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Humor & Comedy

You know a book's funny if you're reading it alone and laughing hysterically. Of course, the really great comic masterpieces are also deep reflections on humanity and life and death (like Huckleberry Finn or All Creatures Great and Small or Calvin & Hobbes). Frequently, though, you just need to guffaw, and the literary quality of the piece isn't quite as important as the laugh-factor.

Not that you want to read swill. Cheap laughs might be funny on the surface, but the jokes that actually say something are generally funnier than the ones that simply point and snicker. It's easy to think we're superior because we get the joke, but in reality a lot of modern comedy is no more than the absence of reverence. Real comedy is simply an incongruous presentation of a familiar idea that amuses with its absurdity while offering a new view.

Before you dismiss the need for humor on religious grounds (suggesting that Jesus is the Man of Sorrows, and so must we be in order to be like Him), remember that the "laughter is good medicine" image comes from the Bible (Proverbs 17:22), and that as the Creator of everything God invented laughter. He invented jokes. As the perfect man, Jesus probably told the best jokes ever.

We have a few of them—a rich person will enter heaven as easily as a camel getting through the eye of a needle, or the one about the Pharisee and the plebe who go into the temple at the same time to pray. Jesus clearly saw the absurdity of life (in both of the cases mentioned, the absurdity of human pride), and used it to direct people to the Author of Meaning.

Basically, laughter is really good and you should try it sometime. If you're a little rusty and need a boost, read a funny book: maybe the heartwarming but hysterical adventures of the Gilbreth clan in Cheaper by the Dozen, or the pure zaniness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or the heartwarming zaniness of Jeeves and Wooster. Whatever you do, smile more, frown less, and for goodness' sake take laughter seriously.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Adventures of Menahem-Mendl
by Sholom Aleichem
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Sally
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Macmillan Classics
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Macmillan
Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
by Lewis Carroll
from Bantam Books
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
All Creatures Great and Small
James Herriot Series Book 1
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$19.00
All Creatures Great and Small / All Things Bright and Beautiful
James Herriot Series Book 1
by James Herriot
from MJF Books
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
All Things Wise and Wonderful
James Herriot Series Book 3
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.99
Annotated Alice
by Lewis Carroll
from Bramhall House
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Annotated Alice
by Lewis Carroll
Definitive Edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Bachelors Anonymous
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Barmy in Wonderland
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Bertie Wooster Sees it Through
by P. G. Wodehouse
from Touchstone
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.95
Big Money
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Big Over Easy
by Jasper Fforde
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00
Bill the Conqueror
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Blandings Boxed Set
Blandings Castle
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Blandings Castle
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Bring on the Girls!
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Carry On, Jeeves
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.95
Celebrated Jumping Frog and Other Stories
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Mark Twain
from Reader's Digest
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Harold Berson
from Franklin Watts
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Children's Letters to Santa Claus
by Bill Adler, compiler; illustrated by Yanni Posnakoff
from Essandess
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Clicking of Cuthbert
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Cocktail Time
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Code of the Woosters
by P. G. Wodehouse
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Humor for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.95
Code of the Woosters
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Coming of Bill
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Company for Henry
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan
by William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Drama for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$29.95
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$39.99
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris, retold by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
from Dial Press
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$50.00
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Joseph Ciardiello
from Reader's Digest
Social Satire/Comedy for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Books of Wonder
by Mark Twain (illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman)
from HarperCollins
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Damsel in Distress
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Diary of a Nobody
by George and Weedon Grossmith, illustrated by John Lawrence
from The Folio Society
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Diary of Adam and Eve
by Mark Twain, edited and introduced by Kathleen Hoffine Saving
from Hallmark Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Diedrich Knickerbocker's A History of New York
by Washington Irving, illustrated by F.O.C. Darley, introduction by Andrew B. Myers
Facsimile, First Printing from Sleepy Hollow Press
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Do Butlers Burgle Banks?
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Doctor Sally
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Egg and I
by Betty MacDonald
from HarperCollins
Biography for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Eggs, Beans and Crumpets
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Enter Jeeves
by P. G. Wodehouse
from Dover Publications
Humor for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.95
Every Living Thing
by James Herriot
1st edition from St. Martin's Press
for 8th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Every Living Thing
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.99
Few Quick Ones
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Fierce Pajamas
by David Remnick and Henry Finder, editors
from Random House
for Adult
in Short Stories (Location: LIT-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fourth Bear
by Jasper Fforde
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
French Leave
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Frozen Assets
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Full Moon
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Galahad at Blandings
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Gentleman of Leisure
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Girl in Blue
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Girl on the Boat
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Gold Bat
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Golf Boxed Set
The Collector's Wodehouse
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Good Samaritan Strikes Again
by Patrick F. McManus
from Henry Holt and Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Jon Corbino
from Doubleday & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Warren Chappell
from Oxford University
Satire/Social Commentary for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Gulliver's Travels
Puffin Classics
by Jonathan Swift
from Puffin Books
Satire/Social Commentary for 9th-Adult
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$9.99
Gulliver's Travels
Penguin Classics
by Jonathan Swift
from Penguin Classics
Satire/Social Commentary for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Gutenberg's Folly
by Ira Wallach
from Abelard - Schuman
for Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Haunted Bookshop
by Christopher Morley
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Head of Kay's
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Heart of a Goof
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Heart of the West
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by O. Henry
from Reader's Digest
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Heavy Weather
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Hitchhiker's "Trilogy" set
by Douglas Adams
from Ballantine Books
Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Hitchhiker's Trilogy #1
by Douglas Adams
from Ballantine Books
Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Hot Water
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
How I Got This Way
by Patrick F. McManus
from Henry Holt and Company
for 10th grade-adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
How Right You Are, Jeeves
by P. G. Wodehouse
from Touchstone
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
How to Become Extinct
by Will Cuppy, illustrated by William Steig
from Farrar & Rinehart
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Humorous Stories and Sketches
by Mark Twain
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.50
Ice in the Bedroom
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Ideal Husband
Dover Thrift Editions
by Oscar Wilde
from Dover Publications
Drama for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00
If I Were You
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Importance of Being Earnest
Dover Thrift Editions
by Oscar Wilde
from Dover Publications
Drama/Comedy for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00
Importance of Being Earnest
Signet Classics
by Oscar Wilde, with an introduction by Sylvan Barnet and an afterword by Elise Bruhl and Michael Gamer
from Signet Classics
Drama/Comedy for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Indiscretions of Archie
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Inimitable Jeeves
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Innocents Abroad
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Mark Twain
from Reader's Digest
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Jeeves and the Tie That Binds
by P. G. Wodehouse
from Touchstone
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Jeeves in the Offing
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Jill the Reckless
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Joy in the Morning
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Kid Brady & A Man of Means
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
King's Jackal
by Richard Harding Davis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Laughing Gas
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Lawrenceville Stories
by Owen Johnson
from Simon and Schuster
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Leave it to Psmith
by P. G. Wodehouse
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Humor for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.95
Leave it to Psmith
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Life, the Universe and Everything
Hitchhiker's Trilogy #3
by Douglas Adams
from Ballantine Books
Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
Little Nugget
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Lord Emsworth
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Louder and Funnier
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Love Among the Chickens
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Luck of the Bodkins
by P.G. Wodehouse
from Overlook Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
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