Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine: America's Funniest Jokes, Stories, and Cartoons

by Reader's Digest Association

This collection of laugh-out-loud jokes, one-liners, and other lighthearted glimpses of life-drawn from Reader's Digest magazine's most popular humor columns-is sure to tickle the funny bone. Packed with more than 1,000 jokes, anecdotes, cartoons, quotes, and stories contributed by professional comedians, joke writers, and readers of the magazine, this side-splitting compilation pokes fun at the facts and foibles of daily routines, illustrating that life is often funnier than fiction

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Ebooks, Reference, Short Stories

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 6, 2011

About the author

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global media and direct marketing company based in Chappaqua, New York, best known for its flagship publication founded in 1922, Reader's Digest. The company's headquarters are in New York City, where it moved from Pleasantville, New York.

The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A whole bunch of humor from Reader's Digest. Nothing edgy, but wholesome humor.

[Todd Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first discovered Reader's Digest my favorite part was the humor columns. Humor in Uniform, All in a Day's Work, Life in These United States, etc. I loved them all. When I was 13 I was in a Community Theatre production of Oliver! and we rehearsed in the basement of the City Library. Down there I found stacks and stacks of back issues of Reader's Digest and I read them constantly while waiting for my musical numbers or scenes to be rehearsed. Because I was reading them many others in the cast started reading them too.

When I saw this book on Amazon .com I was very interested in having it and reading it. It brought back many wonderful memories of reading these same types of stories in my youth. There are so many great stories in this book that they lose a little of their "greatness" if you read too many at one sitting. Too much of a good thing all at once. My suggestion is to read just a few each day and savor them each time.

[Krystie Herndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying these Reader's Digest collections! I thought this one was funnier than the first one.

[wildct2003 · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, but did not like mingling of real stories with made up jokes.

[Tiana]

Pretty much exactly like you would expect, especially if you've ever read the jokes in Reader's Digest.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book just to pick up and read a few pages. It will put a smile on your face. Some of the jokes have been around awhile. But they still make you smile.

[Miss Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as fun as I'd hoped

I remember I'd always thought that these things were so funny in the magazine. Maybe it was just an overload. The only one I really liked was the one with the old couple who write notes.

[Lisa Burris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is best read, as I experienced it, as a palate cleanser. It is good for a chuckle or two, though there are also a few stale jokes here and there. It's not great literature, but then, it isn't meant to be.

[Eva Tipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some sections were laugh-out-loud funny. Most of the book's jokes, stories, and cartoons were amusing, but that was it. Still, I took my time and read small sections at a time so that I could appreciate the humor. It makes for a nice break in the day.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for a few laughs

Most of these jokes are pretty funny some are even laugh out loud funny. Worth buying and sharing with others.

[Angie ☯ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for a chuckle or two.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Great jokes. Varied text size and color. Colorful illustrations. Just great. Purchased a copy to give to an ill friend. Recommended.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

PopSugar prompt: A book in a different format than what you normally read

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for laughs

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the humor was cute. (I did skip the whole chapter of religious jokes.) The formatting is horrible. Sometimes one entry was in the middle of another one.

[Grampy · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Laughter Really Is the Best Medicine” is a compilation of more than 1,000 jokes submitted to Reader’s Digest magazine’s 'Laughter is the Best Medicine' column over the years. Regardless of whether you believe laughter can literally enhance your health, you will certainly get a healthy dose of humor out of this book.

I’ve been a subscriber to Reader’s Digest for more years than I care to remember, and the joke pages are where I always go first, before I read any of the more serious articles. I expected most of the jokes in this book would be familiar to me. Much to my surprise, nearly every single one was new to me!

That could be just a function of a failing memory, but whether or not I had previously read any of them, these jokes got a lot of laughter out of me. They are all good, clean G-rated humor, suitable for sharing around the dinner table… or they would have been, if my wife had let me.

Everybody needs a good laugh once in a while. This book is a great place to go for that laugh. I absolutely insist that everybody should get a copy of this book, if not for your health, at least for your peace of mind. Nothing puts stress in its place quite like a good hearty laugh.

As with any collection of jokes, there will be examples that you won’t find funny, and others your friends won’t find funny. BUT… and this is a big but (no, that wasn’t a joke), out of more than 1,000 jokes, just imagine how many you WILL find humorous! Statistically speaking, the odds are phenomenal that you will find yourself laughing at a great many of these jokes. When you look at it that way, how can you resist this sales pitch?

You will find yourself repeating many of these jokes around the water cooler at work, or in your email correspondences. But a word of warning… if your friends or co-workers start to turn the other way whenever they see you coming, maybe you should back off with sharing the jokes quite so much. Some folks just don’t have a sense of humor.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed reading Reader's Digest Magazine and especially enjoy the jokes in each issue. I have also purchased several books published by Reader's Digest over the years so I know their products are of excellent quality.

This book lives up to the company's reputation. Many of the jokes made me laugh out loud, and I also enjoyed the cartoons. I was pleasantly surprised to find them in color on my Kindle.

There were a number of jokes included in this book that I have seen in e-mails that people love to send to all their friends. So some of the jokes were ones I had read before, but the quality of the book is excellent.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
It's exactly how you think it would be, chalk full of old/older Reader's Digest jokes and stories. Make no mistake, this is not the most laugh out loud, world's funniest collection of jokes/stories you are going to want to write home about...but they were entertaining enough. Honestly, that's precisely what I was in the mood for. It was a pleasant, silly little break from some current novels I'm reading. So, if you are like me and enjoy reading something cute and fun, just a bunch of random enjoyable "fluff" or "nothingness" before bed, this is the book for you. If you used to read Reader's Digest, then you will probably enjoy it and find the nostalgia within.

[Shayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, not exactly sure I'd classify this is as some of Reader's Digest funniest jokes. However, there are definitely some good ones intermittently throughout the book. What I clearly did not care for we're the jokes dealing with death. Guess I'm not a point in my life where I can see the laughter in death. Overall this book was okay, nothing special. Since I only spent $3.99, it's not a major loss.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously this review is a no-brainer. If you grew up like I did, and couldn't wait to read the funny parts of the digest, this book is definitely for you. If not, then you are in for a pleasant surprise! Either way, you win by reading this collection of jokes and anecdotes. Highly recommend!

[Limau Nipis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Reader's Digest because of its humour section.

This one reminds me of the IT Crowd, a popular sitcom in the UK.

Tech Support: Click on the My Computer icon to the left of the screen.

Customer: Do you mean your left or mine?

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much as expected. Lots of short slices of life told with humor. Great for those who don't have long stretches of time to read.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised there were tons of jokes I haven't read before so it was a fun read!

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a free Kindle download. I enjoyed it.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute jokes

[Eric Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Condensed Version of my review requires only two words: "Kindle freebie."

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some jokes are "laugh-out-load", some make you go "huh" and some are just okay.

[Gena Koehler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It was mediocre, glad it was free.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book just to pick up and read a few pages. It will put a smile on your face. Some of the jokes have been around awhile. But they still make you smile.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laughter the Best Medicine by the Reader's Digest Association (Reader's Digest 2012) (550) is a king-sized collection of truly corny jokes. My rating: 5/10, finished 3/10/14.