I’ve had a lot of fun reading the Master and the Margarita. It’s much more fun if you know a bit about the political climate in former USSR and if you like absurd and darker humour
slodojo on
Project Hail Mary.
fejobelo on
My favorites are: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde is also a lot of fun. If you are into darker humor, Catch-22 or Slaughter House Five. And if you like absurdity, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass or The Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco are good choices. Hope this helps.
therealjerrystaute on
Okay, it’s a pretty old book now, but back when I read it, I considered it the most fun sci fi I ever read (and I’ve read at least 1000 sci fi and fantasy books): Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson.
Romofan1973 on
If you like classics, Voltaire’s Candide is a must-read. Hilarious yet thoughtful.
3kota on
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley was super fun start to finish.
elphring on
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. A tale of an ancient China that never was. It’s a super fun adventure book, with lots of funniness, too!
Bourbon_bonanza on
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
H0wSw33tItIs on
City of Thieves.
mintbrownie on
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt – western with a very contemporary feel
She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper – a lot of edge, but reads like a great action-crime movie
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (actually The Family Fang by Wilson is also fun) – a couple of kids who spontaneously catch on fire
The Hike by Drew Magary – super crazy, indescribable book – one of the MCs is a potty-mouthed talking crab named Crab
The Spellman series by Lisa Lutz – a dysfunctional family of private investigators
actualchristmastree on
This made me realize I do not read fun books lmao
dariusvoldar on
Kings of the Wyld
TheBrittca on
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Full_Cod_539 on
Good Omens (Gaiman/Pratchett)
Ninswitchian on
I loved the inheritance games series.
diyaeliza on
Three Men in a Boat
pygmeedancer on
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff
thebrendawalsh on
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia!
ColdRolledSteel714 on
The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore. Most of his books are fun to read.
> Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.
> But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.
>Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.
>Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place.
>Charlie’s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.
>Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.
>But becoming a supervillain isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.
>It’s up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.
Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore is hilarious and very quick paced. Has adventure, friendship, and vampires!
music_is_my_name on
I liked the “Odd Thomas” series by Dean Koontz.
ExoticReplacement163 on
Cugel’s saga by Jack Vance, he’s an anti-hero, it’s a vibrant world and the word play is brilliant.
Hail__Reaper on
Magic 2.0 series is very fun. Off to be the Wizard is the first one
ragnarokdreams on
Carl Hiassen, a little dated but the characters are lots of fun
BeardedManGuy on
Tailchasers Song
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
bronzelily on
The Southern Bookclub’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. It’s very entertaining!
anonbookslut on
Ten Thousand Doors of January
MelpomeneLee on
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner!!! I had such a blast with the whole series, but The Thief is probably the closest to what you’re looking for.
vanchica on
Anything written by Carl Hiassen, insanity
dumptruckulent on
A Gentleman in Moscow
driver8amy on
Ready Player One
KYazut on
Murderbot
Brunette3030 on
Hitchhiker’s Guide, anything by P.G. Wodehouse, or Edgar Rice Burroughs if you want some old-fashioned adventure.
UnlikelyAssociation on
Princess Bride!
dwarfedshadow on
A Wizard’s Guide To Defensive Baking by T.Kingfisher. I listened to it twice in less than 4 days.
QueenCityBean on
VE Schwab has really fun fantasy books! I loved the Shades of Magic series and I’m currently reading the Villains Duology. She really holds the reader’s interest without getting too dense.
Connect_Office8072 on
Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris.
gas_station_latte on
One that I read recently… it’s horror, but it’s fun… was Horrorstör. It looks like an IKEA catalog and mixes horror with making fun of IKEA and big box stores. It gets gruesome at the end but somehow always sneaks in some tongue-in-cheek snark. It’s a great quick/light read for this time of year.
KysChai on
All Systems Red by Martha Wells – depressed, autistic robot fed up with humans fails to be murderous killing machine, instead becomes a soap opera’s biggest fan
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett – depressed city guard fails to drink himself to death, instead must save the city from a rampaging dragon
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree – retired adventurer decides to run a coffee shop in a small town that thinks ‘coffee’ is an interesting type of beetle
Altril2010 on
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinnamin
The Deed of Paskenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
All of these are series and have entertained me at different parts of my lives.
