{"id":30068,"date":"2025-04-18T11:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T11:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/30068\/"},"modified":"2025-04-18T11:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T11:18:11","slug":"the-best-laugh-out-loud-books-of-the-21st-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/30068\/","title":{"rendered":"The best laugh-out-loud books of the 21st century"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a world that often feels like it is teetering on the edge of absurdity<\/a>, sometimes the only sensible response is to laugh. Thankfully, the 21st century has delivered a literary goldmine of comedic gems\u2014books that skewer modern life, celebrate its quirks, and provide a much-needed break from reality. From biting satire to offbeat memoirs to laugh-out-loud fiction<\/a>, today\u2019s authors have mastered the art of finding humour in even the most unexpected places.<\/p>\n

And we have done the gloriously enjoyable job of whittling down such a goldmine to the 14 best. These are all stories that will have you snorting in public, giggling in bed, and maybe even crying from laughter (in the best way).<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re into dry wit, dark comedy<\/a>, or full-on absurdism, there\u2019s something here for every kind of reader who appreciates a good laugh\u2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris; Reasons to Be Cheerful by Nina Stibbe; The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson<\/p>\n

\u2018Me Talk Pretty One Day\u2019 by David Sedaris<\/p>\n

A master of wry, self-deprecating humor, the American humourist recounts childhood quirks, failed artistic dreams, hilariously awkward attempts to learn French and time spent living in Paris. The essays are sharp, strange, and sneakily poignant \u2013 and set a gold standard in comic writing.<\/a><\/p>\n

Abacus, \u00a310.99<\/p>\n

\u2018Reasons to Be Cheerful\u2019 by Nina Stibbe<\/p>\n

Teenage Lizzie gets a job at a dental practice, navigating adulthood, identity, and romance. Winner of the 2019 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize<\/a>, Stibbe\u2019s wit is dry and warm, perfectly capturing the mundane and quietly hopeful bits of British life.<\/p>\n

Penguin, \u00a39.99<\/p>\n

\u2018The Road to Little Dribbling\u2019 by Bill Bryson<\/p>\n

20 years after publishing the 1995 classic Notes from a Small Island, in which he journeyed around the UK, Bryson<\/a> revisits his favourite spots of his adopted country to see what has changed. Replete with his signature mix of affectionate snark and hilarious tangents, it makes for an equally charming, cranky, and laugh-out-loud road trip.<\/p>\n

Black Swan, \u00a310.99<\/p>\n

\"\"Bossypants by Tina Fey; Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason; The Sellout by Paul Beatty<\/p>\n

\u2018Bossypants\u2019 by Tina Fey<\/p>\n

Easily the funniest celebrity memoir out there, Bossypants charts Fey\u2019s rise from awkward teen years to her time on Saturday Night Live<\/a> and 30 Rock. Self-effacing and incredibly droll, it\u2019s a smart, pithy memoir with a pitch-perfect balance of depth and lightness.<\/p>\n

Sphere, \u00a310.99<\/p>\n

\u2018Sorrow and Bliss\u2019 by Meg Mason<\/p>\n

This savagely funny novel explores mental illness, marriage, and identity through Martha, whose life is quietly unraveling. The humour is sharp and often uncomfortable, cutting through the sorrow with surprising emotional clarity. Sylvia Plath would have loved it.<\/p>\n

W&N, \u00a39.99<\/p>\n

\u2018The Sellout\u2019 by Paul Beatty<\/p>\n

This bold, brutal comedy about race, identity, and American delusion was a worthy winner of the 2016 Booker Prize<\/a>. A wild, fearless satire about a Black man who reinstates segregation in his LA neighborhood, in which Beatty\u2019s dense, dazzling prose is both intellectually searing and laugh-out-loud absurd.<\/p>\n

Oneworld, \u00a39.99 <\/p>\n

\"\"The Break by Marian Keyes; This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay; The Idiot by Elif Batuman<\/p>\n

\u2018The Break\u2019 by Marian Keyes<\/p>\n

When Amy\u2019s husband takes a break from their marriage, she is left navigating midlife chaos, heartbreak, and reinvention. Keyes blends emotional depth with sparkling humour, making even the most painful moments feel full of warmth. <\/p>\n

Penguin, \u00a39.99<\/p>\n

\u2018This Is Going to Hurt\u2019 by Adam Kay<\/p>\n

Through diary entries of Kay\u2019s time as a junior doctor, this memoir exposes the brutal, hilarious, and deeply human side of life working for a buckling NHS<\/a>. It\u2019s laceratingly funny and painfully honest, with gut-punches of empathy amid all the blood and bureaucracy.<\/p>\n

Picador, \u00a310.99<\/p>\n

\u2018The Idiot\u2019 by Elif Batuman<\/p>\n

Selin, a Turkish-American Harvard freshman, stumbles through love, language, and identity in the 1990s. Batuman\u2019s deadpan prose captures the absurdity of being young, smart, and completely baffled by life. Hilariously existential.<\/p>\n

Vintage, \u00a39.99<\/p>\n

\"\"Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby; Less by Andrew Sean Greer; Fight Night by Miriam Toews<\/p>\n

\u2018Wow, No Thank You\u2019 by Samantha Irby<\/p>\n

All of Irby\u2019s essay collections are riotously funny, but perhaps none more so than her third. Taking in everything from ageing and sex to IBS<\/a>, her voice is chaotic, sharp and a bit like your funniest, filthiest friend after one too many drinks \u2013 absolutely nothing is off limits.<\/p>\n

Faber, \u00a310.99<\/p>\n

\u2018Less\u2019 by Andrew Sean Greer<\/p>\n

Arthur Less, a middle-aged gay writer, travels quite literally around the world to avoid his ex\u2019s wedding. This Pulitzer<\/a>-winner is a tender, slyly funny meditation on love, self-worth, and the ridiculousness of trying to run from your own life. A true gem.<\/p>\n

Abacus, \u00a310.99<\/p>\n

\u2018Fight Night\u2019 by Miriam Toews<\/p>\n

Told through the eyes of a precocious nine-year-old girl who is looked after by her unstoppable grandmother, this tragicomic novel blends humour, grief, and resilience. It\u2019s tender, fierce, and provokes near constant snorty-laughter \u2013especially when Grandma Elvira is swearing, scheming, or dishing out wisdom \u2013 with a few tears, too.<\/p>\n

Faber, \u00a38.99<\/p>\n

\u2018Skippy Dies\u2019 by Paul Murray<\/p>\n

Murray\u2019s brilliant novel The Bee Sting has become one of the most popular books of recent years, but it\u2019s Skippy Dies that is truly side-splitting. That is despite the fact the eponymous 14-year-old Dublin boarding school pupil dies in the first chapter\u2014 what follows is raucous, sprawling and bittersweet.<\/p>\n

Penguin, \u00a39.99<\/p>\n

\u2018Where\u2019d You Go, Bernadette\u2019 by Maria Semple<\/p>\n

When the agoraphobic Bernadette vanishes before a family trip to Antarctica, her daughter pieces together the mystery through emails, reports, and memos. A quirky, satirical novel skewering modern society, motherhood, and perfectionism with razor-sharp wit.<\/p>\n

W&N, \u00a39.99<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a world that often feels like it is teetering on the edge of absurdity, sometimes the only…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3938],"tags":[17976,3444,17977,77,17978,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-30068","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-book-reviews","9":"tag-books","10":"tag-books-feature","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-iweekend","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114358695176471912","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}