I have gone off reading violent thrillers or books where suspense is too high.

Ian Fortytwo said:
Apparently films are the same, so my film watching will be different as well.

Thank you for some wonderful recommendations so far.
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Silverlock by John Myers Myers This is another great comic fantasy novel . Its the story of a stuck wealthy socialite named Shandon Silverlock who thinks he's gods gift to humanity and overall woeful human being . He gets ship wrecked an Island called The Commonwealth which is populated by all the characters of myth and literature. The first person missforute of getting is the with Circe . He tries the old Silverlock Charm and from her he gets the pig treatment , but he gets better because it turns out to be only temporary. What happen is he ends up one comic misadventure after another. This books lots of fun and hilarious funny .:)

Lest Darkness Falls by L Sprague De Camp Martin Padway a 20th century man. is visiting Rome, , gets hit by a bolt of lighting and suddenly find himself in 6th Century Rome. Not exxamaly the best time to be in Rome. This book too is hilariously funny :)

The High Crusade by Poul Anderson A race of super advanced inept aliens show up in earth England during medieval times which conquest on their minds. They figure is should be very to conquer a Buch of primitive wild swords. Well ,in theory things should have worked out that way for the aliens .:)

The Napoleons of Eridanus by Pierre Barbett Peaceful aliens with no experience of how to fight war are under siege by marauding race of conquer . The need someone with an experienced on how to conduct war so , they kidnap a bunch of Napoleonic solders who in retreat from Russia. Silly and fun to read. :)
 
I'd agree with the suggestions of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and PG Wodehouse. And also John Mortimer's Rumpole books.
Toby Frost said:
I've heard that Becky Chambers' science fiction is pretty conflict-free, but contains interesting ideas.
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I was going to suggest Becky Chambers. She's one of my favourite writers. Her fiction is not without conflict, and there are some moments of suspense, but the books tend to be much more positive, and there is very little open violence.

I'm going to throw in a wild card, and say, Georgette Heyer. She's often classed as a romance writer (which she was, and I happen to like romance), but she also wrote historical adventures in her books. They're light, reasonably easy reads, but with a lot of researched period detail eased in to the story.
 
I noticed Toby Frost replying to this thread and realised that modesty and possibly forum rules might prevent him recommending his series starting with Space Captain Smith Space Captain Smith | hero of the British Space Empire. However, I certainly can. Also Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay series starting with Retribution Falls should be considered.
 
Can i also recommend "When The English Fall" by David Williams? I read it a couple of years ago after reading Werthead's review. A stunning novel, IMO.

Iain M. Banks's "Look To Windward" is another beautiful novel full of loss and regret. I don't remember there being too much violence, but there are some flashbacks of war.
 
James Thurber. He got a bit curmudgeonly with age, but for most of his career was both funny and insightful.

Christopher Moore. Silly with a side of more silly, but usually not a tiring sort of silly.

Agatha Christie. Some suspense, very little violence, though mostly off stage. Also, quite often, as with the Tommy and Tuppence stories, and several of the Poirot stories, rather funny. Not great at in-depth characterization. Or any other kind of characterization, but the cardboard people can be funny.

Ellery Queen. John Dickson Carr. Dorothy L. Sayers. Really, most of the "Golden Age" of detection Brits and Brit-wannabes (Carr).
 
Thank you, there's so many great books. I've read some Wodehouse, Douglas Adams and Mortimer. There are several I haven't heard of. And plenty to keep going for quite a while. I'm intrigued by Georgette Heyer. There are not many Tom Holt in print, they look interesting. It's funny once you mention lighter books, colleagues at work come to your aid.

I'm thinking of starting with some non fiction. Patrick Leigh Fermor and Clare Tomalin.
 
Retief Envoy to New Worlds By Keith Laumer. This is a comic science fiction series and classic .:D

Bill Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison another great laugh out loud sci fi spoof and also and classic and so is his Stainless Steel Rat series of books.:D

Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson also great comic fun.:D
 
Ian Fortytwo said:
Thank you, there's so many great books. I've read some Wodehouse, Douglas Adams and Mortimer. There are several I haven't heard of. And plenty to keep going for quite a while. I'm intrigued by Georgette Heyer. There are not many Tom Holt in print, they look interesting. It's funny once you mention lighter books, colleagues at work come to your aid.

I'm thinking of starting with some non fiction. Patrick Leigh Fermor and Clare Tomalin.
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Big PLF fan. Between the Woods and the Water is wonderful. If you like that then consider the Laurie Lee trilogy starting with Cider With Rosie.
In a similar autobiographical vein ( coming of age between the wars) I recommend Ash on a Young Man’s Sleeve by Dannie Abse.
 
I would recommend Lewis Carroll's Alice books, as well as The Secret Diaries of Adrian Mole, which are great fun and a nice, light-hearted read.
 
You might also look at Austin Tappan Wright's novel Islandia Its utopian novel about a land that never was but you wish existed,. Elgantly You could actual believe that this place could exist . It's a great book .:)
 
Fiberglass Cyborg said:
Also Jasper Fford's "Thursday Next" series: the level of general silliness makes it hard to take the villains' nefarious plots too seriously.
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I second this! Same for his Nursery Crimes and Last Dragonslayer series.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The White Company and Sir Nigel are also very good reads that I don't think would be considered too violent or tense and coupled with a lot of humour.
 
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