provincial Lady series--all fun--but the first was the best. I actually have a couple of her other books on the TBR shelf--The Way Things Are and Thank Heaven Fasting. Perhaps I'll have time for all 3!

>53 kac522: I have those two other books as well!! Definitely want to fit those in now.

COMPLETED A Field Guide to the English Clergy by Fergus Butler-Gallie

My review:

Brief character sketches of Anglican clergyman notable for various reasons.

Some I howled with laughter, some my jaw just dropped, and some I would like to know more about, and some all three!

I am in the middle of The Road to Little Dribbling, and it is laugh out loud funny. For feel good reading, Bill Bryson is one of my go-to authors.

Read Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries #5) by Martha Wells yesterday - one of several books that I can fit into the January SFF:KIT but it also fits in here quite well. I swear I was laughing nearly every page. Yes there's violence (murderbot, after all), but lots of tidbits of humor - sardonic, ironic, dark, and even sweet. I love this series.

I may try to catch up on reading Christopher Moore for this month as well. And I know I'll be adding titles to my TBR of books mentioned here.

>57 okeres: that's a good idea. I have one of the Murderbot novels listed for a January read (#4) and it certainly would fit here. Plus, I can't locate my choice for this challenge...it's somewhere in the house...

>57 okeres: I can't wait to read the Murderbot Chronicles, but waiting to gather them as a package.

A great topic to start the year with, and so easily combined with a bingo square. :) I finished the audiobook of Das Känguru-Manifest by Marc-Uwe Kling, the second entry in the communist cangaroo series. Funny and wise, made me laugh quite a few times!

Finished Deader Homes and Gardens by Angie Fox. This was the fourth book in the series, and while it wasn't quite as funny as earlier books in the series, it was still a fun read with plenty of humor and mystery.

Well, I tried! It's rare that I find a book that makes me laugh out loud. Some early books in the Stephanie Plum series did - Grandma Masur was a hoot! But, it's rare! So, I embarked on this challenge with some skepticism , and chose Sorry, Not Sorry due to its subtitle: The perfect Laugh out Loud romantic comedy. It was all rom, no com from my perspective. I think it may be the thespian in me - comedy needs to be delivered correctly in order to be funny.

I think we could all use a reason to laugh right now!

I’m going to try Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell, an examination of how Hawaii became a US state, “the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn”

I've read I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being A Woman by Nora Ephron. Published in 2006, it is either dated or she and I live in such different worlds her experiences didn't resonate with me. I did think there were some funny lines, but "hilarious" as it is described by the publisher? No.

I'm reading How Right You Are, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, and it's made me laugh out loud several times! Lovable buffoon Bertie Wooster is always a hoot.

I just finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I chose it because it was tagged "humor" and I had wanted to read it for quite some time.

I chuckled and laughed quite often, so definitely a success in that department, although to me the magical and fairytale aspect was much stronger than the amusing one. But as it's foremost a fairytale, that's totally ok.

This is one of my husband's favourite books and somehow I never got around reading it, so thanks to this challenge I finally did! Yay!

>40 whitewavedarling: & >41 scaifea: I tried, I really tried, but just could not get interested in A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. After several wasted hours, I abandoned it.

I'm now reading Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse.

COMPLETED The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

My review:

Malachi Constant is told that it is inevitable that he will travel from Earth to Mars to Mercury, back to Earth and then to Titan. Despite his best efforts to avoid this prophecy it does come true.

The first chapter had some funny scenes, but although I could see that the rest of it was meant to be funny, it just didn't tickle my funny-bone.

Starting Summer Lightning by P G Wodehouse

I read Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and it was funny, but I wish it had been slightly shorter. Released originally in serial form in Harper's Bazaar back in the 1920s, I can understand how it worked brilliantly and was a huge hit in that format.

I read Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse that I really enjoyed. Wodehouse never fails to make me smile.

I have been laughing out loud at Tom Gauld's collection of science cartoons, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories.

