This Week’s Topic: Am I Fair to Funny Books?
I saw this tweet the other day:
What are the funniest YA books you’ve read?— Jeff Zentner (@jeffzentner) January 9, 2018
And it had me thinking of all the funny books I have read. It also had me thinking about how I rate them. When you see a lot of favorites lists or 5-star rated reads, they are often epic fantasies or very emotional books.
I was also thinking about those funny books, when I read this discussion by AJ on how a book gets five stars from her. I agreed with so many of the things she said, but the requirement that resonated the most to me was, "It makes me feel something." And you know what? Funny books do make me feel something. They have picked me up on a bad day. They have kept me from being consumed by all the negativity out there. They made me smile, when I didn't think I could.
So, maybe I am a little too hard on the funny books. Maybe, subconsciously I have a separate criterion for funny books (I know I judge contemporary romances more harshly. Why do I do these things?). I was just wondering if other people do this or think they do this too?
Some Funny Books I Loved
by Kurt Dinan
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by Stephanie Kate Strohm
(Any of Strohm's books)
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by Lianne Oelke
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by Louise Rennison
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by Lily Anderson
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by F.C. Yee
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by Maurene Goo
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by Natasha Friend
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by Ned Vizzini
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by John Green
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by Becky Abertalli
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by Meg Cabot
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I know there a lot more, but I want to hear from you!
Now it's your turn!
Do you have a favorite funny book?
Let us know in the comments!
I love funny books!! I like funny people memoirs (Tina Fey like) and I love funny YA. When I think of funny YA I think of Denton Little's Deathdate. Loved that one. I never really thought about how I rate them though. I bet I am a bit harsher too.
ReplyDeleteI actually bought that book. I saw it mentioned a lot as being funny, which was probably what motivated me to buy it. I need to read that soon
DeleteI love funny books. Sometimes I need one to break up all of the emotional reading that I am doing. If I read something that has really gotten to me I need a funny read to bring me back. Great topic!
ReplyDeleteI had read two books that deal with abuse, one after the other, and though they were great, I needed something fun after that. My light and fluffy and funny reads totally help my soul heal after something really emotional.
DeleteBooks are rarely funny to me, I don't really know why though! If the description says it's "laugh-out-loud funny" or other reviewers have said they cracked up while reading a book, I go into it thinking I'll probably laugh, and I never do. I think for me, humor is more a tone of voice, and I have to actually hear it.
ReplyDeleteI had read one post about funny books, and one person commented about how subjective "funny" is. I get that something may be funny to one person and not another, but I believe there is a book out there, somewhere, that will make you laugh.
DeleteI agree that funny books have a lot more value than people might think (I mean, they have the power to cheer us up on our bad days), and they definitely deserve more love on our favorites lists! I read the Sex Criminals graphic novel series last year, and I ended up loving it so much more than I expected, because those books never failed to make me crack up.
ReplyDeleteThe older I get, the more I value a good laugh. I have to check out that series, because I am always looking for something fun to read.
DeleteI'm always up for funny books! I love anything that can make me laugh. I also love what AJ had to say. If a book can make me feel and is memorable, then, it's going on my favorites list. I'm not that hard to please as a reader. :D
ReplyDeleteQuoting Maya Angelou: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” So, I am not surprised that we remember books that make us feel something.
DeleteI love a good funny book, and funny stories definitely make me feel something -- a lot lighter! Like you, I do sort of have different criteria for every type of book and each genre. But one of my favourite books, Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs, certainly qualifies as a funny book!
ReplyDeleteI like to slap a "make-me-happy" label on books that left me in good spirits, and I really appreciate when a book makes that happen. I will be checking out that book. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteI admire that, because I know I am tough on funny books. I have to say, the older I get, the more I yearn for lighter, funnier books. If you find any good ones, don't forget to share.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to read a books with humor, and yes they do make me feel bettr sometimes! Totally agree. I don't know if I rate them different, but the humor does factor into my thoughts, or my review, for sure. I keep thinking of Big Little Lies, which addressed some serious stuff, but cracked me up at times also.
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of an author who can evoke a wide range of emotions from me. If a book is all dark or all sad, it can leave me so emotionally drained. I like when an author injects some humor in a rather tense book. Moriarity is one of my favorites! She is so good at delivering a compelling story, while making us laugh, cry, gasp, and shake with fear.
DeleteI probably don't give funny books their due when it comes to writing my 'Best of' posts each year either. Even though I love and rate funny books quite highly throughout the year, I definitely gravitate towards putting more dramatic and emotional reads on those lists. I don't consciously do it, but it seems to pretty consistently work out that way and I have no idea why.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I am talking about! I know I do it. It's like I require crying for a book to get on my best list, but I think I have read quite a few funny books that deserve a place on that list.
