Comments on: Intermittently yelling out "books".

Question: Intermittently yelling out "books".

Memo — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:37:19 -0800

I like Community. I like books. Give me books that are like Community.

I guess I mean the meta-humor and pop references but books with similar characters would be great too. Thanks.

By: Garm

Garm — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:02:25 -0800

Discworld series is my first thought. Lots of meta-humor, giant cast of recurring characters.

The Thursday Next series (Jasper Fforde) does a bunch of meta jokes too.

By: OnTheLastCastle

OnTheLastCastle — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:19:29 -0800

Definitely Discworld and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I can't think of much set in modern culture that is that way though. Good Omens will trip your trigger.

There's one American author that I'm totally blanking on. One of his most popular books was kind of a parody on Jesus. Like about his best friend or something. Christopher... something... really blanking.

By: neushoorn

neushoorn — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:22:32 -0800

Douglas Coupland's novels.

I think OnTheLastCastle is thinking of Lamb by Christopher Moore.

By: Monsieur Caution

Monsieur Caution — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:25:30 -0800

Middle to late Discworld novels were my first thought as well. They have a similar mix of meta-humor, parody, and warm and engaging characters. The City Watch and Witches sub-series have ensemble casts like Community. And given the D&D episode and Dan Harmon's role in creating Summoner Geeks, a fantasy series is not a stretch as a comparison. Here's a Discworld reading order guide.

I'm glad to Nth Moore and Fforde too.

It's really not character-oriented stuff, but for literate, laugh-out-loud meta-humor about pop culture, especially TV, other possibilities that come to mind are Mark Leyner (e.g. The Tetherballs of Bougainville or My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist), Curtis White's sometimes melancholy Memories of My Father Watching TV, and David Foster Wallace's similar "Little Expressionless Animals."

By: Strange Interlude

Strange Interlude — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:36:26 -0800

And given the D&D episode and Dan Harmon's role in creating Summoner Geeks

I had absolutely no idea that Harmon was a Dead Alewife, and knowing that fact has just slid two disparate parts of the universe into perfect alignment. Thank you, Monsieur.

By: Ostara

Ostara — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:39:59 -0800

I immediately thought of Douglas Coupland -- Jpod!

By: OnTheLastCastle

OnTheLastCastle — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:44:01 -0800

Douglas Coupland is solid. I was thinking of Christopher Moore, thank you. I have that on my list to read.

By: morganw

morganw — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 22:06:45 -0800

Mark Leyner & Chuck Klosterman

By: AkzidenzGrotesk

AkzidenzGrotesk — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 22:08:34 -0800

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz, resonated with me as an Abed fan.

By: analog

analog — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:11:48 -0800

Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd.

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:26:15 -0800

I think Troy and Abed may actually be the Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad.

By: gwint

gwint — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:30:49 -0800

It's a bit of a stretch, but for some reason Confederacy of Dunces comes to mind. Maybe just because it's one of the funniest books I've ever read.

By: backwards guitar

backwards guitar — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:43:50 -0800

Love Monkey By Kyle Smith does the pop culture reference thing.

By: martinX's bellbottoms

martinX's bellbottoms — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 06:02:21 -0800

Little Green Men and other books by Christopher Buckley

By: PhoBWanKenobi

PhoBWanKenobi — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 06:56:16 -0800

The Magicians and the Magician King by Lev Grossman. Ernest Cline's Ready Player One might fit the bill, too. If you go for Douglas Coupland, please for the love of God try his older books first--Generation X and Microserfs. There's an underlying cynicism to his more recent books like jPod which really undermines the narrative.

By: CathyG

CathyG — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 07:28:01 -0800

There's one American author that I'm totally blanking on. One of his most popular books was kind of a parody on Jesus. Like about his best friend or something. Christopher... something... really blanking.

Christopher Lamb wrote The Gospel According to Biff and I agree - very funny.

By: rdn

rdn — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:33:40 -0800

You may enjoy Gary Shteyngart's SuperSad True Love Story -- which involves a parody of pop culture gone awry, set in a near-future dystopian New York.

By: utsutsu

utsutsu — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:45:22 -0800

Nthing Coyote Kings! My favorite pet book to recommend on Ask, but haven't had the chance in years.

By: MsMacbeth

MsMacbeth — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 10:49:37 -0800

Coming at the meta and humor from a slightly different direction, I'd suggest Kate Atkinson's early books, especially Emotionally Weird and Human Croquet. Please excuse the terrible title of the former--apparently she was being marketed as chick lit or something--but its subject are the dysfunctional students at a Scottish university and there are plenty of weird digressions into the terrible creative-writing theses they're producing, complete with switches in typography. Atkinson's books manage a poignancy that's entirely unsentimental among the self-referential moves and general unhingedness.

By: a box and a stick and a string and a bear

a box and a stick and a string and a bear — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:35:14 -0800

Strongly seconding Confederacy of Dunces...

By: T.D. Strange

T.D. Strange — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 08:59:31 -0800

Seconding Douglas Coupland, start with All Families are Psychotic or Life After God

By: wenestvedt

wenestvedt — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 09:08:26 -0800

Lev Grossman's "Magician" books are very funny. Have you read Bill Bryson? His "A Walk in the Woods" is pretty self-conscious, and a load of fun.

Be warned that a lot of these examples will elicit joy from some readers, and grinding of teeth from others: it's definitely YMMV territory.

By: jbickers

jbickers — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:05:55 -0800

It's not especially funny, but I suspect you would love Paul Auster's "New York Trilogy."

By: Memo

Memo — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:40:50 -0800

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

PhoBWanKenobi: "The Magicians and the Magician King by Lev Grossman."

I liked The Magicians but it depressed me for weeks after I read it last year. I'm not sure I want to repeat the experience with The Magician King.

By: Zed

Zed — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:28:06 -0800

Pat Murphy's trilogy There and Back Again, Wild Angel, and Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell. But the first two won't seem to be relevant until the last provides the context.

By: brackish.line

brackish.line — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:39:51 -0800

Seconding Chuck Klosterman!

Dave Sedaris also comes to mind, for literate humor.

Also, on a related note, you may enjoy the comedic episodes of This American Life quite a bit. Requires a tad more focus than Community but is usually worth it!