COMPLETED Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen. 4 very amusing stars.

COMPLETED Summer Lightning by P G Wodehouse

A smile on my face throughout, but not really laugh out loud funny

I'm using Lumberjanes Vol 16 to fill this month's category. My (mini) mini-review:

Another fantastic volume in the series. The celebration of inclusion and empathy and friendship and support, plus the clever quips and crazy-fun adventures, make this comic absolutely outstanding.

>74 scaifea: Talk some more about Lumberjanes. Sounds like something I want to check into.

>75 LadyoftheLodge: Oh, they're wonderful! It's a comic, collected into volumes, about a girls' summer camp where things tend to get weird (sasquatch, portals to other worlds, a woman who can turn into a bear,...), and the focus is on the members of a particular cabin and their adventures. The dialogue is quick and clever and quippy, and I love it for its representation of so many points on the LGBTQ+ spectrum without making that at all the focus of the stories. Very inclusive and celebratory.

>76 scaifea: Does it work as e-book? Or better in print?

>71 rabbitprincess: Oh, my sister gave me Department of Mind-Blowing Theories for Christmas. It was a lot of fun to read!

The February thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/328736

I've decided to abandon Letters From a Nut by Ted L Nancy. I just don't find it funny and after a few letters, it becomes somewhat repetitious. Instead, I think I'll read Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome.

>80 dudes22: I hope Three Men in a Boat works better for you! I really enjoyed it.

>80 dudes22: Hugh Laurie does a great narration, but it's abridged :(

>82 rabbitprincess: How very tempting! I've seen all the Laurie and Frye Wodehouse productions and very much enjoyed them. I can just hear Hugh Laurie's voice saying How Right You Are, Jeeves. Sounds like at some time I should read the books too. All of you are very encouraging in this regard.

>71 rabbitprincess: That's the second Gauld recommendation I've seen on LT this week. I'm totally sold.

>76 scaifea: I've had Lumberjanes recommended to me by a local independent bookstore employee. You're very convincing. I'll add that to my list too.

>80 dudes22: If you like speculative fiction, try To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, a time-travel sendup of Three Men and a Dog.

>84 justchris: - I'll keep that in mind. I've heard of that a couple of places.

I have finished The Eyre Affair and giggled abut Mycroft's bookworms and their disastrous effects on spelling.

>77 LadyoftheLodge: I prefer to read comics in print because it just seems easier, but others may have a different experience. I've been reading the Giant Days series as ebooks and it's okay, but I just don't like having to zoom in to read the print and then zoom back out to get the visual flow of the full page. *shrug*

>83 justchris: Woot! Enjoy!

re: #80 - switching books. I'm already enjoying this WAY more than the other book and I've only just started. I'm actually chuckling.

I read The Space Child's Mother Goose which made me laugh out loud more than once. It was selected for me by my LibraryThing Santa.

I also read Happily Ever After & Everything In Between by Debbie Tung

I keep changing my mind about what to read for this Cat, but I have just completed Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde and although not a humorous as I had hoped, it did give me a giggle or two.

I just finished Frank Get The Door! by Janey Godley - as is often the case with these things the actual original source material (in this case, Janey's voiceover videos of the Scottish First Minister's daily covid briefings) are funnier than seeing it written on the page, but I still laughed out loud several times reading this. I'd recommend looking up the actual videos though (Google Janey Godley voiceovers, that should do it), although warning: they're extremely sweary). Also, the Scots language just can't help but be funny. 4/5.

Like several others, I read a Wodehouse novel - Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves and found it to be great fun. Definitely found myself laughing which I needed.

I ended up reading Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome. Although I didn't find it as funny as some people, it was humorous.

I finished To Say Nothing of the Dog and while it was not hilarious, it was gently humourous, in the style of a Victorian comedy of manners.

I decided to go with Terry Pratchett for this month, so read Jingo. These books always have some laught out loud moments for me, and this one was no exception!

