Rec me some light-hearted fluffyness?

[ccowie]

Originally Posted by radius

I vaguely recall that in All Families are Psychotic one of the characters has an uncommon medical condition. If that might affect how much you enjoy it, think about picking up Worst.Person.Ever. by Coupland instead (which is more overtly comedic anyway)

I read that a few weeks ago - I devour any Coupland within days of its release. I have to say that although his signature sharp dialogue consistently made me laugh, the book really didn't have a point, which is very unusual for him. I laughed a lot, but it left me flat.

[BenG]

To Say Nothing of The Dog by Connie Willis

The polar opposite in tone from her earlier book about the Oxford time travelers,The Doomsday Book.

[jbjb]

I wouldn't describe them as "fluffy", but Alexander McCall Smith's "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" books are a wonderfully *gentle* read, with lots of light-hearted moments. They're gorgeously written, and the characters (including Botswana itself, which certainly counts as a 'character' in these stories) are beautifully and affectionately depicted.

/JB

[Rbneader]

Thank you all so much for the recommendations! I'm looking forward to reading these new books.

[hildea]

I've just started reading the Liaden books, and they are very good, but so far not very fluffy. For instance, in Scout's Progress one of the main themes is escaping from years of emotional and physical abuse. A lot more like Bujold than Woodehouse.

Some more suggestions
Justine Larbalestier's "How to ditch your fairy" is funny and cute.
Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan's "Team Human" is also funny, but there are some medical issues (involving vampires and zombies) which may cause it to be a bad fit for you now.
Patricia Wrede's "A Matter of Magic" (= "Magician's ward" + "A matter of magic") has evil plots, dastardly noblemen and shots in the night, but is still pretty light hearted.
Wrede and Stevermer's "Sorcery and Cecilia" is similar in style (evil magical plots which almost succeed, but not very dark).
If you haven't read Austen yet, "Northanger Abbey" is fluffy and funny. (But "Mansfield park" might be too dark.)

[GreenMonkey]

My best recommendation is Lawrence Watt-Evan's Esthvar series. Starting with the Misenchanted Sword. A very light hearted series and a fun read.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Misenchant.../dp/1587152827

Book 1 is The Misenchanted Sword (about your average soldier who gets a super-powerful sword enchanted, except with some flaws).

Book 2 is about a Wizard's apprentice who ends up on an adventure and he only knows a single spell.

Samples chapter on his site:
http://www.ethshar.com/themisenchantedsword.html
http://www.ethshar.com/withasinglespell.html


Mary Gentle's "Grunts!"

http://www.amazon.com/Grunts-Mary-Ge...grunts+fantasy

Orcs get modern weapons from a Dragon's Hoard. The "curse" gradually turns them into movie-cliche Marines. I seem to remember this is pretty funny if you like fantasy parody.

Edding's Belgariad is pretty light-hearted/humorous also.

[owly]

"The Case of the Missing Books" the first book in The Mobile Librarian Series by Ian Sansom is quite fun. A young librarian is forced by his girlfriend to get a job and ends up in small community in Ireland. He's supposed to get the mobile library going again but gets an unwelcome (nonmurder-related) surprise...

[jscarbo]

For laugh-out-loud funny, my favorite writer is Pat McManus. If you've never read any of his books, try the sample story "The Skunk Ladder" by clicking on "Look Inside" this Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Grasshoppe...d_sim_kstore_3

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by John K

I found Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles series to be light-hearted, angst-free reading. It's about the last living Druid. 2100 years old but looks and acts like a 21 year old. He draws power from the earth and one way he uses that is rapid healing. The stories do include injuries so that might be a negative. On the other hand, rapid healing from almost any injury might be a good fantasy for your situation.

Thanks for your recommendation. I really enjoyed the first book "Hounded".

[elemenoP]

I am halfway through "The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion. It's about a scientist on the Autism spectrum who sets out, systematically of course, to find a suitable wife. But he starts falling in love with someone who does NOT meet any of his qualifications. The book is charming and funny, light-hearted and fluffy. It's also $1.99 on Amazon. (If that's a promotional price, it's been that way for a very long time.)

This is quite different from the other recs on this thread, but you might want to give it a look.

eP

[Lin2412]

Romance genres are my light and easy read indulgence ever since my friends who are great Julia Quinn fans persisted that I should try out the genre.

I remember a book recommended by one of my closest friends in college that had me meeting my eyebrows because she was insisting I read A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare. The title and cover was, short to say, ridiculously something I will never seriously consider reading into at that time. But my friend says it's fun, and that there was nothing wrong with the title or cover. Shrugged her statement off but followed her anyway.

I finally read the book and to be honest, it was downright hilarious and delightful. I'm not as insistent as my friend, but I do recommend you give it a shot because it's just too fun to miss out on.

[Bookpossum]

I see an early recommendation for Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair. I would say anything by Jasper Fforde, but that's a very good one to start with as it's the first of a series.

Older style but very good fun (and available here in the MR library): E F Benson's Mapp and Lucia, a series of six novels.

[4691mls]

I read this book recently and remembered this thread. I've never been a romance novel fan (I don't like the typical story where the couple meet, almost immediately fall into bed, then have a huge, stupid misunderstanding, then forgive each other and decide to get married, all in a time span of a couple of weeks), but I came across this while browsing the library and it turned out to be a fun read which does not follow the above-described formula:

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

description copied from Overdrive library:

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.
What would he say . . . ?

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by John K

I found Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles series to be light-hearted, angst-free reading. It's about the last living Druid. 2100 years old but looks and acts like a 21 year old. He draws power from the earth and one way he uses that is rapid healing. The stories do include injuries so that might be a negative. On the other hand, rapid healing from almost any injury might be a good fantasy for your situation.

YES! Totally second this.

Also may I suggest these:
The Princess Bride by William Goldman and A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by BenG

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

After having read The Big Over Easy, I think Fforde is a great choice. Looking forward to reading some more from him.