Reading has always been my escape, my source of information, my relaxation and my guilty pleasure.
Sometimes, all I really need is a good laugh and I have favourite, go-to authors at these times.
As many of these titles are available as audiobooks, I often use them to take the stress out of travel. Play-aways, CD books, MP3 discs and now eAudiobooks have all helped me through rush hour traffic, long waits at airports and very long train trips. Having to choose just one title by each of the following authors was difficult as there are so many deliciously funny titles by each of them.
Patrick McManus: For short stories with loads of laughs, I often turn to Patrick McManus. This outdoor humorist keeps up a fast pace with stories featuring a regular set of characters, including Rancid Crabtree, Retch Sweeney, boyhood pal Crazy Eddie, dog Strange and long-suffering wife Bun. One of the first McManus books I read was Real Ponies Don't Go Oink! With chapter headings such as Controlling my Life, A Good Deed Goes Wrong and Teenagers from Hell, it is already possible to get a sense of what is to come in this book. I am not into hunting, fishing or the great outdoors but I still enjoy reading any of the McManus books, which has short stories about "manly" pursuits.
Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer: "Your ass is grass and I am a John Deere super-classic riding lawnmower with a V6 engine and a double-cutting blade, do I make myself clear?" says Agnes Crandall, a.k.a. Cranky Agnes of Agnes and the Hitman, one of the quirkiest heroines around. Take a writer named Cranky Agnes who has anger control issues, is handy with a frying pan and will do anything for those she cares about and you have a recipe for disaster. Add in upset flamingos, a dog named Rhett and the local mob looking for millions of dollars that have been missing for years, and you can't help but laugh your way through this book. As a longtime fan of Jennifer Crusie and her off-beat romances, it was interesting to see what happens when she teams up with Bob Mayer, who writes science fiction, thrillers, and historical fiction. The two of them combine wonderfully to create a fun, fast-paced read.
Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a trilogy in five parts, is a series of books that get funnier with each read. Adams' books depict many ways in which Earth is destroyed, what may have happened to Elvis and what the game of cricket really means, as well as a suggestion as to why humans really developed to what we are now. These books are worth more than one look as with each reading it is possible to find new things to laugh at. Adams' books are funny on many levels, from overall ideas down to the carefully constructed sentences, such as Hitchhiker's character Ford Prefect's second theory of why humans are continually stating and restating the obvious: "If human beings don't keep exercising their lips, their brains start working."
Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman: Although both these writers are funny as individuals, when they came together to write Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, they took comedy to new heights. I have reread this book more often than any other and always find new things to laugh at. This novel about the Second Coming features an Antichrist switched at birth as well as the Four Motorcyclists of the Apocalypse, and creates a modern look at the end of the world.
Christopher Moore: Fool is King Lear told for teenage boys. Moore has taken on William Shakespeare with hilarious results. This book takes a little effort to get into but I promise it is well worth the time. And for those of you not familiar with British vernacular, there are handy footnotes throughout the book. These along with the author's note, titled "You Cheeky Git," are well worth a read and it may actually help with this book if you start with these.
To find these and other books to keep you laughing, visit your local library - in person or online.
Some other writers to laugh out loud with include: Christopher Buckley, Helen Fielding, Tom Holt, Janet Evano-vich, Laurie Notaro, Rick Mercer and Oscar Wilde.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published every Wednesday. Bronwyn Punch works at Terry Fox Library in Port Coquitlam.
