Funniest. Novel. Ever.

The Paper Cuts blog at the New York Times asks the burning question:  What’s the Funniest Novel Ever?  Their answer includes a virtual plethora of novels by white men from the 18th and 20th centuries.  More interesting are the many comments left by readers with their picks for funniest novel ever.  Check out their responses and add your own. 

Or post a comment here with your hilarious favorite!  I’ll start:  Truer than True Romance by Jeanne Martinet.  Martinet takes old romance comics from the 50s and 60s and takes out the words in the captions and the balloons, replacing them with a modern take on romance.  The new stories include:  “My Heart Said Yes, but My Therapist Said No!” and “Too Dumb for Love!”  Perhaps it’s not Wodehouse, but it’s pretty darn funny.  (Carol J.)

MPR’s Mid-Morning on Catcher in the Rye

On Friday 9/5, Mid-Morning on MPR tackled the question of what classics students are reading in school, and whether those classics (such as Catcher in the Rye) should be put aside for more current and contemporary fiction.  The article which triggered the discussion, by Anne Trubek, is pretty interesting in its own right.  The author includes her own list of suggested reading, and the comments get pretty heated. 

An interesting discussion ensued, with listeners calling in to contribute their ideas of great modern fiction that students should be reading.  (From at least one car, I can tell you, the name Sherman Alexie was being shouted at the car radio, and luckily, he was the first author to be mentioned.)

Kerri Miller promised a list of suggestions was going to be posted on the website, so check back at the Mid-Morning website for more details!  (Carol J.)

Fun Home – Amazing Read

Cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s illustrated tragicomic memoir Fun Home received a starred review in PW and has appeared on many Best of lists.  The title refers to the funeral home her family ran (she compares them to the Addams Family) and explores her relationships with her family, particularly her English teacher/funeral director/closeted gay man/historic restorationist father, with dark humor.  If you like the cartoons of Lynda Barry, memoirists like Augusten Burroughs or the essays of David Sedaris, you may also enjoy this book.

One of the most amazing and unusual aspects of this memoir, though, is the sheer scope of literary references.  (I love when a book comes with its own reading list.)  Both of her parents were English teachers, her mother was an amateur actress, and Alison herself turns to books when exploring her own sexuality. 

Here are just SOME of the books referenced in Fun Home:  Stones of Venice – Ruskin, Just So Stories - Kipling, Happy Death – Camus, Myth of Sisyphus – Camus, Sappho Was a Right-On Woman – Abbott, Sun Also Rises – Hemingway, The Great Gatsby – Fitzgerald, Far Side of Paradise – Mizener, Washington Square – James, Taming of the Shrew – Shakespear, Word is Out – Adair, Well of Loneliness – Hall, Delta of Venus – Nin, Dream of a Common Language – Rich, World of Pooh – Milne, James and the Giant Peach – Dahl, the poetry of Wallace Stevens, Zelda – Milford, Remembrance of Things Past – Proust, The Nude – Clark, The Worm Ouroboros – Eddison, American Dream – Albee, Mornings at Seven - Osborn, Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care – Spock, The Trumpet of the Swan – White, Johnny Tremain – Forbes, The Wind in the Willows – Grahame, The Importance of being Earnest – Wilde, Waterfall – Drabble, And the Band Played On – Shilts, The Fellowship of the Ring – Tolkien, The Catcher in the Rye – Salinger, The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – Joyce, Earthly Paradise – Colette, and, finally, Ulysses by James Joyce. 

WHEW!  And it’s not even a very long book.  (Carol J.)

Fun Reader Stuff Online

Bill Michel sent a couple of cool links that were posted on Stephen’s Lighthouse, a blog run by Stephen Abrams, SirsiDynix’s Vice President of Innovation.  The first link is to 80 Online Resources for Book Lovers.  (For some, apparently, 23 Things is not enough.)  It’s a cool list, though, with lots of social networking sites, book swapping and purchasing sites and copious links to e-books.

Also from Bill, also from Stephen’s Lighthouse, is a link to a Best Opening Lines poster, which shows the 100 Best First Lines from Novels in a handy-dandy, ready to print 11 x 17 format.  Check it out!  (CLJ)