question of the weekend: What’s the funniest book you’ve ever read?

A few weeks ago, I attended a taping of BBC Radio 4’s program Open Book. The topic was a debate to choose Britain’s funniest book, and the five books under discussion were:

• 1066 And All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman (championed by John Sessions)
• The Virgin Soldiers, by Leslie Thomas (championed by Tony Parsons)
• The Loved One, by Evelyn Waugh (championed by A.L. Kennedy)
• The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged thirteen and three quarters, by Sue Townsend (championed by Jo Brand)
• Swing Hammer Swing, by Jeff Torrington (championed by Christopher Brookmyre)

The winner was chosen by the studio audience -- we voted through several elimination rounds -- which made for an interesting experience for me, since I haven’t read any of the books. (Though now I plan to read all of them.) I cast my votes based entirely upon the presentations by the writers, comedians, and book lovers on the panel, as well as the readings from the books we heard. I wanted the Waugh to win. I won’t say which book did win -- we were asked not to tweet or Facebook or even face-to-face tell anyone the winner. You can listen to the program tonight at 8pm GMT on Radio 4, and online streaming is available even if you’re not in the U.K. I do recommend it -- it’s a highly entertaining show.