Favourite Humorous Authors?

[Bella Fortuna]

Should the thread title be spelled in the correct British English? Houmourous?

It is courrect.

[FBM]

Dave Barry.

[Coito ergo sum]

P.J. O'Rourke.

Some great P.J. O'Rourke quotes:

"A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat."

"After all, what is your host's purpose in having a party? Surely not for you to enjoy yourself; if that were their sole purpose, they'd have simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi."

"Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power."

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

"Never be unfaithful to a lover, except with your wife."

"The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it."

"The good news is that, according to the Obama administration, the rich will pay for everything. The bad news is that, according to the Obama administration, you're rich."

"The weirder you're going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person."

"Whatever it is that the government does, sensible Americans would prefer that the government does it to somebody else. This is the idea behind foreign policy."

[apophenia]

I don't generally read for humor, largely because I read very little fiction. Though I do adore O. Henry for a chuckle, and I find George R.R. Martin's books satisfying in a sort of evil grin kind of way. Outside of that, Mencken is always enjoyable, and while I certainly am skeptical of their viewpoints, I enjoy the rhetorical flourishes of Safire and Buckley. Though beyond O. Henry, nobody I read simply for laughs (aside from voluminous atheistic tomes detailing the shenanigans of religious people — that can't help but kick my Schadenfreude into high gear). What I consider "light reading" differs significantly from the rest of the human race. As told elsewhere, my girlfriend of the time when I was hospitalized asked me if she could bring me some reading material. I asked her to loan me her copy of Goodwin and Jamieson's "Manic-depressive Illness" — a massive tome, a review of the last 20 years of psychological literature on the subject (and poignant quotes heading chapters). She refused. I was probably more depressed at not having something to stimulate my mind with than I ever would have been as a result of the subject matter. She brought me some introductory philosophy text which I never read and was grateful when the opportunity to throw it away came. My two greatest joys in life, thinking, and learning. Everything else pales into insignificance for me.

[Rum]

Bill Bryson for laugh outloudness for me!

[JimC]

Tom Sharpe..

[Tero]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Uspensky

[Bella Fortuna]

Jasper Fforde - literary AND surreal.

[Faithfree]

Douglas Adams

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

I don't read much these days but I remember laughing out loud many times to Peter Tinniswood.