DeleteI do find that I tend to be more likely to give certain genres 5 stars than others. I read books that have some humor mixed in but don't read a lot of books I would classify as funny. I don't give 5 stars all that often...maybe I should try to use it more.
ReplyDeleteI am very particular when I give 5-stars. I have a bunch of 4.5 star reads, but I am stingy with my 5s. I think that is the way it should be though.
DeleteI love humor in books, but I am terrible about reading books that are mostly fluffy but funny, if that makes sense? Like, if it has darker humor I am more down- Like Royal Bastards that was humorous but with a serious and emotional plot. One funny book I DID love was Denton Little's Deathdate, probably my favorite funny book of all time!
ReplyDeleteI feel like most of the funny books I have read still had a lot of heart and depth. I bought Denton, because I had heard so many awesome things about it, but still haven't read it. You are the second person on this thread to mention it. Gotta get it on the TBR.
DeleteLike you, I think I tend to give funny books less credit. Though I often like wry humor or sarcasm. Still, the emotional books definitely tend to impact me more.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I have definitely become more conscientious about it, because I KNOW I do it.
DeleteOh, I think funny books are great. I think people probably view them in different ways. I feel like I give a lot of credit to funny books because I know I have a hard time being funny on the PAGE, so I can tell that it takes a lot for a book to actually make someone laugh out loud. It's easy to see some funny books as "fluff" though and people might not rate them as high. I love Simon Vs. and the first Georgia Nicholson (I always meant to read the rest...)
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I didn't think of that. It is hard for me to be funny on-page as well. I am much more amusing in person (at least that's what they tell me). I am becoming more open to giving a great fluffy read 5-stars, but the ones that earned that just made me feel happy for days after I read them.
DeleteI think I may be kind of the opposite -- if a book genuinely makes me laugh, I tend to rate it higher, because I don't often find books that do this -- but my usual fare of mysteries etc, I'm more critical.
ReplyDeleteI can totally understand that. With humor being so subjective, if I can find an author, who is able to make me laugh, I should reward them.
DeleteI agree that for a book to have a stellar rating from me it has to make me feel something (with an exception to hate). I've realized that emotional books, sarcastic books and witty books in general will, for the most part, get rated higher than most for me.
ReplyDeleteGood point. I am not a fan of books that make me feel negative things. I probably wouldn't even finish reading a book that did that.
DeleteHave you read the Winger books by Andrew Smith? They're very funny, but also pack quite a punch.
ReplyDeleteYes, I read both Winger books. I couldn't included them, because Winger had that devastating part and Standoff was a little sad too. However, Ryan Dean was absolutely hilarious most of the time.
DeleteI do like a book that makes me laugh, but there are so many differences as to what people find funny. Especially across the nations of the world. Some people like noir humour, others like it as a romcom etc So although I like laughing, I don't always find one person's fun necessarily mine, so it's good to discover my own hidden moments of mirth in a book.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you. Humor is very subjective, and our culture and experiences definitely effect our sense of humor as well.
DeleteThis is a good question. I'm the same in that I tend to only give 5 stars to books that make me feel, except you're right that funny books do make me feel too. They make me feel joy and happiness! But I guess it's still fair for me to prefer dark or heart-wrenching emotion in books if that's my taste. And some of the best books I've read have manged to combine humor AND darkness, so that's a win-win! I guess how rate a funny book really just depends on the book.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I equate pain and suffering with 5-stars. I definitely like a well balanced book. A book that sucks me into a vortex of sadness doesn't usually get 5-stars, because I am too emotionally drained to function. I need a little happiness and hope to off set the sadness and loss.
DeleteI feel like I have quite different criterion for each genre? It's not necessarily that I often rate one genre higher than the other, but if it's a supposed to be a funny book and it doesn't make me laugh, I might rate it lower than a fantasy book which isn't supposed to be funny but also manages to make me laugh as an added bonus. I hope that makes sense!
ReplyDeleteThat is understandable. I don't know if I have ever picked up a book, because it was marketed as funny. I read mostly contemporaries and put them in that broad category, but there are books that lean to the light and fluffy or funny side, and I just feel like I am unjustly more critical of them.
DeleteI do find myself not immediately giving 5 stars to funny books despite the fact that they made me laugh and I just had an overall fun time :D But now that it's come to my notice, I'll try to be more lenient in terms of that. I think it's a set notion that something that made you cry or hit you emotionally hard, comes across to be a more impactful book. Even though making someone laugh is a pretty tough job to do :)
ReplyDeleteRight! That is exactly what I noticed. Those sad books seem to earn all the high ratings, even if the funny book was written really well, was memorable, and made me feel.
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