Hey!
I’ve been reading a book at he moment, which is soooo funny and brilliant that I just have to recommend it to you, ‘cos I think you will like it as well.

It is called: ‘La bella figura; A field guide to the Italian mind’ by Beppe Severgnini.

If you want to know how the Italian mind works this is the right book for you. Don’t read it in the tube when you don’t want people staring at you ‘ cos you will laugh out loud while reading. This is a promise.

Please note: I'm not connected to the author or publishing group, so this is no surreptitous advertising, it is just worth a recommendation.

Thanks for the recomendation!
I'll go see if they sell it in our bookstores.

hey thanks!! about time we got a book recommendation thread! thank you :D

Heyyy!!! I read this while I was in holiday in Italy in August and you are so right about it. I was there, sitting by the pool laughing my head off. It is a really good insight to how Italians work and explains so much - even explains why Rossi's tax problems have been received like that by the italians.
I really like their way of thinking - that many things which we take as hard and fast rules are in fact negotiable depending on the circumstances - like red traffic lights.

aww damn I really want that book but I just spent my last pennies on a Nada translation!!

Talking about books which make you laugh out loud, I can recommend "Things my girlfriend and I have argued about" by Mil Millington.

I was actually crying with laughter at times when I was reading this and that was often while I was in public. My husband had read it before me and had recommended it to me so each time he heard me snort with laughter he had to know where I had got to...and then would start rolling about laughing himself. Sometimes I would be laughing so much I could not even speak to tell him what was so funny.

Another good one is "Incompetetence" which is meant to be spelt incorrectly) by Rob Grant. This had so many hilarious scenarios about political correctness and saving the planet...

I read an awful lot (not having a TV does that to you) so you will soon regret having opened this thread. But you can always just ignore all of my posts.

I would have offered to send you my copy but it was a "Waterstones Airport Exclusive" from Stansted which meant that half the pages fell out as soon as I opened it so it is quite a delicate little document now.

How about getting it from the library - much cheaper!

This is a little extract of the book – hope I don’t break any law, so don’t tell anybody.

“When many Italians see a stoplight, their brain perceives no prohibition (Red! Stop! Do not pass!). Instead, they see a stimulus. OK, then. What kind of red is it? A pedestrian red? But it’s seven in the morning. There are no pedestrians about this early. That means it’s a negotiable red; it’s a “not-quite-red”. So we can go. Or is it a red at an intersection? What kind of intersection? You can see what’s coming here, and the road is clear. So it’s not a red, it’s an “almost red”, a “relative red.” What do we do? We think about it for a bit, then we go. ……
Almost everywhere on the planet, cars stop at pedestrian crossings, most of the time. But Italy is a special case. We have roads, which are crowded, and crossings with faded stripes, yet cars rarely stop. They accelerate past, slow down, or swerve. The cut behind, or flit in front of advancing pedestrians, who feel like matadors without a sword to stab the bulls.
Every so often some saint, fool, or foreigner actually stops. Watch what happens. Other drivers behind brake, and make their irritation abundantly clear. They nearly had an accident, and what for? A pedestrian, who might have had the good grace to wait until the road was clear. The pedestrian assumes a pathetic air or gratitude, forgetting that he or she is exercising a right.”

Although I have a TV, I prefer a good book than watching TV. Therefore your recommendations are cordially welcomed.

My all-time-favorite-laugh-out-loud-books are the 'Shopaholic'-Books by Sophie Kinsella.
They are so funny, you just can't put them down before you finished. I even read it during a lecture and had to control myself that I don't laugh out loud, this was really hard, I giggled most of the time. It was a statistics lecture, so I didn't miss anything anyway. I would prefer any book instead of statistics.

I'm a Marian Keyes fan!!
I find her books a laugh-out-loud!!
I've read all of then and recommend you all do too!!