Quirky humour discussion

Hi all.

Interested in thoughts on the use of quirky humor in non-fiction.

In the Douglas Adams forum, a few people mentioned Last Chance to See which I think is a great book. I also really like the two books co-authored by John Cleese and Robyn Skinner on psychology - Families and How to Survive Them and Life and How to Survive It.

In all of these books, the "comic" acts for the general audience, asking questions and offering humorous asides. But they also know that they are not the main subject of the book so they step back and give the "expert" lots of room.

It makes for a really enjoyable and also informative read.

Interested in other suggestions.

Jonathan Gould

I don't know if it's actually quirky or I just read it that way, but I found The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary hilarious at parts and long-winded at parts.

I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse? was quirky, witty and engaging the whole way through.

Both Pure Drivel & The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time collect a series of short fiction and non-fiction articles, essays, and letters that are definitely quirky humor.


How to Travel With a Salmon & Other Essays is a similar collection. Only some of the essays are "quirky humor", but they're all very well written.

Jon Ronson is always funny.

Apocalypse Wow! by James Finn Garner. A humorous look at various cultures' end of the world beliefs. A little irreverent so if you're very religious it may offend, but it's mostly goofy and silly.

If you're a fan of retro stuff at all and haven't seen James Lileks' Interior Desecrations or the Gallery of Regrettable Food/Gastronomalies books, you might enjoy those.

He digs up old interior decorating mags and cookbooks and makes some great commentary on their horrific contents.

Although I don't consider any of them to be 'proper' comedians...books by Mary Roach, Sarah Vowell, and A.J. Jacobs to be quite humorous while very informative. Each has a great variety of topics from which to choose. -JM.