Funny Authors for Young Adults and Adults

I am 21 years old and I still gravitate to the Young Adult section in a library. This isn't so much because I am in touch with my inner child (which I am), but because I prefer the way these books are written to the dry, boring, and impossibly serious way in which many adult books are written. This is also why I love authors who manage to create a delicious balance between a sophisticated voice, and humor.

The authors I am about to introduce you to are experts at just that. Their books have all managed to make me laugh out loud, but they have also caused me to think and enjoy "adult" books with none of the watering down of YA.

Terry Pratchett
In the Discworld series, the Discworld is a planet which is carried by four elephants standing on top of the great turtle A'Tuin, who moves slowly through space. The Discworld is flat (people can, and have, fallen off the edge on occasion). It is nothing like our Earth. At all.

Pratchett has been my favorite author since 9th grade. His writing is masterfully satirical, and each book in the Discworld series pokes fun at different aspects of our world. In Jingo, for example, a small island appears in the middle of the ocean overnight, and two different nations immediately begin to fight over who this tiny strip of land belongs to, and who got to it first (sound familiar?).

The books follow many quirky characters, each with a unique personality, and many faces appear in more than one of the books. The books in the series can be read in any order, but if you want to go in order, start with The Color of Magic. I would recommend my favorite books, but I love them all - Terry Pratchett's humor and creativity never seem to run dry, and each book is just as good as the next (something I see very rarely).

Christopher Moore

When his wife dies shortly after giving birth to his daughter, Charlie Asher becomes death. Well, one of them, anyway. His new job is to go around collecting souls left behind in objects, then sell them to people in his thrift store.

And this is only the beginning of Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I will admit that this is the only book I've read so far, but it left me wanting more by this author. Moore's writing is not as "wisely witty" as Pratchett's - he goes straight for the gags and laughs. Yet he manages to do this without making the story or the book seem too over the top. Which is amazing, considering all the things that happen. Somehow, Charlie Asher and all the other characters in the book are believable and easy to relate to, despite the hellhounds and death and sewer harpy business. I giggled out loud quite a few times while reading this one.

Robert Fulghum
Robert Fulghum is a different kind of funny. His books are collections of essays and expository writing about his life, his musings, and his philosophy. If you're like me, you will be intrigued just by the titles of his books: All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, Uh-Oh, and so on. His essays are lighthearted and full of fun. His works are light, but deep and philosophical at the same time. He reminds me to look at life from a different angle once in a while, all while making me smile