Willie Geist's 6 favorite humor books

The MSNBC host highlights authors who share his taste for satirical humor — from David Sedaris to the staff of The Onion

Willie Geist finds literary inspiration from satirists Jon Stewart and David Sedaris.
(Image credit: Peter Kramer/NBC)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (Vintage, $12). I had a friend who was so inspired by this novel that he once tried every drug in the famous passage that begins: “The trunk of the car looked like a mobile police narcotics lab.” Yes, the book is dark, but it’s funny as hell. In our deepest places, we all wish we could live like Raoul Duke for a while.

Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart (Harper, $15). A collection of satirical essays written by Jon Stewart when he was just on the cusp of his full Jon Stewartdom. His chapter “Adolf Hitler: The Larry King Interview” was an early inspiration for my book American Freak Show.

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