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10-07-2009, 10:22 PM
| #1 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Posts: 648
| Books Similar to Catch-22 So I've been looking for some new stuff to read, recently finishing Foundations by Isaac Asimov and being done with all the Tom Clancy books I've wanted to read. Catch-22 is my favorite book ever, and I was wondering if some of the more literary minded individuals on this form could help me find some similar books to this: You know, the absurdist, odd, satirical work... So, anybody got any suggestions |
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10-08-2009, 04:23 PM
| #2 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: May 2009 Location: Hamlet, NC, US
Posts: 723
| Might want to check out Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut, though I must caution you it is strongly anti-war in its tone. |
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10-08-2009, 04:53 PM
| #3 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Warszawa
Posts: 196
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__________________ 'How much is two plus two?' 'Seven,' replies the machine.  |
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10-08-2009, 05:56 PM
| #4 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: niagara falls
Posts: 5,586
| Certainly not heavy as Catch 22 but the series of books The Bandy Papers ranks high on my list Bartholomew Bandy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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10-08-2009, 07:04 PM
| #5 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: South Shore of Nova Scotia
Posts: 304
| 'That's Me in the Middle', by Donald Jack is the first of a series of hilarious books about a WWI fighter pilot. The 'Flashman' series by George MacDonald Fraser, is pretty funny. Thomas Berger has written some really good stuff. Best known for 'Little Big Man'. Alan Silletoe's 'Adventures in Nihilon' is good. In SF, it's hard to beat the twisted humor of Robert Sheckley, esp his 'Mindswap'. Keith Laumer's 'Retief' series is also pretty funny, as are the works of Jack Vance (My favorite SF author). Oh yeah, "A Confederacy of Dunces' is a black humor masterpiece. Can't remember the author's name, tho... JL EDIT: Just noticed that pbfoot has already mentioned Donald Jack's stuff  |
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10-08-2009, 07:14 PM
| #6 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: niagara falls
Posts: 5,586
| Bandy testing parachutes has to rate up there as one of the funniest stories I've ever read |
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10-08-2009, 07:59 PM
| #7 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Posts: 648
| Ok thanks, I was actually looking very hard at Slaughterhouse-Five, the anti-war themes don't bother me at all |
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10-08-2009, 08:23 PM
| #8 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hurst, Texas
Posts: 2,825
| If you like fantasy, Piers Anthony's "Xanth" series is frikkin hilarious, over-the-top puns page after page. My favorite is the recurring incidence where the hero will find a trophy somewhere, of the hindquarters of a cat. Its a nice looking trophy, though, so they'll pick it up, and something inevitably will go wrong. Very soon. Darn cat-ass-trophy! Puns like that. Good stuff!
__________________  Pillage, then burn. Argue not with dragons, for thou art crunchy and go well on toast. |
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10-08-2009, 09:05 PM
| #9 | |
| Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: South Shore of Nova Scotia
Posts: 304
| Quote:
 Vonnegut wrote great stuff in the early part of his career. Breakfast of Champions and Welcome to the Monkey House are classics. The mention of Xanth brought to mind Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I can't believe that I forgot to include those... JL | |
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10-08-2009, 11:26 PM
| #10 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The Emerald Isle
Posts: 1,497
| If you want a laugh out loud funny WWII read, check out Spike Milligans war memoirs, they're priceless! There's seven books. Adolf hitler - My Part in His Downfall, Rommel? Gunner Who? - A Confrontation in the Desert, Monty - My Part in His Victory, Mussolini - My Part in His Downfall, Where Have All the Bullets Gone?, Goodbye Soldier & Peace Work, the last one is about Spike's life after demob and living in post-war London.
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10-08-2009, 11:32 PM
| #11 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Carolina
Posts: 3,739
  | I have to admit, I really enjoyed "Hitchhikers Guide", probably not as dark as you would like it.
__________________ "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it" "Those who dwell in the past, condemn the future"  |
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