I third (fourth? I lost track) the recommendations for Terry Pratchett. My favorite entry point is Guards Guards, which starts one of his most prominent series, but look on the net to find loads of diagrams about where to start based on what your favorite tropes are.

Further SF/Fantasy recs:

Ben Aaronovitch/Rivers of London series (first book Midnight Riot)--A newly graduated Scotland Yard constable finds himself interviewing a ghost at the scene of a crime, and is abruptly assigned to the tiny department which deals with weird (really, really weird) cases

Lois McMaster Bujold/Vorkosigan Saga (first book The Warrior's Apprentice) Chaotic Miles Vorkosigan is just trying to help somebody who's in trouble in outer space, and it snowballs until he ends up Admiral of a small mercenary group bouncing through the universe

Martha Wells/Murderbot Diaries (first novella All Systems Red) Hilarious first person narration by a cyborg who was created to be a security guard, and killing machine at need, who has managed to disable the tech which forces his obedience. Now he just wishes everybody would leave him alone to watch his favorite shows in peace. If only his current charges, which he actually sort of likes, would 1) quit getting attacked and 2) quit trying to talk to Murderbot about his feelings!

Mystery recs:

Donna Andrews/Meg Langslow series (first book Murder With Peacocks) Meg unfortunately has a reputation of being relentlessly organized, so her mom, her brother, and her best friend all pressure her into organizing their weddings. Simultaneously. Add a corpse, stir, and watch the fun as Meg tries to keep it all under control.

Nonfiction recs:

Gerald Durrell (especially My Family and Other Animals; Birds, Beasts, and Relatives; The Garden of the Gods) Durrell was a zoologist in the mid-twentieth century, and the first books he wrote were stories of his childhood on the Greek island of Corfu with his family, all of whom (including him) were monomaniacs, marching blithely into chaos in pursuit of their various goals. His earlier books on collecting expeditions are funny, too. Later books tend to be rehashes of stories we've already heard, unfortunately.

Jerome K Jerome/Three Men in a Boat  The allegedly true (I have my doubts) story of a leisurely boat trip up the Thames during the early twentieth century in a small boat. The fight with the can of pineapple is a classic. This is a nice relaxing book, perfect for a day when you want to get away from the world.

Lee Blakley

On Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 10:50:50 AM CST, Diana Tallent <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi ya'll!

In 26 days, and maybe sooner, if I'm lucky/on top of things, I will turn in my final assignment for my MLIS program at SJSU. (*knocks on wood) At that point, I would like to decompress by spending some time reading and watching fun, funny books and movies, so I am here asking you if you would please recommend your favorite humorous book(s) or movies (or podcasts or whatever), if you're so inclined. All formats and genres are fair game. 

In case you're wondering about titles I have found amusing, some that have tickled my funny bone are:

Books:

The Hitchhiker's Guide series by Douglas Adams

Welcome to Nightvale by Joseph Fink

So Lucky by Dawn O'Porter

Movies:

Liar Liar

Mrs. Doubtfire

The Great Race — my all-time favorite comedy movie which I quote with my family and re-watch regularly. If you haven't seen it, run to request a copy via ILL if you can find it or watch it on Prime Video or purchase it on Amazon

I know I can Google it, and I have, but I am interested in what you all may come up with that doesn't show up on the usual lists.

Thank you in advance!!! 🙂

~Diana

---

To unsubscribe from the FICTION_L list, click the following link:
http://ccpllists.cuyahogalibrary.net/scripts/wa.exe?TICKET=NzM4NTAyIExibGFrbGV5ODc5QFlBSE9PLkNPTSBGSUNUSU9OX0wgIKaZ5TieuiOY&c=SIGNOFF

---

To unsubscribe from the FICTION_L list, click the following link:
http://ccpllists.cuyahogalibrary.net/scripts/wa.exe?TICKET=NzM4NTA0IGRsd3RqckBHTUFJTC5DT00gRklDVElPTl9MID08SMAuZwRj&c=SIGNOFF