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 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


Publication year 2013

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Humor, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Children's Literature


Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Sociology, Humor, Psychology, Psychology, Relationships, Romance

Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance, published in 2015, is a nonfiction work that combines statistics, interviews, and comedy to explore the current landscape of dating in the modern age. Ansari is an actor and comedian, as well as a writer. He got his start on television in the role of Tom Haverford in Parks and Recreation, which ran on NBC. He starred in Human Giant and went on to perform in several movies. His first comedy... Read Modern Romance Summary


Publication year 1961

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Humor, American Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Satire, Military / War, WWII / World War II, Post Modernism

Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut, is a World War II novel first published in 1961. Vonnegut’s third novel, it garnered little recognition when it was first released, and it wasn’t until Vonnegut’s success with Cat’s Cradle in 1963 and his breakout fifth novel, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), that Mother Night was revaluated as a powerful work of moral exploration by an author who would go on to become America’s leading satirist and who is now recognized as... Read Mother Night Summary


Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Humor, Magical Realism, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Fantasy, Realistic Fiction, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Social Justice, Race / Racism, Religion / Spirituality, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Education, Education


Publication year 1974

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

Tags Humor, Children's Literature


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Mothers

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Humor

Mrs. Fletcher is a 2017 comic novel by American author Tom Perrotta. It follows the sexual reawakening of middle-aged divorcée Eve Fletcher after her son, Brendan Fletcher, departs for college. Meanwhile, Brendan finds the campus environment inhospitable to his unthinking “lacrosse bro” misogyny. Mrs. Fletcher is the seventh novel by Perrotta, best known for 1998’s Election (adapted into a movie of the same name, starring Reese Witherspoon) and 2011’s The Leftovers, which was adapted into... Read Mrs. Fletcher Summary


Publication year 1947

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Education

Tags Children's Literature, Fantasy, Humor


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance, Humor, Great Depression, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery

Tags Romance, Humor


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Grief / Death


Publication year 1598

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Play: Comedy / Satire, Modern Classic Fiction, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Class, Gender / Feminism, Renaissance, Education, Education, Romance, Humor

Much Ado About Nothing, a comedy dating from the mid-career period of William Shakespeare was probably written just prior to 1600. The play has the trappings of a theatrical farce with its use of assumptions and misunderstandings. Main characters Benedick and Beatrice are duped into announcing their love for each other while Claudio is fooled into spurning Hero at the altar when he mistakenly believes that she has not been faithful to him. The theme of lovers being tricked... Read Much Ado About Nothing Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Class, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Humor, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 1956

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Identity: Femininity, Society: Economics, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride

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

My Fair Lady, a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music), opened on Broadway to tremendous critical and popular success in 1956, starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews as Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle. Adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s popular play Pygmalion (1914) and inspired by the Greek myth of “Pygmalion and Galatea,” the musical takes place in early-20th-century London, satirizing issues of class hierarchies, gender disparity, and how language... Read My Fair Lady Summary


Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Art

Tags Humor, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman


Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Humor

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry is a 2013 coming-of-age novel by Fredrik Bachman. The story follows Elsa, a seven-year-old girl with a penchant for grammar and deep affection for her grandmother, Granny, who dies from cancer. As Elsa discovers Granny’s past and the many lives she affected, she also learns more about Life and Death, Celebrating Differences, and the Complexity of Human Nature.Originally written in Swedish, My Grandmother Asked Me has... Read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry Summary