...is the one description that really puts me off a book. It’s the literary equivalent of canned laughter, and is guaranteed to make me fail to find any amusement in a book. Humour is totally subjective. You either find a book, or a joke, funny, or you don’t, but you shouldn’t have to be told in advance. You need to find out for yourself. A funny passage in a book (for me) comes as a kind of delightful surprise, and being told that it’s going to be funny spoils that surprise. As for LOL at the end of messages, don’t get me started....
We Don’t all find the same things funny, just as we don’t all love the same pieces of music or even the same sunset. A few years ago, I read the funniest book I think I’ve ever read, and was literally howling with laughter most of the way through. I’ve no idea why that particular books has stayed with me, but it hit a big funny bone, and I remember it with great pleasure (and gratitude towards the author). But I won’t tell you the title, because if you were to read it in the future, I would already have spoilt it for you.
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That's interesting. I think if I have ever written a review about a book that I have found amusing then I would have prefaced it by saying that I had found it thus. Just as I probably would in relation to any emotion.
ReplyDeleteI think it's when I see it printed on a book, Graham. I know it's not just me, because I read an article about it the other day, and discovered I'm not alone!
DeleteTrue, we do not all find the same things funny, but some authors (or comedians on TV etc.) are generally considered to be more funny than others.
ReplyDeleteI must admit my sense of humour often does not grasp the "hilarious" bits advertised on the back of some books, especially when the fun is supposed to derive from the heroine being unable to organise herself (and coquettishly so). For instance, it took me a while to enjoy "Bridget Jones" - I only started to like her in the second book, when I admired how she handled her stint in prison.
Why not say you found a book funny? It is the same as saying you found a story gripping, or boring, and the characters flat or well developed.
Good points, as always, Meike.
DeleteThe only book that I remember making me laugh out loud was Maureen Lipman's first book......" How was it for you?...Home thoughts from a broad" . Brilliant..... though I suppose that will put you off reading it now?
ReplyDeleteMaybe not, Frances. I love Maureen Lipman, but have never read a book by her, so I'm tempted...
DeleteI quite agree Frances. I never recommend a book that I've laughed out loud over for this very reason. I have a weird sense of humor anyway and what often strikes me funny leaves my husband stone-faced.
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad you agree, Jill.
DeleteI've read books described as hilarious, not found them very funny and so been disappointed. It's quite likely that if no mention of humour had been made, I'd have enjoyed them far more and seen the odd mildly amusing line as a bonus, not a let down.
ReplyDeleteOh good. You’re in my side, Patsy 🙂
DeleteSo pleased to read this post, Frances, as I couldn't agree more! A good friend and I nearly fell out many years ago because I didn't find a passage funny that she had told everyone was hilarious. Humour is so subjective.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you agree, Rosemary. Being told something’s hilarious puts you under pressure, somehow, and in my case almost makes me decide I won’t find it funny. Which probably says something horrible about me ....
DeleteI'm sensing that the right comment here is not 'LOL'... :|
ReplyDeleteYou sense right, DT. I don’t know why lol infuriates me, but I’m probabky just a curmudgeon...
DeleteOh goodie Frances, it takes one to know one ... not LOL!
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