Laugh-out-Loud Books

Our Laugh-out-Loud Books Collection highlights titles that bring levity to literature through satire, dark humor, or hilarious dialogue. Representing genres ranging from romantic comedies to classic children's titles, this Collection features titles to tickle every reader's funny bone.

Publication year 1991

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Society: War, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Play: Drama, Education, Education, Jewish Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Humor, Classic Fiction

Lost in Yonkers is a play by American playwright Neil Simon that premiered in 1991. It centers around Jay Kurnitz, a teenage boy sent with his younger brother, Arty, to live with his grandmother in Yonkers. Many critics consider the play, which debuted to overwhelming critical acclaim, one of Simon’s best works. It explores themes of abbreviated childhood, war, and generational trauma. Lost in Yonkers won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama upon its release, and... Read Lost In Yonkers Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Romance, Humor, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Romance, Humor, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Grandparents

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Humor


Publication year 1598

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Masculinity, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire, British Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Romance, Humor

Love’s Labour’s Lost is an early Shakespearean comedy, produced in the burgeoning theatrical culture of Elizabethan London. It tells the story of four Lords, led by the King of Navarre, who swear to dedicate three years to study and avoid women. However, they immediately fall in love with four ladies, led by the Princess of France. The play follows their attempts to woo the ladies, while a host of comedic characters in the subplot squabble... Read Love's Labour's Lost Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Place, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Humor, Southern Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Society: Economics, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction


Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Identity: Femininity

Tags Classic Fiction, Ancient Greece, Play: Comedy / Satire, Gender / Feminism, Politics / Government, Military / War, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Humor

Lysistrata (411 BCE) was written by the best-known Greek comic poet, the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. We know little of Aristophanes’ life outside of his work. His birth and death cannot be firmly dated, but he was believed to have been born around 460 BCE and died sometime in the mid-380s BCE. His active period, though, is more certain— around 425 to 388 BCE—making him a contemporary of other fifth-century Athenian luminaries like Socrates, Euripides, and... Read Lysistrata Summary


Publication year 1965

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Courage

Tags Historical Fiction, Play: Drama, Music, Humor, Play: Historical, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Romance, Classic Fiction

Man of La Mancha, by Dale Wasserman, Joe Darion, and Mitch Leigh, took the world of musical theater by storm when it premiered in 1965. This story of Miguel de Cervantes and his comic knight, Don Quixote, won five Tony Awards as well as the Drama Critics Circle Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Variety Drama Critics Award, and the Saturday Review Award. The original production ran for over 2,000 performances and remains popular... Read Man of La Mancha Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Mothers, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Humor, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman


Publication year 2005

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Animals, Modern Classic Fiction, Biography, Humor

Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog (2005) is an autobiography by journalist John Grogan. This guide is based on the 2005 first edition. The story was inspired by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Grogan’s obituary for his dog Marley.The book was adapted into a full-length film in 2008 and has also been adapted into a series of children’s stories about Marley. The title is borrowed from a chapter near the... Read Marley And Me Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Humor, Music, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World


Publication year 1988

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Children's Literature, Bullying, Education, Education, Humor

Roald Dahl’s 1998 children’s fantasy Matilda tells the darkly humorous story of a brilliant and kindly little girl who reads grown-up books, plays pranks on her emotionally abusive parents, and uses her telekinetic ability in her battles with a tyrannical school principal. Dahl is widely considered one the greatest children’s storytellers. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide; they include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG... Read Matilda Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews, introduces us to Greg S. Gaines, 17-year-old senior at Benson High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Greg is also the narrator of the novel. Over the course of his educational career, he has diligently developed a system that allows him to survive the daily pandemonium of life in high school. He maintains a surface-level, friendly-but-not-too-friendly connection to every clique in school so that he can remain... Read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Summary


Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Community

Tags Historical Fiction, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Canadian Literature, Humor

Medicine River, originally published in 1989, is a novel by Thomas King, one of the most prolific Indigenous American writers of the 20th century. The title of the novel takes its name from the town in Alberta, Canada, where the characters live, near a Blackfoot reservation. Their stories, as told by protagonist Will, delve into themes such as Friendship and Forbearance within the frame of Life in an Alberta Blackfoot Community. As Will tells these... Read Medicine River Summary


Publication year 2000

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Tags Creative Nonfiction, Humor, Biography

David Sedaris’s Me Talk Pretty One Day is a collection of twenty-seven essays exploring the author’s childhood in North Carolina, his relationship with his family, his time living in France, and observations about American social life. The book is comprised of two sections, Part One and Part Deux in which the latter half focuses primarily on Sedaris’s time in Normandy, France. Told with sardonic humor, each chapter deploys various levels of fantasy, irony, and other... Read Me Talk Pretty One Day Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Society: Immigration

Tags Children's Literature, Humor, Biography


Publication year 2011

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Society: Education, Self Discovery, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Bullying


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery

Tags Romance, Humor