Can you recommend books with meme culture humor?

No, I am serious about this. I wish to get back into the learning of reading, but as a beginner I am repelled by the intense use of vocabulary, literary devices of classical literature books or intense and difficult-to-follow storyline of modern day fiction. I want to read a book that is clearly made with people like me in mind.

I’m not saying I want 10 second short paragraphs or extremely racist or bigoted comments to fuel my interest in reading the book. Though I rarely use social media, I do quite often look at memes, and they make me feel at home with how they are relatable and make use of clever wordings and phrases to express that one particular feeling. Same thing is seen in comments of meme forums where people come up with things to add to the humor of the original post or make it even better. I feel like this kind of expression could very well be possible to implement in a book in a textual medium while retaining the same amount of engagement and creativity.

I know my request may seem unnecessary, that I should quit bickering and just pick up a book and start reading it, and in reality I could by lending one from my family, however I wish to give this approach a chance as I am sure this situation must be faced by other people and someone could have a written a book to directly address these kind of people. I need a stepping stone to start my habit of reading books and I feel like starting from something I am already familiar with would greatly assist me.

I am not interested in any particular genre as of now apart from what I have expressed in the post so far. I could even go as far as to read an encyclopedia or an academic paper if the humor is engaging enough.

I feel that this topic of discussion is general, subjective and of help to others on the internet, which is why I decided to post it here instead of the dedicated books community.

sparklepower,

I’m not sure if this is what you’re looking for - hyperboleandahalfbook.blogspot.com

I also recommend Calvin and Hobbes.

Fizz,
@Fizz@lemmy.nz avatar

Terry Pratchett disc world books are very funny and full of easy to understand jokes.

DrQuint,

But also full of slightly harder to understand linguistic jokes that may frustrate OP.

quinkin,

I found with my kids they just didn’t get the reference and enjoyed what they understood. No frustration, just revelations when they read them again when older.

Starb3an,

I really enjoy He Who Fights with Monsters it’s a lit-rpg with the main character being Australian with lots of off the wall references, mostly to 80’s TV shows.

TheBurlapBandit,

You might like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

richieadler,

I don’t think so. They expressed dislike of intense use of vocabulary.

exponential_wizard,

It’s only technically a book, but I’m still going to recommend Homestuck. It’s one of the most “made for the internet” stories out there when that’s what you’re looking for.

bambosh.dev/unofficial-homestuck-collection/ is recommended since flash died.

knapsackinjury,

John Dies at the End by David Wong/Jason Pargin. It’s very colloquial

TheActualDevil,

My favorite of his is Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, and it’s sequel. Pargin is a competent writer, so while it’s not typically my type of book (Almost constant action gets old to me), he does a competent job that kept me reading. And I think it would be pretty good for someone with a shorter attention span like OP.

rufus,

Go to a book store. In my experience it is way easier to find book there than with the whole catalog of amazon.

Have a look at the shelves with the gift ideas. Most books there are somewhat funny and are more a casual read.

If you want something funny, have a look at something from your favorite comedian or poetry slammer. They often write similar format like they do on stage. Short, condensed and on point.

Pick up a few books, read the better bart of the first page, run through the pages and read another one in the middle. See if you like the style or try with the next one.

pivotpill,

Would absolutely recommend Gideon the Ninth and the rest of the Locked Tomb series. Great read.

AcornCarnage,
@AcornCarnage@lemmy.world avatar

I think you should try Christopher Moore. Suggested starting point: Lamb.

Here’s how it starts: six year old Jesus and his little brother are playing a game where the brother kills a lizard with a rock, then Jesus puts it in his mouth to resurrect it.

His humor is irreverent, absurd, and constant. The stories are all grounded in the real world though, so you won’t struggle to understand lore, settings, or language. Very easy to read.

cryptosporidium140,

Antkind by Charlie Kaufman is hilarious. Easy to read at first, but also very long and gets increasingly bizarre and hard to follow towards the end

FippleStone,

“repelled by the intense use of vocabulary”

“this kind of expression could very well be possible to implement in a book in a textual medium while retaining the same amount of engagement and creativity.”

🤷🏻‍♀️

FippleStone,

No but really, Douglas Adams could be what you’re looking for, very funny stuff

Tutunkommon,

Throwing out a vote for "Dungeon Crawler Carl "

Rogers,

Came here to say the same thing! Audio books are well done as well.

gazter,

Terry Pratchett.

The Discworld books can wrap a particle physics pun in a fart joke. The cheeky cleverness that Patchett writes with, along with the keen eye for making fun of the absurdity of human existence, could be right up your alley. Start with “Guards, Guards!”, or whichever one you spot on your local second hand bookstore- they are pretty much all able to be read standalone.

Seriously. Pratchett will scratch your itch.

sara,

Most of David Sedaris’s books could fit the bill. His books are usually a collection of short stories with an overarching theme and are funny and easy to follow.

Donebrach,
@Donebrach@lemmy.world avatar

Have you considered graphic novels or manga?

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • random
  • uselessserver093
  • Food
  • [email protected]
  • aaaaaaacccccccce
  • test
  • CafeMeta
  • testmag
  • MUD
  • RhythmGameZone
  • RSS
  • dabs
  • oklahoma
  • Socialism
  • KbinCafe
  • TheResearchGuardian
  • Ask_kbincafe
  • SuperSentai
  • feritale
  • KamenRider
  • All magazines