Do you know the german author Walter Moers? He wrote this nice fantasy series set in a fictional (?) continent called Zamonia (also the name of the series).
And I hate the guy. Why? Because he created a wonderful place inside his books, with characters I care about, worried about and laughed with. But I can't travel there as much as I want to, only a few of his books have been translated in english (and it's worse in french, my language). Maybe I shouldn't have recommended this author, I'm sorry I'm evil.
Another author who can make me laugh out loud like an idiot: Daniel Pinkwater. I love most of his books but my favourites are "The Neddiad" and "Alan Mendelsohn the boy from Mars". He also managed to make me read picture books!