According to an article at Real Simple, benefits from reading include increasing intelligence, boosting brain power, becoming more emphatic, helping with relaxation and sleep, and can even help fight Alzheimer’s disease. According to HelpGuide.org, “Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress.” Check out these 12 hilarious books that will surely entertain you and might provide healthy benefits at the same time
1. Bossypants by Tina Fey
“Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update,” before “Sarah Palin,” Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV. She has seen both these dreams come true.” (Amazon)
This is a humorous, candid, and entertaining book by Tina Fey. The audiobook is presented with the author’s own voice, which adds to the delight of the book.
You can purchase the book here.
2. Hyperbole And A Half by Allie Brosh
“This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from the website like, “The God of Cake,” “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving,” and her astonishing, “Adventures in Depression,” and “Depression Part Two,” which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written.” (Amazon)
Based on Allie Brosh’s blog, this book is candid, funny (laugh-out-loud), and engaging. She deals with subject matters that a lot of us think about but are too timid to say aloud.
You can purchase the book here.
3. Bitter Is The New Black by Jen Lancaster
“This is the smart-mouthed, soul-searching story of a woman trying to figure out what happens next when she’s gone from six figures to unemployment checks and she stops to reconsider some of the less-than-rosy attitudes and values she thought she’d never have to answer for when times were good.” (Amazon)
Jen Lancaster is always funny; however, in this book the reader gets a front row view of how quickly our lives and priorities can change. The front cover of the book alone gives you an idea what to expect and how Lancaster handles situations in a humorous manner.
You can purchase the book here.
4. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
“Sedaris is Garrison Keillor’s evil twin: like the Minnesota humorist, Sedaris (Naked) focuses on the icy patches that mar life’s sidewalk, though the ice in his work is much more slippery and the falls much more spectacularly funny than in Keillor’s. Many of the 27 short essays collected here (which appeared originally in the New Yorker, Esquire and elsewhere) deal with his father, Lou, to whom the book is dedicated. Lou is a micromanager who tries to get his uninterested children to form a jazz combo and, when that fails, insists on boosting David’s career as a performance artist by heckling him from the audience…. After several extended stays in a little Norman village and in Paris, Sedaris had progressed, he observes, “from speaking like an evil baby to speaking like a hillbilly.” (Publishers Weekly)
David Sedaris is self-deprecating, genuine, candid, and kind of dark at times. You’ll find yourself not knowing exactly why you are laughing, but laughing nonetheless.
You can purchase the book here.
5. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
“In the irreverent Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter help her uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments—the ones we want to pretend never happened—are the very same moments that make us the people we are today. For every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the dark, disturbing, yet wonderful moments of our lives.” (Amazon)
Jenny Lawson, like a lot of comedians, turns her pain into humor. She is candid, irreverent, and funny. This humorous memoir is sure to entertain you and have you laughing out loud, even when you know maybe you shouldn’t.
You can purchase the book here.
6. Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life
“In Tibetan Peach Pie, Robbins turns that unparalleled literary sensibility inward, stitching together stories of his unconventional life, from his Appalachian childhood to his globetrotting adventures —told in his unique voice that combines the sweet and sly, the spiritual and earthy. The grandchild of Baptist preachers, Robbins would become over the course of half a century a poet-interruptus, an air force weatherman, a radio dj, an art-critic-turned-psychedelic-journeyman, a world-famous novelist, and a counter-culture hero, leading a life as unlikely, magical, and bizarre as those of his quixotic characters.” (Amazon)
Tom Robbins tells stories and lets the reader inside his wild and adventurous life. Many reviewer have written that they suggest it’s best to read his other books first. He has a talented writing style that is sure to please.
You can purchase the book here.
7. Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
“Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?” (Amazon)
With a unique voice, genuine honesty, and incredible energy Mindy Kaling shares her life experiences with the reader. On an impressive note, she has earned the title of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
You can purchase the book here.
8. One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich
“Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash–fast–but times are tough, and soon she’s forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family.” (Amazon)
This is the first of over twenty books written in the Stephanie Plum Series. It’s funny, relatable, and throws in a bit of romance. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud with the situations our “heroine” gets herself into.
You can purchase the book here.
9. A Walk in the Woods: rediscovering America on the Appalachian by Bill Bryson
“The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you’ll find.” (Amazon)
This is a travel memoir that was also made into a movie. Bill Bryson narrates his and his friend’s journey on the Appalachian Trail. He creates visual images in the readers’ minds that are sure to produce a laugh out loud.
You can purchase the book here.
Featured photo credit: Last Lecture/brewbooks via flickr.com
