11 books for the ones who love to laugh on your list
Whether it's cultural satire, dark comedy or cheery comics, brighten up someone's holiday with one of these 11 books that deliver the LOLs.
You can see the complete CBC Books gift guide here.
Collected Tarts and Other Indelicacies by Tabatha Southey
What it's about: Collected Tarts and Other Indelicacies is a collection of essays from newspaper and magazine columnist and satirist Tabatha Southey, who takes on all manner of Canadiana and pop culture issues with a cutting wit and equally sharp insight.
Theft by Finding by David Sedaris
What it's about: For fans of David Sedaris, whose bestselling collections include Me Talk Pretty One Day and Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls, his latest book is akin to a treasure trove. Theft By Finding is the first of two volumes that collects Sedaris' diary entries from 1977 to 2002, which range from a two-line poop joke overheard in Raleigh to a few paragraphs about being a department store elf.
One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul
What it's about: Using equal doses of wit and candor, writer and author Scaachi Koul shares her observations, fears and experiences as a woman of colour growing up in Canada. Drawing on the fears and anxieties that we all can share, Koul explores the absurdity of a life and culture steeped in misery.
Sputnik's Children by Terri Favro
What it's about: This science fiction story by Terri Favro injects inventive humour within its premise, a cult comic book creator who confronts alternate timelines, nuclear war and her own fictional superheroes — just not necessarily in that order.
Trust No Aunty by Maria Qamar
What it's about: Based on her popular Instagram @hatecopy and her experience in a South Asian immigrant family, artist Maria Qamar delivers a humorously illustrated and tongue-in-cheek "survival guide" to deal with the overbearing "Aunties" in life.
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
What it's about: Jared is many things: a compassionate 16 year old, maker of famous weed cookies, caretaker of his elderly neighbours, son of an unreliable father and unhinged, though loving in her way, mother. As Jared ably cares for those around him, in between getting black-out drunk, he shrugs off the magical and strange happenings that follow him around. Eden Robinson's Son of a Trickster maintains a comedic and whimsical tone throughout.
Baking with Kafka by Tom Gauld
What it's about: U.K.-based cartoonist Tom Gauld delights with this alternatively absurd and serious look at the literary and pop culture worlds. Gauld cleverly uses the comic book medium to make witty statements on the world we live in.
Neil the Horse by Katherine Collins
What it's about: Vancouver-born cartoonist and writer Katherine Collins, then known as Arn Saba, describes the "comic novel" Neil the Horse as an imaginative and experimental look at pop culture. Described as a musical comic, the book is a clever mix of romance and slapstick.
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
What it's about: This funny and admittedly raunchy collection of essays by author Samantha Irby tackles the banalities of life, love and watching television. Whether it's explaining how her difficult childhood has led to a problem in making "adult" budgets or why she should be the new Bachelorette, Irby's fearlessness makes for compelling reading.
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
What it's about: Screenwriter and author Elan Mastai has a knack for humourous storytelling and witty prose, skills he puts to good use with debut novel All Our Wrong Todays. It's 2016 and in Tom Barren's world, technology has solved all of humanity's problems — there's no war, no poverty, no under-ripe avocados. Unfortunately, Tom isn't happy. He's lost the girl of his dreams. And what do you do when you're heartbroken and have a time machine? Something stupid. What happens next is a funny and bittersweet adventure.
Basketball (And Other Things) by Shea Serrano
What it's about: Journalist Shea Serrano takes on all the essential questions when it comes to basketball, from "Who is the greatest dunker of all time?" to "How many years during his career was Kobe Bryant actually the best player in the league?" With illustrations by Arturo Torres, Basketball (And Other Things) is a beautiful mix of funny, informative and insightful writing.