Laugh-out-Loud Books

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion explores the romantic and comedic errors of a man with undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome, Don Tillson, as he looks for a wife. As a professor of genetics, Don lives an orderly, predictable life in a protected academic setting. Trouble ensues when he decides that he is ready to find his life’s partner. Set in Melbourne, Australia and New York City, the novel is told in the first person from Don’s... Read The Rosie Project Summary

Wise-cracking eighth-grader Anthony “Antsy” Bonano befriends Calvin Schwa, a nondescript boy who is virtually invisible to his classmates in Neal Shusterman’s humorous young adult novel, The Schwa Was Here (2004). As Antsy and the Schwa experiment on his invisibility, they meet the crotchety neighborhood recluse Old Man Crawley and fall for his granddaughter, Lexie, who is blind. Antsy learns about the Schwa’s challenging family life and makes discoveries about his own sense of self, his... Read The Schwa Was Here Summary

First published in the New Yorker in 1939, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is James Thurber’s short story about the flamboyant fantasy life of a timid suburban Everyman. A gentle satire of the human imagination (among other things), the story struck an immediate and lasting chord in the midcentury American imagination and is widely regarded as a comic masterpiece. Its distinctive mixture of pathos and parody made it one of the most anthologized short... Read The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Summary

Paul Beatty is the author of the 2015 novel The Sellout—a satire that makes fun of contemporary norms around race and identity. In the novel, Beatty applies his no-holds-barred idea of comedy to segregation, slavery, police brutality, and countless tragic and fraught issues that people typically treat with extreme seriousness and sensitivity. Through the main character, Me, the book provides an ironic and unexpected take on themes like Racial and Personal Identity and Capitalism’s Power... Read The Sellout Summary

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The Sisters Brothers is a 2011 novel by Canadian writer Patrick DeWitt. Set in 1851, it traces the journey of Charlie and Eli Sisters, two hired killers traveling from Oregon to San Francisco to find a man called Warm, who allegedly stole something from their boss, the Commodore. The darkly comic Western is in the picaresque genre, as the brothers’ episodic misadventures explore different communities populating the American West.The Sisters Brothers is divided into 64... Read The Sisters Brothers Summary

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... Read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK Summary

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The Taming of the Shrew is one of William Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, probably first performed around 1593. While the play’s depiction of women is the subject of much debate among modern readers and scholars, its popularity endures, and the play continues to be reproduced in various mediums. Notable adaptations include the 1967 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and the 1999 romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.This guide refers to the 2014... Read The Taming of the Shrew Summary

The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff, is an introduction to the philosophy of Taoism. Hoff uses Winnie-the-Pooh and other characters from A.A. Milne’s well-known children books to exemplify and explain these principles. The primary character, Pooh, exhibits many qualities that produce contentment. The literal meaning of Tao is “the way,” and the goal of the way is the kind of contentment that Pooh possesses.Many of the book’s passages are devoted to Taoist concepts such... Read The Tao Of Pooh Summary

In The Teacher’s Funeral (2004), Richard Peck gives a humorous, heartwarming look back at a changing time in America’s history. Narrator Russell Culver, a mischievous 15-year-old living in rural Indiana, reveals how his delight turned to dismay when his teacher died in August 1904. Peck draws on both his father’s childhood memories and his own recollections of visits to his grandparents’ farm as inspiration for the novel, which won a 2005 Christopher Award. Page citations... Read The Teacher's Funeral Summary

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