Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

The Disc's first female wizard was created nine years ago, accidentally, and now Granny Weatherwax is fighting to get Esk the instruction necessary to control her magic. With untrained magic, anything can (and does) happen.

This one's prime Pratchett, as he knocks tradition sideways with a new world order built around a strong, determined girl wizard and her tenacious witch mentor. Esk also befriends Simon, another wizard-to-be who's also got special talents.

Mort by Terry Pratchett

Death takes an assistant: a bumbling kid from nowheresville with no real talent. When he's given a to-do list and a bit of responsibility, things don't go quite right because Mort falls for the supposed-to-die princess and alters the plan. But destiny isn't joking around.

It's a Shakespearean-style story with lots of twists, and fate, and love (or not). Pratchett is always very funny, but giving Death his own story - and mid-life crisis - allows a special kind of dark comedy.

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Arthur Less is a man who stumbles through his own life. He's a semi-successful writer with friends and lovers, but he's a bumbler more than a planner.

When an ex announces his wedding, Arthur decides to run away rather than deal with the pain. He agrees to every offer away from home: a lecture, an award ceremony, teaching, a sabbatical, an article, and more. Circumnavigation of the world (on someone else's dime) to avoid one small ceremony.

Every kind of travel mishap occurs - missed connections, miscommunications, illness, injury, near-death experiences - and yet Less keeps moving, keeps going, deals with it and moves on. Nothing really phases him, and nothing really ruffles him. Along the way, he attracts friends, lovers, and even quaint, harmless rivals.

I'm surprised by how under-the-radar this book has been, despite its Pulitzer Prize. It's engaging, both silly and heartwarming at the same time. I read it within just a few (busy) days because I was so engaged with the story. It's funny and smart, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly

Short, in all senses: tiny stories - some just a sentence or two, none longer than a couple pages - compiled into a 100-page collection.

This series of vignettes is a look at a life. Fennelly writes about her husband and kids, about her father-in-law, about her own childhood and about her observations of life around her. Many are funny. Some are a little sad. All are relatable.

Gulp: Adventures On the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

A humorous, informative book about the science and false beliefs about the internal system that runs from your mouth through your stomach and out your butt.

Roach has become famous for her snarky, hilarious approach to often icky nonfiction subjects. This one's got a lot of ick in it - spit, farts, poop, digestion, and more - but she makes it worth the time by dispelling falsehoods, researching history, and interviewing scientists on the cutting edge.

I picked this for book discussion and we circulated a LOT of copies, so I'll be interested to see if anybody shows up to talk about it. For me, the chapter on Elvis made the whole book worthwhile.

Incidentally, I listened to the audiobook, read by Emily Woo Zeller, which was awesome. She helped convey the tongue-in-cheek way the book is written and the glee with which Roach often imparts her research.

Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen

Some stories are just so strange they have to be true - and the con artist at the core of Razor Girl is one of those; her scam involves shaving her privates while behind the wheel, "accidentally" rear-ending someone, her hiked skirt and blood droplets for effect.

This book is a return to former-detective, health officer Andrew Yancy and his endangered bit of paradise. A big-city lawyer and his high-maintenance fiance are planning a new McMansion on the lot next to Yancy's house. Things didn't go so well for the last guy that tried to build there ...

Throw into the mix a reality TV star who isn't what he seems, his beleaguered Hollywood agent, and a Florida redneck with a man-crush. Typical Hiaasen!

Truly, it's prime-form Hiaasen too, with a story that hums right along and a plot you couldn't possibly predict. Nobody does comedy-mixed-with-satire the way he does, and it seems like Florida is determined to provide fodder for these novels (we'll call that a silver lining).

The Pursuit by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

The action starts on page one, where our hero has woken up in a coffin after being kidnapped in Hawaii. And it just gets better from there.

This is the latest saga in the Fox & O'Hare novels, where international con man Nicholas Fox has teamed up with FBI phenom Kate O'Hare to help bring down some of the biggest criminals in the world.

This run, the pair are working from within a Serbian gang that wants to break into a lab and steal a deadly virus they plan to use as a terrorist threat. The scheme involves the Paris underground: tunnels, sewers, catacombs. We get a return for a bunch of popular characters and the introduction of a few new faces too.

Yes, there's sexual tension. Yes, there's even sex. Sure, it's probably a bad decision in the long run, but hell yes does it work for now!

I read it in one giant gulp on one of the hottest days of the summer. Perfect escape!

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

Mental illness isn't funny ... unless maybe when it's Jenny Lawson writing about it.

Lawson is the internet-famous The Bloggess - a profane, hilarious, honest bright spot in the world. This is her second book, and I believe it's less autobiographical and more inspirational than her first. In the first book, Lawson told about growing up, about her marriage, and about their struggle to have a family. In this one, she discusses her medical records and what the myriad diagnoses mean to her everyday life. She talks about the dark times where creating physical pain is the only way to tamp down the emotional pain. She talks about the events she cannot attend due to her extreme anxiety.

