For those of you in need of a good old-fashioned laugh, we suggest these titles, perfect for cold and flu season.

Bank, Melissa. The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing

In the beginning, Jane Rosenthal is 14, and all she knows about love she read in How to Meet and Marry Mr. Right, a popular pop-psych instruction book (The Rules, anyone?). As she grows and applies these dubious rules in her dating life, she has some successes (though for all the wrong reasons) and some great failures in this well-received first novel.

Buckley, Christopher. Thank You For Smoking

Satirical, cynical, a lampoon of political correctness at its most virulent, a novel that makes you root for the tobacco lobbyist. Nick Naylor is the person everyone loves to hate, the hired propaganda gun of The Academy of Tobacco Studies who finds himself the victim of the medical profession, cancer victims, and some do-gooder who would like to see Naylor stubbed out. Others by Buckley include Little Green Men, Wet Work, and The White House Mess.

Busch, Charles. Whores of Lost Atlantis

Playwright and drag queen Julian Young is struggling until he and a group of friends put on a crazy play in a Village art space. Before they know it, they’re famous, and life gets silly and delightful in this campy novel from the playwright of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, the longest-running play in off-Broadway history.

Childress, Mark. Crazy in Alabama

Comedy and tragedy co-mingle in this southern coming-of-age novel by the author of V is for Victor and Tender. It is the summer of 1965, and poor Peejoe Bullis must grow up quickly when Aunt Lucille murders her husband – and takes his head to California in a Tupperware container – and Peejoe’s face winds up on the cover of Life after a midnight protest at a whites-only swimming pool.

Davis, Donald. Listening for the Crack of Dawn

Methodist minister turned storyteller, Davis here presents four stories of growing up in Appalachian North Carolina. They are reminiscent of nothing so much as Garrison Keillor, making Davis one of American’s premier storytellers.

Evanovich, Janet. One for the Money

The first in a series of novels featuring smart, tough, on-the-skids Stephanie Plum, a lingerie buyer turned skiptracer. On her first assignment, her car is bombed, she shoots her own handbag instead of the bad guy, and she is pursued by a psycho. Subsequent titles include Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, Four to Score, High Five, Hot Six and Seven Up.

Fielding, Helen. Bridget Jones’ Diary

Poor Bridget: her job stinks, everyone around her is becoming a “smug married,” and she is far, far from attaining the inner poise she thinks will make everything right in her life. In the year of her life recorded in this diary, Bridget watches her weight fluctuate, fails in her many attempts to quit smoking and drinking, has an affair with her boss, and never quite finds that elusive poise. The next year in poor Bridget’s life is chronicled in the sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.

Fry, Stephen. The Liar

Bawdy, outrageously contrived and wickedly funny, this novel about a young hustler who starts his career at Cambridge by “discovering” a heretofore unknown pornographic masterpiece by Dickens and ends up embroiled in an international spy plot is sure to delight fans of Monty Python. Others by actor-author-comedian Fry include Making History, a time travel comedy that asks the question, “What if Hitler hadn’t lived?” and his memoir, Moab is my Washpot.

Goldsmith, Olivia. Switcheroo

A kind of “Freaky Friday” meets The First Wives Club by the author of the latter. A wife and a mistress switch places (and the husband apparently doesn’t notice the difference). Sylvie gets to have an affair with her husband, and Marla gets to know what it’s like to have the stable home life in this fable of modern life. Others by Goldsmith include Marrying Mom, The Bestseller, Young Wives, and Flavor of the Month.

Hiassen, Carl. Sick Puppy

Only the latest in a series of lampoons of modern life and (lack of) morality by one of Florida’s favorite sons. Sick Puppy is the story of eco-terrorist Twilly Spree, who has a really hard time controlling his anger in the face of environmental irresponsibility, and what happens when he witnesses Palmer Stoat dumping trash out his Range Rover’s window. Singing toads, an army of dung beetles, and the poor Labrador retriever who gives the book its title all collide in this twisted tale by a true master of satire. Others by Hiaasen include: Double Whammy, Powder Burn, and Native Tongue.

