ALA | What makes you laugh?

What makes authors LOL?

Here are eight shout-outs from Chris Crutcher, Dave Barry, Meg Cabot, Lisi Harrison, Cecily von Ziegesar, Mary Hogan, Chris Lynch and Dorian Cirrone.

What Makes Me Laugh: I laugh when I finally get a book finished.
I laugh when my publisher calls near a deadline and I DON'T have a book finished.
I laugh when certain politicians say they have in mind the best interests of those who carry the biggest hardships, then create policy to make their lives harder.
I laugh any time I see a little kid giggling.
I laugh any time I see a big kid giggling.
I laugh at any good joke; and I laugh at a lot of bad jokes.
I laugh at puns.
Shoot, I laugh at almost anything.--Chris Crutcher, Margaret A. Edwards Award winning author

What makes me laugh most is Congress. Dogs can also be very funny, but I have to give the edge to Congress.--Dave Barry author of Peter and the Starcatchers

A woman strutting out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to her heel gets me every time. --Lisi Harrison author of The Clique

Freudian Slips: One night I was reading to my four-year-old daughter a rather boring picture book about Paul Revere. When I came upon the word 'timber' I accidentally said 'tampon' instead. I became immediately hysterical, laughing so hard tears were running down my cheeks. Of course my daughter thought I was insane and insisted that I continue reading, even though I had the giggles. Soon she had the giggles too and our giggles morphed into uncontrollable howls of laughter. It reminded me of my seventh grade biology class when I raised my hand to answer a question and I said 'orgasm' instead of organism. I turned purple and had to hide under my desk because my teacher was a man with a mustache and I could not look at him without bursting into hysterical laughter. By the end of class we were all under our desks.-- Cecily von Ziegesar author of Gossip Girl

Reading (and writing about) characters’ excruciating embarrassing social gaffes always make me laugh! Which is awful, since goodness knows I've committed enough of them! -- Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries

SO many things make me laugh! I’m a human hyena. But, if I had to pick one, I’d say that I most often laugh at myself. All those mortifying moments in life that used to send me face-first into my pillow, now make me chuckle. Blush like mad, but chuckle. Like the time I was 13 and trying to impress a garage full of boys by balancing on a piece of wood. I fell (of course) and the rusty nail that I didn’t know was sticking out of the wood was now sticking in my butt. Yeoww! The funny thing, looking back, was not the accident, but the way I casually stood up in front of all those howling boys, pulled the wood—and the nail—out of my rear and walked away like the Queen of England. The moment they couldn’t see me, I burst into tears and ran home to my mom.--Mary Hogan, author of The Serious Kiss

For better or worse, I find everything funny. In answer to the oft-asked "Is there any subject too serious to joke about?" I have to say, no. Because humor is how I cope. If I couldn't laugh when things get sticky, I would lose my mind. So I guess I would say what makes me laugh the most is humor where it does not belong. Humor in dark places. Humor in the midst of fear, grief, horror, I find exhilarating, life-affirming.--Chris Lynch, Michael L. Printz honor book author of Freewill and author of Gold Dust

The unexpected makes me laugh. Once when my daughter was little, we met the girlfriend of my son's math teacher. She wasn't anything like we'd imagined her. Later at lunch, still pondering what the math teacher's attraction to this woman was, my daughter burst out: Maybe she took a bullet for him!--Dorian Cirrone author of Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill Youand the upcoming Prom Kings and Drama Queens


Registration and Feedback What's New? First Time Participating? Corporate Sponsors, Promotional Partners, & Nonprofit Supporters Plan Your Event Booklists Get Publicity FAQ Products WrestleMania Reading Challenge Teens' Top Ten		What makes authors LOL? Here are eight shout-outs from Chris Crutcher, Dave Barry, Meg Cabot, Lisi Harrison, Cecily von Ziegesar, Mary Hogan, Chris Lynch and Dorian Cirrone. Add what you find funny to the Teen Read Week Wiki. What Makes Me Laugh: I laugh when I finally get a book finished. I laugh when my publisher calls near a deadline and I DON'T have a book finished. I laugh when certain politicians say they have in mind the best interests of those who carry the biggest hardships, then create policy to make their lives harder. I laugh any time I see a little kid giggling. I laugh any time I see a big kid giggling. I laugh at any good joke; and I laugh at a lot of bad jokes. I laugh at puns. Shoot, I laugh at almost anything.--Chris Crutcher, Margaret A. Edwards Award winning author What makes me laugh most is Congress. Dogs can also be very funny, but I have to give the edge to Congress.--Dave Barry author of Peter and the Starcatchers A woman strutting out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to her heel gets me every time. --Lisi Harrison author of The Clique Freudian Slips: One night I was reading to my four-year-old daughter a rather boring picture book about Paul Revere. When I came upon the word 'timber' I accidentally said 'tampon' instead. I became immediately hysterical, laughing so hard tears were running down my cheeks. Of course my daughter thought I was insane and insisted that I continue reading, even though I had the giggles. Soon she had the giggles too and our giggles morphed into uncontrollable howls of laughter. It reminded me of my seventh grade biology class when I raised my hand to answer a question and I said 'orgasm' instead of organism. I turned purple and had to hide under my desk because my teacher was a man with a mustache and I could not look at him without bursting into hysterical laughter. By the end of class we were all under our desks.-- Cecily von Ziegesar author of Gossip Girl Reading (and writing about) characters’ excruciating embarrassing social gaffes always make me laugh! Which is awful, since goodness knows I've committed enough of them! -- Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries SO many things make me laugh! I’m a human hyena. But, if I had to pick one, I’d say that I most often laugh at myself. All those mortifying moments in life that used to send me face-first into my pillow, now make me chuckle. Blush like mad, but chuckle. Like the time I was 13 and trying to impress a garage full of boys by balancing on a piece of wood. I fell (of course) and the rusty nail that I didn’t know was sticking out of the wood was now sticking in my butt. Yeoww! The funny thing, looking back, was not the accident, but the way I casually stood up in front of all those howling boys, pulled the wood—and the nail—out of my rear and walked away like the Queen of England. The moment they couldn’t see me, I burst into tears and ran home to my mom.--Mary Hogan, author of The Serious Kiss For better or worse, I find everything funny. In answer to the oft-asked "Is there any subject too serious to joke about?" I have to say, no. Because humor is how I cope. If I couldn't laugh when things get sticky, I would lose my mind. So I guess I would say what makes me laugh the most is humor where it does not belong. Humor in dark places. Humor in the midst of fear, grief, horror, I find exhilarating, life-affirming.--Chris Lynch, Michael L. Printz honor book author of Freewill and author of Gold Dust The unexpected makes me laugh. Once when my daughter was little, we met the girlfriend of my son's math teacher. She wasn't anything like we'd imagined her. Later at lunch, still pondering what the math teacher's attraction to this woman was, my daughter burst out: Maybe she took a bullet for him!--Dorian Cirrone author of Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill Youand the upcoming Prom Kings and Drama Queens