And while that sounds dark and sad, this is still Lawson's typically laugh-out-loud, snorting kind of funny, too.

She tells about experiencing Australia as an official tourism visitor - and how you can't just go around hugging koala, apparently. And boomerangs don't always come back, so it's not really stealing if you throw one from the gift shop door and it doesn't return - you're just helping to weed out the defective products.

This book is truly a rollercoaster of emotions that gets to the heart of human existence - we're all just trying to get by. But what a wonderful world it is with Jenny Lawson in it.

And here I note that I listened to the audiobook READ BY THE AUTHOR and it does not not not get any better than this. Period.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: The Interconnectedness of All Kings by Chris Ryall nad Tony Akins

Everything's related, and if you just wait a minute you'll probably see how. At least, that's what "holistic detective" Dirk Gently believes. The answers will fall right into your lap, if only you let them. Do what you want, it will all come around.

This is a new graphic novel series based on the character created by the late, great Douglas Adams. I discovered Dirk years ago after devouring the Hitchhiker's Guide books, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a new addition to the series in this graphic format.

This Dirk is a little different - leaner, younger, hipper - but that's fine because even Adams was known for contradicting himself and revising, revamping, and otherwise swapping up known characters and settings for new formats and versions.

The time-travelling ancient Egyptian part of the storyline felt a little bit like an episode of Scooby Doo to me, but overall didn't detract from my enjoyment. Other threads - the teashop owners, the murderous tourists, the homeless and their cell phones - wind around in typically absurd ways until they all merge (through interconnectedness) in the end.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

Jenny Lawson's childhood was full of questionable roadkill and home taxidermy - which fully explains how she became that kind of crazy we do so love to make "internet famous."

I've followed Lawson (The Bloggess) online for years, and I adore her. You may know her too, because her story of Beyonce the chicken is a widely distributed fable on the irrationality of arguments between spouses.

When this book was published in 2012, I immediately ordered an autographed copy and added it to my teetering, never-ending to-be-read stack. And I never got to it.

Why read it now, then? We've been looking at shaking up the book discussions at the library, and when I saw I could get my hands on a stack of this book, I jumped at the chance. Now THIS will shake things up!

Lawson's nuts, but in a hilarious, harmless way. You don't want her as a neighbor, and you truly feel for Victor, her ever-beleaguered husband. But you definitely want her in your social circle so you can hear the next chapter in the "Guess what just happened" saga.

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

by Kelly Jones

A young girl explores her new community while coming to terms with looking different than the majority of the population.  She's lucky to have a few unexpected chickens helping her bond with the local farm and 4-H interests. Unfortunately, the people in town are more than a little tight-lipped about those birds.  Some seem to want to get their hands on them, while others know exactly what makes them special, and are just holding out to see how "exceptional" the new farmer is.

This is a well-done story for upper-elementary readers.  Excitingly, it is presented in epistolary form. One of the truly fun parts is seeing a modern kid interact with greatly archaic technology.

Unabrow: Misadventures of a Late Bloomer by Una LaMarche

In this series of short, comedic essays, the author offers the advice she wishes she'd received from her mother - or the advice she's offering to youngsters after her (but not while they're still kids, because there's lots of wine guzzling and a few swear words).

Una was an awkward, pop culture-obsessed kid with an unfortunate unibrow. She eventually figures out how to navigate life and also to tame her brows, gets married, and births a son. And through it all, she maintains a wonderful sense of humor, along with the ability to poke fun at herself without becoming a joke.

I really enjoyed this, and it's a quick read with fantastic pick-up-and-put-down potential for those busy or short on attention.

Although I'll admit to being slightly scarred by the cover photo of childhood Una (I just didn't want to carry the book around with me).

I Regret Nothing by Jen Lancaster

When Jen and her friends go on a girls-getaway vacation, their forty-something "adult spring break" is way more sedate than it might have been 25 years prior. This realization spurs Jen to contemplate her life from middle age (ack!) and begin a bucket list.

I've read several of Jen's books, and since we're roughly the same age her references and remembrances usually hit close to my own. If you've read The Tao of Martha you know that Jen will go to odd and improbable ends for self-improvement (and self-sabotage), so her "bucket list" projects bring lots of laughs but also many revelations.

Jen finds a new hobby, starts a business, tries to make sense of her food habits, rides a bike, and travels among other pursuits. I always enjoy her stories, as they mix serious with absurd. She's not afraid to be the butt of the joke, and you've got to give kudos to her husband for his overall geniality. 

Drunken Fireworks by Stephen King

In the form of a police interview, local lake-shack owner Alden McCausland explains how the escalating July 4th fireworks battle between himself and the rich summer-homeowners across the water got out of hand.

Narrator Tim Sample does a marvelous job with Alden's thick, sloshed Mainer accent and his only slightly apologetic account of the rivalry. And since I live in a lake (Lake Wisconsin) community, this short story rang especially true concerning the brooding tension between the locals and the summer people. Plus, it's very funny, with lots of strong language used to express intense emotion (my very favorite kind of vulgarity).

