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A fellow member of the Author’s Guild suggested we create a thread of “Author Humor” to break up the monotony of always dealing with serious subjects of late. It is certainly true that authors are serious about doing excellent research, describing accurate locations, creating compelling characters and deciding how it all fits into a particular genre. In the midst of these challenging times, the question is: can authors also have a sense of humor? The New Yorker magazine is famous for its cartoons and has included many that fit right into this scenario.
“Why don’t ants get sick? Because they have little anty-bodies.”
“I own the chewed pencil that Shakespeare used to write his famous works. He used to chew on it so much that I can’t tell whether it’s 2B or not 2B.”
“A prisoner goes to the jail’s library to borrow a book. The librarian says, ‘We don’t have this book, but we have its author’.”
“Definition of a writer: one who slaves in complete solitude…for the sake of communication.”
“A truck loaded with thousands of copies of Roget’s Thesaurus crashed yesterday losing its entire load. Witnesses said they were stunned, startled, aghast, taken aback, stupefied, confused, shocked, rattled, dazed, surprised, dumbfounded, perplexed, and speechless.”
If you would like to check some of the books that include a great deal of humor, let me tell you about a few of new novels written by New York Times bestselling authors.
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millions of readers in far-flung countries. Buckley’s latest contribution to today’s somewhat “crazy scene” is Make Russia Great Again.
Do you have a funny line or humous book you’d like to share with all of us? Please leave it in a comment here. Meanwhile, stay safe and thanks for joining us here on Rogue Women Writers.
Great comments! I'm re-reading an early Nero Wolfe (Rex Stout). Archie is often good for a laugh.
Oh, yes, Karna, so glad you reminded us how important it is to laugh! I love the humor, too, and think Janet Evanovich and Chris Buckley are marvelously funny. O, and those New Yorker cartoons … delicious! Thanks for a wonderful blog!
I just read “Gatecrasher” as part of research for characters among the rich and famous, and the author describes Elaine (as in the owner of the NYC restaurant) as “having smoked so many cigarettes her voice could be written in Braille.”
Love those comments and other suggestions about humorous reads! Thanks….Karna Small Bodman
Nearly any Carl Hiaasen book is good for a laugh. Bill Fitzhugh. Elaine Viets. Parnell Hall. The list can get massive, as most writers I know infuse some humor into their books. Great blog, Karna. Thanks.
I wish I could write humor, but I turn to that from others! Thanks for the recs. And the prison library joke.