Funny fiction for morose adult?

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Funny fiction for morose adult?

1SJaneDoe
Feb 13, 2022, 2:16 pm

Hi everyone! I'm looking for suggestions for funny fiction for someone who doesn't typically read humour or feel-good books. I read almost exclusively dark themes (horror, suspense, crime, and history) and need a break! I like dark humour and snark, but also like silly.
Some funny books/authors I've liked in the past are Adrian Mole, Kate Beaton, Douglas Adams and Scott Pilgrim.

2haydninvienna
Feb 13, 2022, 2:23 pm

>1 SJaneDoe: er, are P G Wodehouse and Terry Pratchett too obvious …?

3tardis
Feb 13, 2022, 2:23 pm

I highly recommend Jodi Taylor's Chronicles of St. Mary's series. They're funny and clever. There's an associated series, Time Police but read the St. Mary's ones first and read in order! When you're dealing with time travel, chronology matters!

5AnnieMod
Feb 13, 2022, 3:38 pm

>3 tardis: Just don't call it time travel or the next flying teapot may land in your garden. ;)
Seconding that recommendation.

6Marissa_Doyle
Modificato: Feb 13, 2022, 4:00 pm

Another humor and history combo: To Say Nothing of the Dog

Also, Jasper Fforde might be worth looking into.

7tardis
Feb 13, 2022, 5:45 pm

>5 AnnieMod: Right! Historical research in contemporary time! Hope they didn't notice!

8reconditereader
Feb 13, 2022, 5:46 pm

Murderbot! Murderbot! Murderbot!

9karenb
Feb 13, 2022, 11:27 pm

Cold Comfort Farm, if you haven't read it already.

10SJaneDoe
Feb 14, 2022, 2:16 pm

Thanks everyone, this is great! I've added lots to my TBR. If anyone has more suggestions, please keep them coming.

>2 haydninvienna: Shockingly, I've never read PG Wodehouse at all, and have been thinking I should. I have tried a few Terry Pratchett books and just wasn't able to get into them.

>3 tardis: I did read Just One Damned Thing After Another. It's 100% up my alley, and I really expected to love it. However, I tagged it "meh" so I guess I didn't. I wonder if I'd like any of the subsequent books better? Book 2 looks great actually.

>4 lilithcat: I remember reading Lamb ages ago and can't remember my opinion (pre-LT, apparently), but my local library has quite a few of his books so I'll give another one a try.

>6 Marissa_Doyle: Yes! I love Connie Willis! I haven't read that one yet. I've considered Jasper Fforde before, but I'm hesitant because I (mumble)don'tcareforJaneEyreatallsorry(/mumble).

>9 karenb: I haven't, thanks! I'll give it a try.

11tealadytoo
Feb 14, 2022, 2:32 pm

>10 SJaneDoe: I second P. G. Wodehouse wholeheartedly. While the Jeeves and Wooster books are the most famous, I'm also very fond of some of his stand-alone novels, particularly Quick Service.

>6 Marissa_Doyle: Willis' title is actually a reference to a book by Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat (to Say Nothing of the Dog). While not as amusing as Wodehouse, in my opinion, it's still entertaining, as is the sequel, Three Men on the Bummel.

12amanda4242
Feb 14, 2022, 3:25 pm

>10 SJaneDoe: I'm not a big Jane Eyre fan myself, but I loved The Eyre Affair.

The Princess Bride and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day always make me smile.

13vwinsloe
Feb 15, 2022, 8:11 am

>11 tealadytoo:. I listened to the audiobook Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog out of curiosity because it has apparently never been out of print since 1889. I was listening in the car, and I laughed so hard I had to pull over.

14tealadytoo
Feb 15, 2022, 8:15 am

>13 vwinsloe: I read it in print and it was pretty amusing. I bet that an audio version with a droll narrator would be even better. :=)

15SandraArdnas
Feb 15, 2022, 1:39 pm

Kurt Vonnegut is my first association for funny but dead serious

16Bookmarque
Feb 15, 2022, 2:20 pm

I've found the books featuring Felix Castor to be darkly funny. Start with The Devil You Know - the series page is - https://www.librarything.com/nseries/14872/Felix-Castor-Series

17nessreader
Feb 15, 2022, 3:36 pm

If audio is an option, can I suggest a bbc radio sitcom Cabin Pressure by John Finnemore. It's set on a small airline and they play a lot of parlour games on long flights. It is clever and adorable. Benedict Cumberbumble voices the pilot.

18nessreader
Feb 15, 2022, 3:58 pm

>12 amanda4242:
>10 SJaneDoe:
Seconding that about Eyre Affair not depending on Bronte fandom (it probably improves the read mind you) There are a lot of book jokes about classic fic in general - with rocky horror interactive performances of Richard iii - but it's still fun for heretics who find Brontes overwrought. (Except Anne. Anne Bronte is a queen)

If you liked the late victorian clerk with delusions of grandeur in Diary of a Nobody then Lewis (Roy? I think?) brings the same character type in as narrator in The Evolution Man, or, How I Ate My Father which is about cavemen one-upping each other into civilisation.

19jay8anks
Feb 16, 2022, 4:32 pm

A Confederacy of Dunces...

21soupedupprius
Mar 19, 4:03 pm

Breakfast of Champions is an all time favorite for me too

22KeithChaffee
Mar 19, 4:41 pm

Joe Keenan's Gilbert & Philip series, starting with Blue Heaven. If P. G. Wodehouse had been a gay New Yorker in the late 1980s, these are the books he'd have written. Farces about a songwriting duo coping with their friend's constant get-rich-quick scheming.

232wonderY
Mar 19, 8:56 pm

24booksaplenty1949
Mar 19, 9:39 pm

The Diary of a Nobody. “I left the room with silent dignity, but caught my foot in the mat.” If you can relate, you will find this book entertaining.

25vwinsloe
Mar 25, 7:08 am

Lessons in Chemistry; it's hysterical fiction.