The Flashman Papers – George MacDonald Fraser

I envy anyone who hasn’t already read the Flashman papers. What an absolute treat you have awaiting you. There is only one Flashman book that I haven’t read and now that GMF is no more I can’t bring myself to read it. I don’t want to be in a situation where I have no more Flashman books left to read.

The Jeeves and Wooster Stories – P. G. Wodehouse

Wodehouse is just the greatest writer of humorous fiction ever isn’t he? That’s a given surely. I can’t read these books without hearing Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in my head.

The Milligan War Diaries – Spike Milligan

In spite of the general horror of war, Milligan still makes his memoirs brilliantly funny.

Lucky Jim – Kingsley Amis

I mean the plot is nothing to write home about. It’s all about Amis’ excellent writing ability. This for me is really a triumph of style over substance.

MASH – Richard Hooker

The Robert Altman film is actually pretty faithful to Hooker’s Korean experience. It’s the bits that Altman left out that make this a worthwhile read.

Doctor In The House – Richard Gordon

One of the (very) few ‘student’ books to be really successful. And it’s really successful because it’s very warm, funny and nostalgic.

Round Ireland With A Fridge – Tony Hawks

I first saw this in a bookshop and was intrigued by the title. After I had been reading it for twenty minutes I thought I’d better buy it. Hawks’ follow-up Playing The Moldolvans At Tennis is worth seeking out as well.

The Ascent of Rum Doodle – W. E. Bowman

The funniest book no-one’s heard of. Rum Doodle is to mountains what Three Men In A Boat is to rivers.

Are You Dave Gorman / Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure – Dave Gorman

Sunday 14th December 2003 was our wedding day. Tuesday 16th December we flew out on our honeymoon. The evening of Monday the 15th was spent in the company of Dave Gorman and his Googlewhack adventure. It was a good week.

No Shitting In The Toilet – Peter Moore

Peter Moore is an Australian travel writer who tends to wander off the beaten track more often than not. He has written several books about his travels and NSITT represents a sort of ‘Best of’ collection. It’s basically the funny bits all in one place and is a good introduction to the body of work.

Three Men In A Boat – Jerome K. Jerome

In my opinion the single funniest stand-alone piece of comedy literature ever written.