Keenan, Joe. Blue Heaven

Moira has a plan: she will wed her friend Philip’s former lover Gilbert, hoping to clean up in gifts from each’s new stepfather. Hijinks ensue when the trio discovers just where Gilbert’s stepfather gets his money. Moria, Gilbert and Philip return in full form in Putting on the Ritz.

Leonard, Elmore. Pagan Babies (Mys)

A prolific writer of humorous mysteries/thrillers, Leonard is known for his ability to find wit in the most unlikely places, this time Rwandan genocide. Leonard’s signature tight plotting and his ear for witty, realistic dialogue have earned him a loyal following throughout his career. Other titles include Cat Chaser, Be Cool, Get Shorty, and Maximum Bob.

Naked Came the Manatee (Fic under Hiaasen)

A round-robin novel written by 13 of South Florida’s greatest writers, this one has a little bit of everything: the endangered and mentally challenged Manatee, Booger; Fidel Castro impersonators; four murders; a bit of sex; international espionage; and Cuban thugs to name a few. Featuring, as well, cameo appearances by Jimmy Carter and Fidel Castro himself, this quirky novel inspires more than a few belly laughs. Its author list includes such lights as Dave Barry (who opens the novel), Carl Hiaasen (who provides its conclusion), Elmore Leonard, Edna Buchanan, and John Dufresne.

Rudnick, Paul. I’ll Take It

Joe Reckler is an unemployed 26-year-old Yale grad who gets roped into a most eventful shopping trip disguised as a fall leaf-peeping tour with his mother and her two sisters. The Esker sisters are veteran shoppers who often “shop without money.” They can’t pass up a bargain, and they don’t let price stop them. A hilarious novel about family, shopping, and shoplifting.

Russo, Richard. Straight Man

Hank Devereaux is the embattled interim chair of the English department at West Central Pennsylvania University. He tries to keep is head while all about him is going crazy, but his life gets in the way. His nose is impaled on a colleague’s spiral notebook, he is shown on TV in a Groucho Marx mask threatening to kill a duck a day until the legislature frees up his budget, and he develops crush after crush on colleagues, children of colleagues, and other ill-chosen persons.

Wodehouse, P.G. Right Ho, Jeeves

Just one in a series of delightful farces that see the inept Bertie Wooster getting into scrapes from which only his staid butler Jeeves can rescue him. Other novels in the series (many of which have been filmed for BBC TV) include Jeeves in the Morning, Carry On, Jeeves, Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, and The Inimitable Jeeves.

Don’t Miss these Nonfiction Titles

Barry, Dave. Dave Barry is Not Making This Up (817.54)

Pulitzer-Prize-winning columnist Dave Barry has delighted readers with his wry, cynical, and downright irreverent take on all aspects of modern life. Whether he’s taking on sneakers, fart jokes, or natural childbirth, Barry’s collections are sure to inspire a chuckle. Other titles include Dave Barry Slept Here, Dave Barry Turns 40, Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys, and Claw Your Way to the Top.

Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods (917.40443)

Returning to the U.S. after twenty years in Britain, Bryson set out to rediscover his home country along the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail. He details his trip in this delightful book which is at once a comedy, an adventure story, and a celebration of a fragile and beautiful wilderness. Other titles by Bryson include In a Sunburned Country (919.4), The Mother Tongue (420.9), and Notes from a Small Island (914.1).

McManus, Patrick. The Grasshopper Trap (796.5)

The art of constructing a grasshopper trap is just one of the “useful” tips McManus wants to share with you. Meet prolific storyteller McManus’ childhood friends, Rancid Crabtree and Rupert Scraggs and learn how to use a skunk ladder or how to be a human fuel pump. Others include The Good Samaritan Strikes Again (817.54), The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw (817.54), and They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They? (796.5).

Sedaris, David. Me Talk Pretty One Day (817.54)

The title of this collection of essays is a play on how Sedaris and his American friends mangle the French language during a stay in Paris. Other essays in this collection take on his childhood in North Carolina, explaining Easter to a Moroccan Muslim (in French), and the soap opera “guessays” he assigned his classes at Chicago’s Art Institute. More of Sedaris’ wit can be found in the collection Naked.