Friday, August 1, 2008

C'mon! Make me LAUGH!

Years ago, after a really bad rough patch in my life, I promised myself I'd try to have at least one good laugh every day...for the rest of my life. Now you might think that's a pretty damn tall order but you'd be surprised.

Figured out something awhile back. There are negative and positive forces in the universe. Sometimes those negatives will bite you in the ass when least expected but, if you look hard enough you can find just as many positives lying around to counteract the bad junk. So...to fight of the boogie man, I hang with people would are full of positive energy and people who make me laugh. Honestly, what's more positive that laughter?

Yesterday Kelley talked about those "comfort reads" we all seem to have. The well-thumbed, practically-memorized book that just makes you sigh. But what about the stuff that brings us all what we truly need from time to time? Fun. Laughs.

Okay, I'll freely admit, I have a huge stash of favorite funny ladies, among them Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jennie Cruisie, and the wonderful Sandra Hill. I'll say right off the bat that Sandra Hill has me falling-on-the-floor laughing with every new book. She makes me laugh until I cry, I holler, I stomp my feet. Everything about her humor appeals to me. If you aren't familiar with her work, she writes about time traveling Vikings, time traveling Viking SEALS...yeah SEALS and red-hot Cajuns. She also has some historicals that I've re-read so often they are falling apart. There was a scene in The Blue Viking that I'll never forget. This story was about a Viking who was so damn good looking that he was an ass most of the time. Well, he insulted a little witch who got so pissed, she turned him BLUE. (Anny Cook would love this one...lol). Years later, he comes back to find her so she can reverse the spell. Trouble is the heroine isn't really a very talented witch. Everything she does gets screwed up. In one particular scene (and I'll never forget it), there is a huge roasted pig on a trestle table and she brags to the group of rowdy Vikings that she is talented enough to make the PIG RISE. The men form a circle as she begins the chant. The pig doesn't rise but the MEN DO!!! Or at least a part of them does. Something about that scene had me hooting and my family thought I'd lost my mind.

So who writes the drop dead funniest stuff you've ever read? Does Janet's Stephanie Plum (or her Grandma) keep you in stitches? Do you like the quirky humor of Catherine Coulter? Or is the satisfyingly sweet and silly stuff of SEP more to your tastes?

17 comments:

Anny Cook said...

Heh. The funniest book I ever read was Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer. Some follow ups are Open Season by Linda Howard. One of the Irish "Born" books by Nora Roberts. Because I Can by Amarinda Jones. And several different ones by Laura London.

All of them tickled my funny bone for different reasons, but mostly they were simply real life gone side ways. That's usually what makes us laugh.

Fedora said...

I love many of the authors you mentioned. Julia Quinn also writes some very humorous stuff. And I'm currently reading Beth Ciotta's Jinxed, Charmed, and Seduced trilogy--they are completely wonderful! They're light and funny and a real hoot to read! I'm going to be sorry when I turn the last page :(

Oh, and for non-romance, Terry Pratchett can be hilarious, as can Dave Barry--his fiction as well as his non-fiction.

Phoenix said...

Sandra Hill for sure! Sometimes Cruisie. Almost always Julia Quinn. Without fail, Amarinda Jones and Anny Cook.

Cindy Spencer Pape said...

Definitely Anny & AJ. Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. Jim Butcher. Linda Howard.

Regina Carlysle said...

Yep, Anny and AJ keep me in stitches, too. Sometimes we just NEED to laugh. It's hard stuff to resist.

Regina Carlysle said...

I completely forgot about Julie Garwood's wonderful historicals. Her humor keeps you smiling throughout. Am I the only one who misses her historical work? She's been doing contemporary for the last few years but DANG. As a writer, I understand the need to do something different but these historicals sure do WORK.

Kelley Nyrae said...

Erin McCarthy. The woman cracks me up. The Pregnancy Test is one of my favorites. Also Houston We Have a Problem.

I also read a book by Karen Kelley. I can't remember the name but its the first in her alien series and that my cracking up so hard my husband thought I was insane. That book was one of the funniest I've ever read.

Regina Carlysle said...

If you figure out the title of that book, Kell, let us know. I'd love to read that.

Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one of my all time favorites. She's a ROCKET SCIENTIST who wants a baby so she figures to have a child with simple "normal" intelligence she should have sex with an absolute dummy. So she seduces this pro football quarterback. Hysterical book.

Regina Carlysle said...

Also love Rachel Gibson for funny stuff. Simply Irresistable was sooo cute. The big old tough hockey player playing BARBIES with his little girl was just the funniest. He's trying to get the teeny tiny high heels on Barbie and "walking" the doll around. Found myself laughing and saying AHHHHHH at the same time.

Kelley Nyrae said...

I looked it up. It's called Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind. Seriously FUNNY. the heroine wants to come to earth becuase she reads an old diary about how good earth men are at lovemaking. She meets, "Sheriff". She thinks that's his name and keeps calling him that. I totally cracked up. Really funny book.

Regina Carlysle said...

Oh that sounds hysterical. Reminds me of a Sandra Hill Time traveling viking story. Heroine (a modern woman) is named Meredith and hero calls her Merry Death through the whole thing. He gets addicted to oreos and beer. In another Viking story...the hero with 13 kids (who all time travel with him) order DOME-NOSE pizza and think Britney Spears in Britain Spears and that she's some kind of warrior.

Kelley Nyrae said...

I think you'll really like it, Regina. Let me know if you read it. I know there is a couple books in the series but I haven't had the chance to read the others yet.

Desirée Lee said...

Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries are amusing to me.

Carpe Noctem,
Des

Desirée Lee
Putting the Romance Back in Necromancy
http://www.desireelee.com
des@desireelee.com

Anne Rainey said...

I don't read funny romances. I like mine intense. But, there are a few authors who caught me by surprise and now they're among my favorites. Linda Howard (I love her Blair Mallory books!) and Erin McCarthy. Those two authors have a way of tickling my funny bone!

Anne Rainey said...

oh and if you want a good laugh, check out some of Dane Cook's videos on youtube. OMG, that man is freaking hilarious!!

Jen said...

I love Jennifer Crusie, Erin McCarthy, Linda Howard (Open Season), Dianne Castell, & Vicki Lewis Thompson. Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books always crack me up. For non-romance, I love Jill Conner Browne's Sweet Potato Queens' books. Another non-romance author I love is Celia Rivenbark. Some of her titles are "Don't Sleep With a Bubba: Unless Your Eggs Are In Wheelchairs", "Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like A Skank: And Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom", "We're Just Like You, Only Prettier: Confessions Of A Tarnished Southern Belle", "Bless Your Heart, Tramp: And Other Southern Endearments", and "Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny With A Chance Of Scattered Hissy Fits".

Regina Carlysle said...

OMG, JEN. I love the Sweet Potato Queens books and these others sound hysterical.

You know, Anne, I don't ALWAYS read humor. I like the intense stuff too but sometimes I just NEED to laugh. It's comforting and makes me feel good. Dane Cook is soooo funny.