I was nine when I read my first adult novel, Jane Eyre. I don’t think I understood much of it but the adults were terribly impressed. The first novels I actually enjoyed were John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday whose brand of pathos probably set me on a course to best liking the rollercoaster reads that dip into darkness, then soar with humour.

Not all the books I list here dip into darkness but they all do reach great funny heights. I wouldn’t even attempt to rate them because I might have a lot of equal firsts, but I have read them all and given them all four or five stars in reviews.

You can leave a message (at the end of this page) if you’d like to recommend a funny book to me and like-minded readers who wander in here.