PercentageCertain347 on
Phantom tollbooth – it’s fulla cute word play and such
48 Comments
The Thursday Murder Club. It’s a hoot!
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
I’ve had a lot of fun reading the Master and the Margarita. It’s much more fun if you know a bit about the political climate in former USSR and if you like absurd and darker humour
Project Hail Mary.
My favorites are: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde is also a lot of fun. If you are into darker humor, Catch-22 or Slaughter House Five. And if you like absurdity, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass or The Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco are good choices. Hope this helps.
Okay, it’s a pretty old book now, but back when I read it, I considered it the most fun sci fi I ever read (and I’ve read at least 1000 sci fi and fantasy books): Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson.
If you like classics, Voltaire’s Candide is a must-read. Hilarious yet thoughtful.
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley was super fun start to finish.
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. A tale of an ancient China that never was. It’s a super fun adventure book, with lots of funniness, too!
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
City of Thieves.
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt – western with a very contemporary feel
She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper – a lot of edge, but reads like a great action-crime movie
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (actually The Family Fang by Wilson is also fun) – a couple of kids who spontaneously catch on fire
The Hike by Drew Magary – super crazy, indescribable book – one of the MCs is a potty-mouthed talking crab named Crab
The Spellman series by Lisa Lutz – a dysfunctional family of private investigators
This made me realize I do not read fun books lmao
Kings of the Wyld
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Good Omens (Gaiman/Pratchett)
I loved the inheritance games series.
Three Men in a Boat
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia!
The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore. Most of his books are fun to read.
Red rising series
[The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61294937) by Shannon Chakraborty:
> Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.
> But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.
>Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.
Also, just out, and my choice for the best cover of 2023, [Starter Villain](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61885029) by John Scalzi:
>Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place.
>Charlie’s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.
>Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.
>But becoming a supervillain isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.
>It’s up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.
>In a dog-eat-dog world…be a cat.
If you like Starter Villain, Scalzi’s other recent book, [The Kaiju Preservation Society](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693406), might be up your alley.
For me Candide by Voltaire
Confederacy of Dunces by Patrick Kennedy Toole
All Systems Red is a good time.
Guards, Guards! Is also a good tinet
Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore is hilarious and very quick paced. Has adventure, friendship, and vampires!
I liked the “Odd Thomas” series by Dean Koontz.
Cugel’s saga by Jack Vance, he’s an anti-hero, it’s a vibrant world and the word play is brilliant.
Magic 2.0 series is very fun. Off to be the Wizard is the first one
Carl Hiassen, a little dated but the characters are lots of fun
Tailchasers Song
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
The Southern Bookclub’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. It’s very entertaining!
Ten Thousand Doors of January
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner!!! I had such a blast with the whole series, but The Thief is probably the closest to what you’re looking for.
Anything written by Carl Hiassen, insanity
A Gentleman in Moscow
Ready Player One
Murderbot
Hitchhiker’s Guide, anything by P.G. Wodehouse, or Edgar Rice Burroughs if you want some old-fashioned adventure.
Princess Bride!
A Wizard’s Guide To Defensive Baking by T.Kingfisher. I listened to it twice in less than 4 days.
VE Schwab has really fun fantasy books! I loved the Shades of Magic series and I’m currently reading the Villains Duology. She really holds the reader’s interest without getting too dense.
Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris.
One that I read recently… it’s horror, but it’s fun… was Horrorstör. It looks like an IKEA catalog and mixes horror with making fun of IKEA and big box stores. It gets gruesome at the end but somehow always sneaks in some tongue-in-cheek snark. It’s a great quick/light read for this time of year.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells – depressed, autistic robot fed up with humans fails to be murderous killing machine, instead becomes a soap opera’s biggest fan
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett – depressed city guard fails to drink himself to death, instead must save the city from a rampaging dragon
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree – retired adventurer decides to run a coffee shop in a small town that thinks ‘coffee’ is an interesting type of beetle
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinnamin
The Deed of Paskenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
All of these are series and have entertained me at different parts of my lives.
Phantom tollbooth – it’s fulla cute word play and such