12-21-2009, 08:03 PM | #46 | |
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I did see the movie (A Series of Unfortunate Events) and it was good, but not really funny. So do you think the books are better then the movie? |
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12-21-2009, 08:07 PM | #47 |
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12-21-2009, 08:52 PM | #48 | |
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Concerning A Series Of Unfortunate Events (ASOUE), I did think the movie was both funny and true to the books (although they did make a few understandable modifications from the books to fuse the first three books into one movie). One of the factors that makes the ASOUE series work is the way that Lemony Snicket writes, something that is a little difficult to carry off on screen. I think it is similar to The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, where Douglas Adams has a very distinctive writing style. Last edited by Solitaire1; 12-21-2009 at 08:54 PM. Reason: Minor punctuation correction. |
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12-21-2009, 09:59 PM | #49 |
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It's been over thirty years, so I can't say whether I would still enjoy it so much today. But by far the book that had me laughing the most was Otley Victorious by Martin Waddell.
Waddell wrote a series of Otley books in the 60s. Otley was a reluctant spy for the UK. |
12-22-2009, 02:00 AM | #50 |
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Neil Gaman's Good Omen's is also funny, tho not laugh-out-loud-funny imho.
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12-22-2009, 03:47 AM | #51 | |
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I took tompe's advice and went through "Something New" (or Something Fresh) after a few lackluster experiences, and found it pretty enjoyable. It is a fairly well-crafted story and has pretty interesting characters. I can't call it hilarious, but it's smile-worthy. I've yet to happen upon anything in the Project Gutenberg realm that can make me laugh out loud though. It's rather disconcerting, since I like to think of myself as having a well-developed sense of humor |
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12-22-2009, 03:54 AM | #52 |
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Glad someone else recommended Carl Hiaasen - Native Tongue is a favourite of mine, some of his others not so much. I think that maybe as with so many series if you read a couple close together they lose their edge, but spread the reading out and they are a lot better.
I dislike Woody Allens films, but his collection of short stories is pretty much the work of a comedic genius (in my opinion, of course). The Good Soldier Švejk is a Czech book that is quite amusing - all about how stupid war and the military are. No idea of the availability of the above in e-format. I suspect that The Good Soldier Švejk is not available anywhere... |
12-22-2009, 06:53 AM | #53 | |
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I can't believe I'm only the second guy to recommend Bridge of Birds By Barry Hughart. A very very funny book. I started reading it one day on a train drive (in PB) and when I got off nobody on the same car would've bet a nickel on my sanity, the way I was laughing...
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12-22-2009, 07:35 AM | #54 | |
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I think it should be required reading for all Sinologists, actually. |
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12-22-2009, 07:43 AM | #55 |
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If you liked Otley Victorious, I expect you'd like the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser. Fraser borrowed the character, Harry Flashman, from the book Tom Brown's School Days and puts him in the British Army in the Victorian era. Like Otley, he is a reluctant spy and gets up to hilarious adventures. Also, these are VERY accurate historical fiction.
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12-22-2009, 07:48 AM | #56 | |
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It took about 5 minutes to splutter through three sentences. Wodehouse!! |
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12-22-2009, 09:15 AM | #57 | |
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12-22-2009, 09:21 AM | #58 | ||
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12-22-2009, 10:00 AM | #59 |
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Anne George's Southern Sisters Mysteries are very funny. I nearly choked laughing at these at the beach one year. I'm not sure of their ebook availability though.
As previously mentioned the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich are also just outrageously funny. I was reading one at lunch at work one day and laughed until I cried. These are all available in ebook form. |
12-22-2009, 06:27 PM | #60 |
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Not sure if this was mentioned,
Apathy and other Small Victories http://www.amazon.com/Apathy-Other-S.../dp/0312351747 |
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comedy, funny, humor |
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