Our Laugh-out-Loud Books Collection highlights titles that bring levity to literature through satire, dark humor, or hilarious dialogue. Representing genres ranging from romantic comedies to classic children's titles, this Collection features titles to tickle every reader's funny bone.
Publication year 1998
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, WWII / World War II, Sports, History: World, Humor
The Last Days of Summer is an epistolary novel written by Steve Kluger and published in 1998. The novel offers a view into the life of Joey Margolis, an articulate, resourceful, tender-hearted young Jewish baseball fan who resides in Brooklyn, New York during the 1940s. His parents’ divorce results in Joey’s estrangement from his father, who marries a Manhattan socialite and fails to maintain contact with his son, as well as relocation from the Hasidic... Read Last Days of Summer Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Novella, Fiction
Themes Society: Economics, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Teams
Tags Humor, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Business / Economics, Class, American Literature, Education, Education
Lawn Boy, a novella by Gary Paulsen published in 2007, is a middle grade chapter book about a 12-year-old boy who receives an old lawn mower as a birthday gift from his grandmother. As underwhelming as the gift appears, this moment launches a sequence of events that ends with the boy owning $480,000 and being the sole investor of a heavyweight boxer. Full of quirky humor and digestible lessons in capitalism, Paulsen’s story leads the... Read Lawn Boy Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Animals, Humor, Children's Literature
Publication year 2014
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Natural World: Animals, Society: Community
Tags Children's Literature, Humor, Action / Adventure, Animals
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality
Tags LGBTQ, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Humor
Written by Andrew Sean Greer and published in 2017, Less is a satirical comedy novel. It portrays the journey of Arthur Less, who after a difficult breakup plots a round-the-world trip to better understand himself. It won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.Plot SummaryApproaching 50, Arthur Less sits in a hotel lobby waiting to be picked up for a literary event. He is a writer and will be interviewing another writer, albeit a sci-fi author... Read Less Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Identity: Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: The Future
Tags LGBTQ, Humor, Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Historical Fiction, Humor, Gender / Feminism, Romance, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Children's Literature, Animals, Realistic Fiction, Sports, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Humor
Publication year 1883
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Teams
Tags Action / Adventure, History: U.S., American Civil War, American Literature, History: World, Travel Literature, Humor, Classic Fiction, Biography
Life on the Mississippi is a powerful narrative concerning the past, present, and future of the Mississippi River, including its towns, peoples, and ways of life. The narrative is written by Mark Twain, whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Twain explains in the narrative how he “stole” this nickname from an old steamboat captain who was also a writer. Mark Twain is a nautical term and a pilot’s phrase that means “two fathoms.” Two... Read Life on the Mississippi Summary
Publication year 1887
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Classic Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Humor, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period
Publication year 2002
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Humor, Bullying, Parenting, Relationships, American Literature, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction
Loser is a young adult novel published in 2002 by American author and Newbury Medal winner Jerry Spinelli. It tells the story of Donald Zinkoff, an eccentric goofball of a kid who stumbles enthusiastically through his elementary school years, largely without friends, before becoming an accidental hero in middle school. Written entirely in the present tense, Loser garnering several awards and nominations.Plot SummaryAt first, the other kids don’t notice little Donald Zinkoff, except to see... Read Loser Summary
Publication year 1991
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: War, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Play: Drama, Education, Education, Jewish Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Humor, Classic Fiction
Lost in Yonkers is a play by American playwright Neil Simon that premiered in 1991. It centers around Jay Kurnitz, a teenage boy sent with his younger brother, Arty, to live with his grandmother in Yonkers. Many critics consider the play, which debuted to overwhelming critical acclaim, one of Simon’s best works. It explores themes of abbreviated childhood, war, and generational trauma. Lost in Yonkers won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama upon its release, and... Read Lost In Yonkers Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Romance, Humor, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags Romance, Humor, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Grandparents
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Humor
Publication year 1598
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Masculinity, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire, British Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Romance, Humor
Love’s Labour’s Lost is an early Shakespearean comedy, produced in the burgeoning theatrical culture of Elizabethan London. It tells the story of four Lords, led by the King of Navarre, who swear to dedicate three years to study and avoid women. However, they immediately fall in love with four ladies, led by the Princess of France. The play follows their attempts to woo the ladies, while a host of comedic characters in the subplot squabble... Read Love's Labour's Lost Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Place, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Humor, Southern Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Society: Economics, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Identity: Femininity
Tags Classic Fiction, Ancient Greece, Play: Comedy / Satire, Gender / Feminism, Politics / Government, Military / War, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Humor
Lysistrata (411 BCE) was written by the best-known Greek comic poet, the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. We know little of Aristophanes’ life outside of his work. His birth and death cannot be firmly dated, but he was believed to have been born around 460 BCE and died sometime in the mid-380s BCE. His active period, though, is more certain— around 425 to 388 BCE—making him a contemporary of other fifth-century Athenian luminaries like Socrates, Euripides, and... Read Lysistrata Summary