This is the wonderful, non-scary kind of Stephen King story people often forget he writes; no vampires or monsters, just real people and the kind crazy things that actually happen in life.

*This book has been released ONLY in audiobook format.

The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith

What's worse than a cabin full of surly, tech-deprived teenaged boys forced into six weeks of rustic summer camp? Well, at age 15 Ariel has already survived a civil war, refugee encampment, and relocation. Camp can't be THAT bad.

I adore Andrew Smith's books, and this one is no exception. It's got 4 main storylines: Ariel's past, Ariel's present, an arctic exploring vessel circa 1880, and a crazy guy with a bomb. They're woven together and build toward a climax that you're never quite able to put your finger on, as a reader.

The cover is super creepy on this one - it's a black bird beak holding a bomb ... or is it an EYE watching you?! And it's filled with wonderfully unusual - and yet typically Andrew Smith - kind of characters: a suicidal pet bird, the kid who pretends he's listening to his iPod through wads of toilet paper in his ears, horny teenagers with a million euphemisms for masturbation.

And while it's very, very funny it's also quite dark, even a bit bleak. Business ethics, cloning, de-extinction, war, and more. Highly recommended.

Unicorn on a Roll by Dana Simpson

Phoebe's a slightly awkward kid, who just happens to have a real live unicorn for a best friend.

This is the second book in this awesome graphic novel series, and I can't wait for more. Phoebe's a relatable kid - she's insecure, nerdy-smart, and has a schoolmate frenemy. The unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, is vain and funny - often, the joke is on Marigold about her haughty, self-involved self.

This book's about their friendship; the pair were linked in the first book by a wish, but in this one they take their relationship beyond the obligatory stage into true emotional friendship.

Plus, we get a peek behind the "shield of boringness" into the unicorn world!

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

Can a rigidly scheduled, highly prepared genetic scientist make his marriage work with a free-thinking, spontaneous wife? And what happens to Don's carefully calculated spreadsheets when an unexpected pregnancy adds another variable to the equation?

In this sequel to The Rosie Project, Australians Don and Rosie are married and living temporarily in America to teach and study, respectively, at Columbia in New York. It's a comedy of errors as Don tries (secretly, so as not to add stress and increased cortisol levels) to learn as much as he can about babies, pregnancy, and fatherhood.

Along with the return of the first book's supporting characters, this story adds a great new bunch of friends Don accumulates in New York. He's got a guy gang with whom he regularly schedules ballgame-and-beer nights, and they become his sometimes ill-advising support network as he tries to navigate Rosie's pregnancy hormones and some unfortunate legal concerns Don's hiding from his wife.

Overall it's a mad-cap fun story, and a lovely light diversion.

I Don't Have a Happy Place: Cheerful Stories of Despondency and Gloom by Kim Korson

Kim Korson's not really depressed - she's just got a pessimistic (she'd say realistic) kind of look at the events of the world around her. In this memoir, we get a glimpse at her life as a mother and wife, but also as a daughter growing up and dating before she met Buzz.

It's funny, in a dark way. Everybody knows someone like Kim - the one with a perpetual slightly-cloudly look at life, rather than a full-out rain cloud over their head. (Some of us may even BE that person.)

And you'll enjoy her humorous anecdotes and stories as they're presented here. But it's not a gut-busting funny book, and Kim doesn't really find resolution or a message to bring the experience to a close. I felt ready-to-be-done but missed feeling a sense of completion at the book's end.

The Dark Side of the Sun by Terry Pratchett

It was long ago predicted through complicated math and probability that Dom Salabos will die on the day he takes the helm of his family's empire. Yet his assassin keeps failing. Can everything be predicted through p-math?

This is a funny, furiously fast story of space fantasy fiction. The extended theories and new worlds introduced in a rapid-fire manner have at times left me reaching for the pause-and-rewind and a second chance to absorb it all.

Also, listening to the audiobook has given me a real appreciation for the foreign languages and accents of the universe. (Although I have to admit the audiobook version of this was tough to come by and less than perfect when it arrived.)

NOTE: In honor of his recent departure from this plane of existence, I've decided to read Terry Pratchett's catalog from start to finish. Apologies in advance if you tire of this endeavor more quickly than I do.

An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor

In this installment of the lives of our favorite 1960s small-town Ireland physicians, the curmudgeonly Dr. Riley is counting down the days until his 30-years-later wedding to his college sweetheart Kitty. Also, the young Dr. Laverty woos the feisty local schoolteacher.

This is the seventh book in the series (I've been a bit out-of-order with the series lately, but I'm straightening that out now I think).

Along with the usual (and always delightful) workaday village problems the doctors help to sort out, their receptionist and housekeeper, Kinky Kincaide, suffers her own a health scare.

I probably mention this every time, but I cannot give too many props to John Keating's audiobook narration on this series. I have come to love every one of these characters like they're my own friends and neighbors!