8 Funny Memoir Books to Lighten Your Mood ...

Imagine a year spent following all of the tenets set out in the Bible, and not just the Ten Commandments, but all of the lesser-known rules, like not wearing mixed fibers and battling idolatry. That’s what A.J. Jacobs does, and he documents it in this funny memoir book. My favorite part is when he “stones” an adulterer. I also love his wife’s reactions to some of his absurd new “rules.”

You may already know Diablo Cody from her Oscar-winning screenplay for “Juno” and for her screenplay for “Young Adult” (which is now a movie starring Charlize Theron). So you know she’s hilarious, and incredibly honest, both of which also describe her funny memoir book called “Candy Girl,” in which she documents, in painful, raunchy detail, her one-year stint as an exotic dancer. This book is not for the faint of heart… she describes her jaunts in sordid, icky detail… but it’s so funny, and oddly sweet, you won’t be able to put it down.

What happens when Rhoda Janzen’s husband leaves her for a man named Bob that he met on gay.com? She goes home to her quirky but loving and supportive Mennonite family. They give her all the support she needs and the advice she’s not ready for. The book is sweet, funny, touchingly honest.

I’ve listened to David Sedaris on NPR for years, so when I read this funny memoir book, I “hear” his voice in my head. It’s a book of essays, each dealing with something specific, like his work with a spoiled Latino book publisher, or his attempts at learning French, or his younger brother, The Rooster. All of them are so funny you will literally laugh out loud. And when the last essay is read, you’ll be wishing for more. Fortunately, there are more essays… in Sedaris’ other books, like “Holidays on Ice” and “Naked.” Enjoy!

Whether you already know and love Tina Fey from her stint on Saturday Night Live or her starring role in Mean Girls or 30 Rock, you have to read this hilariously funny memoir book! She’s brutally honest, detailing her early years as a “supernerd” and her rise to fame. She may seem like she’s living a hectic, crazy, insanely busy life, but… well, she is. And she’s not afraid to talk about it. And it’s very entertaining!

You wouldn’t think that a memoir about one-night stands would be funny, but it is, oh, it is! In this funny memoir book, Chelsea Handler tells us, candidly and in gory detail, about her one-time-only trysts. They run the gamut, too… there’s never a dull (or repetitive) moment in Handler’s horizontal life.

I know, I know, this falls under the “shameless promotion” category, since it’s my own memoir… but I’m not biased — it really is a very funny memoir book! It tells some of the preposterous stories from my dating past, and how they all led me to believe, in my 20’s, that maybe arranged marriages weren’t such a bad idea.

I don’t know what possessed 20-something Maarten Troost and his girlfriend, Sylvia, to pack up and move to a remote tropical island, but at first, I thought it sounded like a good idea, too. Then he wrote about the heat. The vermin. The lack of beer. And the locals. He catalogs all of their island mishaps in a way that reminded me of Gilligan’s Island, only more grown-up and much, much funnier.

Stop mulling the redeeming qualities of Christian Grey, and start reading one of these funny memoir books instead! They’re much more well-written, and they’re guaranteed to lighten your mood! I love all of these books (so I could never choose just one favorite), but which do you like best? Which are you the most excited to read? Or is there another funny memoir book I didn’t have on my list? Do tell!

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