
Podcast: Ep482: Books That Make Our Critics Laugh
Podcast: The Book Review
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[1/1] Books That Make Our Critics Laugh
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Earlier this month, the Book Reviewâs staff critics â Dwight Garner, Alexandra Jacobs and Jennifer Szalai â released a list of 22 novels they have found reliably funny since Joseph Hellerâs landmark comic novel âCatch-22â came out in 1961. On this weekâs episode, they tell Gilbert Cruz why âCatch-22â was their starting point, and explain a bit about their process: how they think about humor, how they made their choices, what books they left off and what books led to fights along the way. (âAmerican Psychoâ turns out to be as contentious now as it was when it was first published.) âThere are only a very few number of books in my lifetime that have made me laugh out loud,â Jacobs says. âAnd some of them no longer make me laugh out loud, because the thing about humor is itâs like this giant shifting cloud, this shape-shifting thing that changes over the course of our lives and also the life of the culture.â We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Reviewâs podcast in general. You can send them to books@nytimes.com.
Podcast

The Book Review
The New York Times
The world's top authors and critics join host Gilbert Cruz and editors at The New York Times Book Review to talk about the week's top books, what we're reading and what's going on in the literary world. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Listen to this podcast in New York Times Audio, our new iOS app for news subscribers. Download now at nytimes.com/audioapp