More silly books (that are worth reading)

I quite enjoyed writing my last post about some of the sillier books I own, a couple of weeks ago, so I thought I would write another post on this topic (I own a lot of silly books – you need a break from literature every now and then). So here we go….

Rhyming Cockney Slang edited by Jack Jones

This amazing little book has been in print since 1971, and still seems to be relatively popular. It briefly explains how Cockney works, before providing an A to Z of Cockney to English, and then the same again for English to Cockney, alongside illustrations. It is remarkably simple, but actually really helps to understand how this bizarre slang works, and is in a book so small you can fit it in your pocket. It is not at all a definitive book, but it helps to get the main idea across. It also provides plenty of laughs.

Shitedoku by A. Parody (Alastair Chisholm)

One of the silliest parodies ever, this book is essentially full of sudoku puzzles, only instead of using the numbers 1 through to 9, it uses the letters from the word Shitedoku. It also includes a foreword the explains the origins of sudoku and shitedoku (also quite silly). Although it shouldn’t be that funny, I bought the book all the same, and have completed many of the puzzles inside.

Should You Be Laughing At This? by Hugleikur Dagsson

This Icelandic cartoonist is a cult hit in his home country, and in recent years his cartoons have been published in English, this book being the first of several books. The cartoons are very basic in how they are drawn, and they are all essentially single panel drawings with a stick figure level of quality. The humour, however, is downright weird, and is really not for everyone. Much of the comedy is based on shock value, and really takes this kind of humour to new heights (or lows). It made me laugh, though, and I do wonder if it reveals something about the Icelandic sense of humour.

Drunk, Insane or Australian by Alan Veitch

I bought this book for 50 cents from a local school fete several years ago, and it turned out to be a good investment. Published in the 1980s, it is a look at some of the most bizarre and funniest events in recent Australian history, many of which are very typically and uniquely Australian. I imagine it is very hard to find these days, which is a shame, as it reveals a lot about the quirkiness of Aussie culture, and is quite a funny read too.

 

I still have only really looked at the tip of the iceberg which makes up the silly books section of my book collection, so no doubt there will be a third one of these posts in the future. For now though, happy reading!