Humor Writers a la mode

[Potvaliant]

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I don't know if he would be classified as a 'Humorist' but David Foster Wallace seems to constantly make me laugh. His essays in "Consider the Lobster" consist of academic musings on pop culture (sort of like a hyperliterate Chuck Klosterman,) and in the first essay, which happened to be about the AVN awards, I found myself laughing out loud at least once a page. I haven't read his novels yet, but perhaps someone else can vouch for thier humor.

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His first book of short stories ("Girl With Curious Hair") is good, and parts of "Infinite Jest" are very funny (if you don't mind working through the other 900 pages), but I think his essays are much, much more enjoyable.

He tries too hard to play postmodern games and try pretentious experiments in his fiction, imo.

He's a very, very talented writer though.

[theBruiser500]

Richard Russo, Nobody's Fool.

[Phat Mack]

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I don't know if he would be classified as a 'Humorist' but David Foster Wallace seems to constantly make me laugh. His essays in "Consider the Lobster" consist of academic musings on pop culture (sort of like a hyperliterate Chuck Klosterman,) and in the first essay, which happened to be about the AVN awards, I found myself laughing out loud at least once a page. I haven't read his novels yet, but perhaps someone else can vouch for thier humor.

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Good pick. Zeno would like "A Supposedly Fun Thing That I Will Never Do Again." I still laugh thinking about the little girl hustling him at chess, after which he vents his spleen at the ping pong table. Or the women in the desert tent at the state fair who think his "Harpers" credentials are from "Harper's Bazaar," and nearly feed him to death.

[HeavilyArmed]

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PJ O'Rourke's Modern Manners is still the funniest book I've ever read, as well as my guiding and permanent life philosophy.


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Few finer. Explore the rest of his work as well, it might rub off.

[BennyProfane]

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I don't know if he would be classified as a 'Humorist' but David Foster Wallace seems to constantly make me laugh. I haven't read his novels yet, but perhaps someone else can vouch for thier humor.

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Infinite Jest is veeeery funny. It's more ambitious than his essays and does not hide that it's trying to be Art-with-a-capital-A, but there is a lot of humor in the book.

[piradical]

Could it have been Mr. Natural?

[centaurmyth]

For my money, I'd have to say, Immanuel Kant. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals was laugh-out-loud redonkulous. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of reading this one, put it on you a-priority list.

[NajdorfDefense]

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I don't know if he would be classified as a 'Humorist' but David Foster Wallace seems to constantly make me laugh.

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He was one of the first I thought of too. His bit in "Supposedly Fun Thing..." about the conflict between the customer is always right and the customer should never carry his own luggage is awesome.

KJS

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His essay on the #100 ranked tennis player was hilarious as well. Much of his work is extremely funny, esp Infinite Jest and most of the nonficiton essays.

[maurile]

Dave Barry and P.J. O'Rourke are my two favorites. Woody Allen has also written some funny stuff (collected in Without Feathers and Side Effects). I love H.L. Mencken. And Oscar Wilde should get a lot more love than he does as a humorist.