I finished Lanterns & Lances by James Thurber. Published in 1961, it was the last collection of essays published in his lifetime. It includes essays from 1954 - 1961. Some of the humor was very 1950s oriented, and references may have gone over my head, but most were about words, language usage, and irritation with emerging TV and declining radio. He even had one (mostly) serious essays defending Henry James. Several of the essays made references to the repression of writers during the McCarthy era.

Furiously Happy / Jenny Lawson
4 stars

Blogger Jenny Lawson has a number of mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. In this, her second book, she takes a humourous look at herself and her eccentricities, mostly in the form of anecdotes.

I listened to the audio, which she narrated herself and I thought she was really good. There were lots of times when I laughed out loud. Every so often, she’d mention that because I was listening to the audio, I wouldn’t see the photo that’s in the book to go with her current story, but listeners of the audio do get a bonus chapter at the end. It included cats. Which made me happy. Well, she mentions cats at various points throughout the book, anyway. (But that’s not why I gave it 4 stars! Cats were just an added bonus.)

I read The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John. I found this story charming more than humorous but it was a fun reading about the saleswomen of Goode's Department Store in Sydney, Australia.

I listened to We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor, which managed to be both serious and quite funny. The narration by Ray Porter was great too. Not sure how well it would hold up if you're not a bit of an SF geek, but then if you're not a bit of an SF geek you probably wouldn't be tempted by it anyway...

And I have finished The reluctant widow which never fails to make me laugh.

I read Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton. While this book is certainly not for everyone, it definitely made me laugh in parts, especially those chapters narrated by Genghis the genius cat.

>103 sturlington: - I just started this. Looking forward to the Genghis chapters.

A bit late catching up with all the threads...

>50 Robertgreaves: I think that Edmund Crispin's humor as much as his mystery plots is what makes me like his books so much :)

>94 LittleTaiko: For me Wodehouse is pretty reliable as a source of laughs so I too read one of his books for this CAT. A Prefect's Uncle, the second 'school story', wasn't as funny as Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves in my opinion but still good fun way to spend a chilly Sunday.

>102 MissWatson: Love Heyer & The Reluctant Widow is definitely one of the ones that make me chuckle.

In addition to A Prefect's Uncle referred to above, I also read Asterix and Cleopatra which provoked some belly laughs and many chuckles & smiles.

>105 leslie.98: I love Asterix!

Tell me, was the explanation for how the Sphinx lost its nose in that story? I recall it from past readings of the series.

>106 fuzzi: Yes! That Obelix and his dog are a menace :)

I read 1066 And All That: A Memorable History of England, by W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman. Been meaning to read it for years, and wish I'd gotten around to it sooner - but it was just what I needed right now.

>105 leslie.98: >106 fuzzi: I can never see a reference to the Sphinx without thinking of Obelix. That book, which I'd first read at age 9 or 10, has left a lasting impression on me. :)

I finished A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. Although this is not is not primarily a humorous book, I'd think that gingerbread warriors, a violently aggressive sourdough starter named Bob, and a wizard whose magical powers all concern baking would bring a smile to anyone's lips.

I am reading Ayoade on Ayoade: a cinematic odyssey by Richard Ayoade. It is "funny book" with a style of comedy with a different structure. A person talking about himself so it could also be considered a memoir. Not really my style book and I won't finish it but I've read enough.

>110 Kristelh: I liked Richard Ayoade in the IT Crowd, and watched a few episodes of his travel show, but a little goes a long way.

>111 pamelad:, it is a book I can poke at when time offers opportunity. Hopefully will finish someday. It isn't hard, goes fairly fast.

>109 mathgirl40: That book cracked me up. It had everything to appeal to middle graders, but I thought the scene with the sourdough slingshot bombs was hilarious. I could use some of Bob once in awhile. I also liked the mean little gingerbread boys that were unleashed on the enemies.

>113 LadyoftheLodge: I loved those scenes too. Although the book is marketed as YA, our book club at work chose it, and all my colleagues liked it (which is unusual, as we all have different tastes in books).