Laughter is the best medicine, they say. We all love to laugh - but we certainly don't all find the same things funny! Psychology Today once featured an article about humor styles - according to them, there are four. In the spirit of reader's advisory (that's what librarians call book suggestions), we thought we we would try to suggest new humorous stories based on your humor style. So, if your style is:
Put-Down Humor
"This aggressive type of humor is used to criticize and manipulate others through teasing, sarcasm and ridicule."
Try: Not Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War On You by Greg Gutfeld
Bonding Humor
"People who use bonding humor are fun to have around; they say amusing
things, tell jokes, engage in witty banter and generally lighten the
mood."
Try: The Amazing Thing About the Way It Goes by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Hate-Me Humor
"In this style of humor, you are the butt of the joke for the amusement of others."
Try: You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About by Dave Barry
Laughing at Life
"When we admire someone who 'doesn't take himself too seriously,' this is
the temperament we're talking about. More than just a way of relating
to other people, it's a prism that colors the world in rosier shades.
Someone with this outlook deploys humor to cope with challenges, taking a
step back and laughing at the absurdities of everyday life."
Try: Yes Please by Amy Poehler
How did we do? If none of the suggestions suit, you can also try:
- When we at abcreads think funny, we think P. G. Wodehouse, Douglas Adams, Sue Townsend, Alan Bennett, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - the English have a great humorous tradition. Stateside, we lean towards David Sedaris, Nora Ephron, George Carlin, Erma Bombeck. We've also chuckled and chortled with Christopher Moore, Jill Conner Browne, Helen Fielding, Jasper Fforde, Laurie Notaro, Tina Fey, Carl Hiaasen, Tom Robbins, Sarah Vowell, and Chuck Klosterman, among others. Do you have a favorite humorist? Let us know in the comments!
- A search of "Humorous stories" in the catalog. This will include funny kids' books.
- A search of "Humorous stories" in the library catalog, using the Advanced Search to filter out "juvenile" and "easy". Should be primarily YA and above.
- A search "Wit and humor" in the catalog for jokes, quotes, and miscellaneous.
For books about humor, try:
American Cornball: A Laffopedic Guide to the Formerly Funny by Christopher Miller
The Humor Code: A Global Search For What Makes Things Funny by Peter McGraw, PhD, and Joel Warner
Links
25 Books Guaranteed to Make You Laugh [Flavorwire]
32 Books Guaranteed to Make You Laugh Out Loud [Buzzfeed]
Ten Funny Books You Might Not Have Read [Electric Lit]
Laughing Matters: Five Funny Books With Substance [NPR]
15 funniest travel books every written (in English) [CNN]
The 15 best comedy books of all time [Telegraph]
No comments:
Post a Comment