Happy Saturday, readers!
Lately, there’s been enough negativity around with the news so I thought I’d suggest you something that makes you laugh. These are the 3 funniest books I’ve come across. If you read them, I’d love to know your review and your favourite bits.
Here we goooo
Do you catch yourself laughing often while reading? Yeah… me neither. Sometimes humour in books feels like that stand-up you went for which wasn’t funny, but luckily you don’t have to laugh for the heck of not embarrassing the performer.
These three books changed my perspective. I caught myself crying while reading all three of them… and then laughed within minutes. I looked forward to unwinding my day with them to get a dose of happy hormones.
I sent screenshots of paragraphs that were hilarious. Yes, that’s the millennial way of sharing happiness.
If you’re looking for a change and want to genuinely read stuff that will make you laugh out loud in a public place and make you look like a complete crackpot, consider these three to do the job.
1. This is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay
Adam Kay was a doctor in Britain’s NHS (National Health Service) and is a writer and comedian today. Yep, that escalated quickly. During his time as a doctor, he wrote a diary which now is this book.
From performing miracles during a delivery to experiencing the weirdest of patients,
“I tell a woman in antenatal clinic that she has to give up smoking. She shoots me a look that makes me wonder if I’ve accidentally just said, ‘I want to f*** your cat”
and gives an insight into his role as an obstetrician,
“I comment on how cute a friend’s latest ugly baby looks, which I can do very convincingly, as I spend a large proportion of my working day doing the same thing to total strangers.”
Trigger warning: It’s a lot of dark humour, and a lot of blood and body parts talk.
While there’s all laughter, there’s also dismay.
What broke my heart was when he explained the time when he had to perform an autopsy on a stillborn child to find out the cause of this misfortune, and he apologised to the dead baby a thousand times while cutting him as tears rolled down his cheeks.
There were plenty of other tragedies of his friends dealing with depression, the stress of working round the clock and not making enough money as your non-medical friends, the loneliness of his partner, etc.
However, the subsequent chapter will end up making you giggle and the diary-entry format is fun because no two days are the same.
2. Naked by Papa CJ
“When I started doing stand-up comedy, I was actually debating between doing a bar tending course and getting into stand-up comedy. I thought both those professions were really cool but the bar tending course that I looked at only taught how to mix drinks. They didn’t teach how to juggle the glasses. I thought to myself, if I can’t juggle the glasses, I’m never going to get laid. That’s why I got into stand-up comedy. And that was 15 years ago. In the last 15 years, I cant tell you how many times…how many times I wish I had taken that bartending course.”
Papa CJ is a stand-up comedian from India who has performed across the world. His journey of performing comedy started in England when he took a sabbatical from his job. He’s also an MBA from Oxford.
This book is the story of his life and describes the highs and lows of his time at boarding school (we studied at the same place!) to his heartbreaks, his time at Oxford, a broken engagement, and a marriage that didn’t quite work out.
However, they’re also accompanied by a lot of entertainment and shenanigans during his childhood and throughout his life (perhaps ongoing).
If you’re somebody who dreams of a side-hustle or wants to be a full-time creator, his journey will inspire you to stay at it amidst all the failures and lows. When I planned on becoming a full-time writer, I actually went back and read about his journey for some encouragement.
While there are some incidents that will melt you down, there are lots of them that will make you laugh and uplift you. This book is a rollercoaster ride and is a light read, you could finish it in a day or two.
3. Missed Translations by Sopan Deb
Sopan is an American reporter and works for New York Times.
This book is about reuniting with his parents after almost a decade. It takes us through his rough childhood where he felt neglected and the uncanny relationship his parents had, which had no signs of love.
It also highlights how depression and other mental health issues are covered in a blanket in the conservative South Asian society. He rightly says,
“A significant portion of the South Asian experience, at least from what I have seen among brown friends and my own family members, is about seeming a certain way to give off the impression of stability and status, at the expense of emotional needs.”― Sopan Deb
However, he doesn’t miss a chance to describe his experiences with a spoon full of sugar. Some of the most serious scenes are told like a comedy movie plot, it’s like watching a comedy movie in your head.
“The sex talk with Indian parents is the same talk as one about what college should you go to — get good grades and you don’t have to worry about either.”
Finally
I got a weird look from my mom every time I was reading during a quiet afternoon and laughed loudly. But these books are the epitome of good storytelling, with punchlines to make the most serious situations hilarious.
Funnily, here are the similarities between all authors and books:
All are predominantly excerpts from author’s lives
None of them wanted to be comedians, it just happened
All of them contain really dark and painful narratives
One author has got jailed, one was drowning in dismay with his so-called noble profession, and one went against the society to pursue comedy full-time. All three poured out their vulnerabilities in the book.
These stories are light on the heart, will bring tears to your eyes, but mostly tickle you with giggles when you least expect it.
PS - If you enjoyed reading this, you might enjoy one of my articles about how books can help bridge the gap between your goals and your reality (9min read).
Thank you for reading and see you next weekend :)