Recommend a book for me

msstice

200 words a day = 1 novel/year
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I'm in some need of some distraction (I can swear that's in a song somewhere.) I'm looking for a laugh out loud (or at least snigger while you read) book, preferably sci-fi or fantasy. I used to love P.G. Woodehouse's Jeeves books but haven't read them for a while. I could try them again. I enjoyed The Atrocity archives by Charles Stross, and perhaps should look at some of the other laundry files books ...

I looking for laugh out loud books as I've developed a strange kind of anxiety within the last week, where mild nasal congestion is leading me to anxiety attacks and an inability to fall asleep. I know this is all psychological and the nasal congestion is just unpleasant/annoying and I'm hoping a funny book will help divert my mind. Thank you for your help!!
 
Flying Dutch by Tom Holt
Silverlock by John Myer Myers
Bill The Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison
The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
Calihan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson
Red Dwarf Infinity Welcome Careful Drivers by Naylor and Grant
Red Dwarf :Better than Life Naylor and Grant
Another Fine Myth by Robert and Lynn Aspirin
Caiphis Cain Hero of the Imperium by Sandy Mitchell
Lest Darkness Fall
 
If you liked Wodehouse’s Jeeves, then try the Blandings stories, or Mr Mulliner. More snort out loud imho.
 
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An endorsement of Stephen's Hairy London - I thoroughly enjoyed this very funny, clever novel with its unique and engaging story.

I'm becoming a big fan of Christopher Moore. A Dirty Job, from the Grim Reaper series, was quite rewarding, and had a lot of laughs, if I remember correctly. Good storyline, too; I also enjoyed the follow-up novel.
I thought his book Razzmatazz was very good, as well.

One truly guilty pleasure - I somehow became a fan of a LitRPG series of books named Dungeon Crawler Carl. I LOL throughout each book... there's some tawdry humor, I'll be honest, but also some well-deserved laughs. There's also some genuinely moving stuff in the series, and an action storyline that never quits. Not for everyone, and I'm still surprised that I am reading a LitRPG series... but I love it.

Hope you're feeling better soon!
 
Not to derail, but @Toby Frost, do you think Space Captain Smith could ever end up on Audible? Because of an eyes thing, I pretty much have to listen these days, instead of read. But I'd love to experience the series, CC
 
Another vote for Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat books, Pratchett and Jasper Fforde.

I have a certain fondness for Mary Gentle's Grunts, if you like your laugh out loud with widely distributed body-parts in a high fantasy satire.

Slightly off-beat might be Lois McMaster Bujold's A Civil Campaign --- I'm not sure how well that would work as a standalone as it is mid-series, and a comedy of errors in the middle of what you might call a light military science fiction series. The whole series (starting with The Warrior's Apprentice) has a thread of humour running through it, but Civil Campaign is the real laughter-fest.

For vulgar humour you could try "Hell of a Deal" by Mark Huntley-James (along with Road to Hell, Hell of a Bite, and a silly flash fiction collection The Letter Hex on such topics as planning permission for new mountains.)

Less laugh out loud and more tongue in cheek Streamrider.
 
My novel, Blurred Vision, might fit the bill for a good laugh. That was the plan, anyway. It's a young adult SF adventure and, in my biased opinion, a lot of fun.

There's a free preview on Amazon should you want to see if it fits the bill.
 
For comedy I'd recommend the Red Dwarf and HHGTTG series for scifi, or Yes Minister for general reading.

It's deinitely worth considering audio books as well, as I find that sometimes they can greatly enhance the experience.

For instance, there are audiobooks of Stephen Fry and also Jonathon Cecil reading P.G.Wodehouse 'Jeeves' stories (both are very good) or radio dramas starring the wonderful Michael Hordern and Richard Briers.
 
My personal favourites that I don't think are listed above:

Leonora Carrington: The Hearing Trumpet
I find this hilarious.
NB this is the same Leonora who has recently been reclaimed as a great "British" artist.

Roger Zelazny: A Night in the Lonesome October
Gentle dark humour concerning Halloween.

R.A. Lafferty: The Best of R.A. Lafferty
Quirky Lafferty at his best.
 
Oooh, thank you for your wishes and the great suggestions. I see I will need a new tab in my TBR spreadsheet.

I don't know most of them, so I this is a nice pile of suggestions.

The only one I have tried and didn't work for me was the Red Dwarf novelization. I absolutely love the original Red Dwarf series but surprisingly I really disliked the book to the extent that I tossed it out.
 

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