If laughter be the food of love, read on…

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Every Tuesday over at the  The Broke and Bookish we all get to look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) examples to demonstrate that particular topic.  The topic this week is:

‘Ten Books That Will Make You Laugh (or at least chuckle)’

What a great topic!  Everybody needs a good laugh every now and again and these books certainly gave me a good chuckle and earned me some odd looks from passing strangers on my way into and home from work!

  1. The Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett.  I absolutely loved these books.  They’re an excellent combination of wiley plot, great characters and over the top silly goodness.  Tiffany Aching is a witch in training and her adventures with the Nac Mac Feegles or the Wee Free Men as they are better known are incredibly entertaining (there are five books in total – I’ve not yet read the 5th – I’m saving it!)
  2. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Adam Douglas – I shouldn’t be surprised to see Adam Douglas (and Terry Pratchett) on a number of lists this week and with good reason.
  3. The Princess Bride by William Goldman – this book, and film, just make me happy.  I can’t help it.  It’s just gorgeously outrageous!  Read it – watch it even!
  4. The Gentlemen Bastard series by Scott Lynch – I think this series is just excellent but one of the reasons why I really love it (apart from the obvious great stories – and Jean Tannen – lets not forget about Jean!) is that there is such a lot of humour involved and Scott Lynch has taken snarky creative cursing to a whole other level.
  5. The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore – I’m just going to be honest and say that Mr Moore has got a wicked sense of humour that can be a little bit crude and near the knuckle, but that had me laughing my socks off!  Too funny!  Wear extra socks just to be sure.
  6. The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker – I just can’t recommend this book enough.  I loved it – and Goodreads says it so perfectly that I stole this snippet : ‘the only fantasy on record with a white-uniformed nurse, gourmet cuisine, one hundred and forty-four glass butterflies, and a steamboat. This is a book filled with intrigue, romance, sudden violence, and moments of emotional impact and a cast of charming characters….’ – how can you deny yourself such reading pleasure!  Really!
  7. Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio.  This book is crazy but in a totally great way.  Highly readable and apart from the fact that I was already drawn in by the mention of Transylvania Polygnostic University and Baron Klaus Wulfenbach (the ruthless baddie) the following would have definitely nailed it ‘a gaslamp fantasy filled to bursting with Adventure! Romance! and Mad Science!’
  8. The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne – because of the simply brilliant relationship and mental telepathic communication between Atticus and Oberon.
  9. The Red Queen’s war series by Mark Lawrence which are wonderfully clever stories – these are not comedies I hasten to add, they can be downright down with the nasty but Jalan certainly kept me entertained and the friendship between Jalan and Snorri is very enjoyable indeed!
  10. Harry Potter – I just had to go there!  J K Rowling created a great series here, one that people started reading as children and grew up with!  So clever really when you just think about it.  But, on top of the definite appeal to a younger audience these books also managed to capture the minds of many adults too!  Very engaging and with wonderful laugh out loud moments!