*Funny /fΛni:/ (adj): humorous, unusual, or rather silly.

Neatly sidestepping the lovely Andy Griffiths, I’ve found these interestingly-titled books…

1. Inspiringly and breathtakingly at number one is On the conditions and possibilities of Helen Clark taking me as her young lover by Richard Meros (we’re pretty certain this is not his real name). They’ve turned this into a performance, on at Downstage this month.
2. ‘…and that’s when it fell off in my hand’ by Louise Rennison. And what exactly fell off in her hand? (I haven’t read it.) This is a new sub-genre of chicklit… strangely-titled chicklit. See also, for example: The Earth, my butt and other round things by Carolyn Mackler, and Prince William, Maximillian Minsky and Me by Holly-Jane Rahlens. Prince William? Really?
3. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish (Douglas Adams). If you haven’t read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy you really must. The movie isn’t a must however (more like a could)… Marvin wasn’t nearly as funny as he could have been.
4. How Tom Beat Captain Najork and his Hired Sportsmen by Russell Hoban. If you haven’t read this picture book then, again, you must. It’s a classic, I tell you; full of daring, adventure, tension, fooling around, womble, muck, sneedball, Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong and something called “greasy bloaters” (which you eat). (There’s a sequel too: A Near Thing for Captain Najork.)
5. The wonderful world of knitting murder mysteries… there’s a swag of really punny titles in this genre: A Deadly Yarn, Died in the Wool, Needled to Death… I could go on.
6. Butterflies in Straitjackets, Jamie Waugh (NZ). A new novel “in the form of a collection of interrelated stories, case notes, emails, letters, and poems” (so says the catalogue). More quirky than funny, as far as titles go, and kind of puts you in mind of the Smashing Pumpkins.
7. Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the subsequent assault of the equally evil lunchroom zombie nerds) by Dav Pilkey. I don’t know why Dav Pilkey escapes my disapproval but Andy Griffiths doesn’t; maybe it’s the subtitle in brackets (classy)… call me unfair.
8. Henry Tumour by Anthony McGowan. A pun on Henry Tudor… the cover asks, “having a bad head day?” Hector has a talking brain tumour called Henry. Turns out, Henry’s highly opinionated about how Hector should be living his life.
9. The Pirates! series by Gideon Defoe. These look completely fabulous, with titles such as The Pirates! in an adventure with scientists, where, the catalogue tells me, “Not since Moby-Dick… No, not since Treasure Island… Actually, not since Jonah and the Whale has there been a sea saga to rival The Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists, featuring the greatest seafaring hero of all time, the immortal Pirate Captain, who, although he lives for months at a time at sea, somehow manages to keep his beard silky and in good condition.” Jack says these books are extremely silly, which is not always a bad thing.

I can’t count.