<p>I second Sellevision, it is absolutely hilarious! Laughed out loud more than once reading it on a long flight…</p>
<p>For that Douglas Adams vibe, try Terry Pratchett. “Going Postal” is an easy start-light and very funny. Try Guards, Guards! to delve further into life in the Discworld capital city of Anhk Morpork. (His first 2 books-The Light Fantastic and The Color of Magic are only for aficionados, so I’d give them a miss). Pratchett has written over 2 dozen books and I’ve read them all. They are usually in the fantasy section of the bookstore: I’m not generally a fantasy fan but the satire is wonderful. Also, for a book set in ‘our’ world, try “Good Omens.”</p>
<p>He also has a great</p>
<p>Try ‘Our Dumb World’ from the Onion. Hilarious but may be out of taste at times. (It’s basically a satirical atlas making fun of every country on earth)</p>
<p>I thought The Jane Austen Bookclub was disappointing. I loved the first chapter and the bookclub questions though!</p>
<p>Hitchhikers Guide has never appealed to me, but I did enjoy the movie, much more than I expected to.</p>
<p>I’m very fond of Hornblower too, maybe it’s time to reread them? Or I could reread Patrick O’Brien instead…</p>
<p>when Grandma Plum shot up the turkey I shrieked with laughter…she is a hoot. The Stephanie Plum books never get old…easy read with lots of laughter.</p>
<p>David Sedaris is hilarious</p>
<p>and The Devil Wears Prada <333</p>
<p>mathmom–our bookclub agreed–“The Jane Austen…” didn’t really live up to the hype (you’ve heard about it everywhere, recently).</p>
<p>alamode–so interesting how everyone has a different take. David Sedaris is funny, but reading about his dysfunctional family/difficult young adult experiences was painful. Painfully funny? His images stayed w/me though (not that I wanted them to!!).</p>
<p>The Devil Wears Prada reminded me of The Nanny Diaries – interesting insight into the wealthy, high-flying NYC life (is it really like that??). I think of The Devil Wears… every time I pick up Vogue.</p>
<p>Two Elizabeth Peters mystery series–the Amelia Peabody books about turn-of-the-century British Egyptologists and the Vicki Bliss books about a mid-20th-century art historian. They are fun to read and are also really well done as books on tape or CD, all performed by Barbara Rosenblat, who is a superb reader, right up there with Jim Dale who does all the Harry Potter audiobooks.</p>
<p>Another readable and literate newer mystery series–the Jacqueline Winspear books about Maisie Dobbs, set in 1930s England.</p>
<p>If people do not like mysteries and are not embarrassed to reread children’s books, all of the Anne of Green Gables books are still wonderful.</p>
<p>Jolynne
I also read both the Nanny Diaries and DWP. I actually liked the ND quite a bit! But I thought the DWP movie was better than the book, even though the book was OK. </p>
<p>And I’ve been known to reread children’s books. I read a couple Judy Blume books just last year.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and Sedaris’s Me Talk Pretty One Day had a few funny moments.</p>
<p>LOVE the BEAN TREES Barbara Kingsolver-
conducted a Woman’s Club book discussion about that book!
One of my favorites.</p>
<p>My sister and I like to read travel related books. We really enjoyed “Vroom with a View” by Peter Moore - traveling around Italy on a 1961 vespa. Made us want to go try it. Another one that made us laugh and cry was Tim Moore’s “Travels with My Donkey: One Man and His @ss on a Pilgramage to Santiago”.
For mysteries we like Laurie King -well written and very well researched. And I am waiting for the mailman to bring the latest #1 Ladies Detective Agency book. It is probably best to start that series at the um, start rather than try to pick it up mid series.</p>
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<p>I’m able to download free from our local library the first xx books of the Amelia Peabody series. Barbara Rosenblat is such a fantastic reader that I would rather listen to the books than to read them!</p>
<p>The Vickie Bliss series just didn’t compare–the English accent made all the difference…</p>
<p>Diane Mott Davidson’s “Goldy” culinary mysteries are lots of fun. The more recent adventures are a bit extreme, but so are the newest Stephanie’s!</p>
<p>I do almost all of my reading as books on tape/CD…They even put “I am American and so Can You” on CD, and it’s really fun IF you are a Colbert fan.</p>
<p>I’ve never READ the Stephanie Plum books, I listen to them on CD from the library</p>
<p>The narrator does great voices</p>
<p>I’ve found my people! I’ve read most of these, except Stephanie Plum, need to try those.
“Gaudy Night” is one of those books that I have to re-read every few years, just to get grounded again.</p>
<p>I loved the first 5 or so “Goldy” mysteries by Diane M Davidson, then she seemed to lose her way a bit.</p>
<p>I now have Burroughs and the book from Hosea on my author list.
Keep 'em coming.</p>
<p>Oh, and “the Vroom with a View” - big Italy lovers at my house.</p>
<p>25th vote for Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. If you’re reading this thread and decide to go to the bookstore, the books are numbered 1 thru 13 and they don’t have Stephanie’s name in the title.</p>
<p>I can’t remember which one had Grandma Mazur and the funeral parlor - I think it was 2? DH and I laughed till we cried about her trying to peek into the casket…</p>
<p>I also like the Evanovich books. I reviewed Augusten Burroughs first book when I was writing for a newspaper and have read all the rest and enjoyed them.</p>
<p>I used to like Patricia Cornwalls Kay Scarpetta novels for an easy mystery read, but get irritated because she used to write first person, now writes third person, which makes me think she’s got a not-very-observant ghost writer.</p>
<p>Favorite Stephanie Plum scenes – how about when Stephanie and Lulu were apprehending the guy who was naked and smeared vaseline all over himself so they couldn’t get him. Hilarious!</p>
<p>I like David Sedaris, but would rather hear his voice - so I consider them perfect audiobooks and better in smaller doses than all at once. The title story of “Me Talk Pretty” is brilliant though. I have a problem with mysteries - about half way through I just get impatient - Just Tell Me Who Did It. I’m reading a sci-fi book at the moment that is having much the same effect. I’m really having problems not just skipping ahead to the last chapter.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, surely I’m due to reread Gaudy Night.</p>