Play Book Tag discussion

Well, I guess this tag was too good to resist. Have FUN everybody!!!

Yes, the tag is:

fun

Please share your reading plans and recommendations below.

Remember, for the regular monthly reads, the book can be shelved as "fun" on Goodreads, or be a book that is not yet shelved that way but you feel should be.

One way to find books to read for this tag is to please visit:

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/fun

We encourage people to link to additional lists below if they find them.

Happy Reading!!!

YAY! I'm considering my options...

I have a couple books coming up that I think will fit. Hotel Pastis: A Novel of Provence is one I am planning on to finish up my first Play Harder list. And my book group is reading Taylor Jenkins Reid next month. I am thinking I will read Malibu Rising. April should be a fun month!

I haven't anything particularly planned or in mind but I don't expect it to be a hard one at all. It's such a subject theme. Fun for me can be anything just about, and for me that's any number of genre reads: cozy mystery, historical mystery and romance, suspense, studly dogs, thrillers, and so much more.

Any of them would have been good, but I’m especially happy with this one

Wonderful! Remember that since there isn't a game based on tags. it is just up to you to determine what Fun is. For some of you it could be a book on gardening, while I think of gardening as painful!

Robin P wrote: "Wonderful! Remember that since there isn't a game based on tags. it is just up to you to determine what Fun is. For some of you it could be a book on gardening, while I think of gardening as painful!"

Excellent reminder for all. I'm at this point considering if there's a 'studly dog' thriller needing me to read it in April .... my fun reading.

I'll probably read some Regency romances - I tend to go for the "fun" ones with humor rather than those with lots of angst. And I have some humorous mysteries I won't get to this month.

Ooh, and here's something fun: John Scalzi's new book, When the Moon Hits Your Eye, comes out on audio this week, narrated by Wil Wheaton -

GR blurb:
One day soon, suddenly and without explanation, the moon as we know it is replaced with an orb of cheese with the exact same mass. Through the length of an entire lunar cycle, from new moon to a spectacular and possibly final solar eclipse, we follow multiple characters -- schoolkids and scientists, billionaires and workers, preachers and politicians -- as they confront the strange new world they live in, and the absurd, impossible moon that now hangs above all their lives.

I have something for all of these in any of them would have worked, but maybe some of you would be shocked to know that I didn’t vote for fun first or second. I went with Italy, and then shockingly, paranormal romance. Because I actually do have some stuff for that, and I thought it would give me a chance to restart book 8 of outlander. Not that I would’ve finished it in April but it would’ve been the perfect time to get that started. Especially given a cliffhanger at the end of book that didn’t quite end.

But about fun, I thought this was interesting, I knew fun would be completely subjective. I did go through my TBR last week just in case and pulled out about 10 titles and I’ll probably go with things like the good, the bad, and Aunties. Really some light reads you can’t take seriously. But when I looked at the original list, Norwegian wood was on it. Which I just started last night and decided was a little too serious for me. And that was before I even knew that the fun tag was coming. Then I picked up the borrowed life of Frederick Fife. Because that too was on the fun list, even though I knew I would finish it before April anyway, and it because it also brings me south east to Australia. But I’ll tell you I loved it, but I wouldn’t call it fun.

Had to start over due to phone. The book was actually quite beautiful and meaningful, but there’s a lot of loss in grief in it. Lots of cancer and a ton of Alzheimer’s dementia. How on earth did that land on a fun list? I sort of think it’s gonna be interesting because fun will be so subjective. I’m just gonna shoot for those books that I have that are light with ridiculous premises. Or something that I know it’s gonna be super fun for me. Like Sarah Goodman Corfino. Or Cara Bastogne Or basically anything with a ridiculous premise.

I started looking at the list and saw Harry Potter & LOTR on there, which both have some heavy elements. Also one with a lot of Fun tags is It Ends with Us, which is also tagged Abuse! So it sure is subjective.

I'm going to read A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd, which will also help me with one of my Play Harder prompts. And that's definitely a FUN thing to do!

Yeah! I’m reading two serious NF books right now, so I am really going to be ready for some FUN soon. Was there a “fun” prompt in ATY or Popsugar in recent years? I haven’t found a good listopia yet, and there isn’t a list of new releases or “most read this week” for this tag.

Subjective is right. I’ve read a lot on this list already, and some are deepressing! I’m looking for some newer books from a variety of genres. I’ll have to explore a little.

In the meantime, I really liked these, and I’ll continue these series or look for more by these authors.

Recommendations:
Murderbot - All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Thursday Next - The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words by Tara Sivec
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend - a little like Harry Potter
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Possibilities I own. (Opinions???)
Margo's Got Money Troubles
The Big Finish
Life and Other Inconveniences
The Magician's Elephant
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Sexing the Cherry
She's Up to No Good
Beautyland
Queens of London
The Outlaw Noble Salt
Penelope in Retrograde
Goodbye, Vitamin
Venomous Lumpsucker

Also
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
How to Age Disgracefully
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto
The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers

I have a couple of thoughts and Nancy on your list…

Did not get into Margo and stopped it on audio at about 20% . But that may have just been my mood. She’s up to no good is the author. I mentioned Sarah Goodman, Corfino! I loved it! And I ordered another one of hers from the library…. And Queens of London is actually on my list, but not my list for this month particularly…. C

Amy wrote: "I have a couple of thoughts and Nancy on your list…

Did not get into Margo and stopped it on audio at about 20% . But that may have just been my mood. She’s up to no good is the author. I mentione..."

Yes I thought so. Was Penelope Retrograde one of yours too? I remember reading a review. Someone wrote a great review of Frankie Presto too.

That’s funny. I also started and abandoned Margo, but it was definitely mood related, so I thought I’d try again since I own it.

I really loved Penelope in Retrograde ~ But its the perfect Thanksgiving book, so I would save it for that.

I had a hunch fun would win, so I made a "fun" shelf with some fairly recent reads and well remembered fun reads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

I would love to see what others consider fun reads.

My possibilities are:
Tartufo
Beartown
Anxious People
All Systems Red
Circe
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
The Last Devil to Die-Thursday murder club
Legends & Lattes
Just One Damned Thing After Another
A Visit from the Goon Squad
Cold Comfort Farm

Booknblues wrote: "I had a hunch fun would win, so I made a "fun" shelf with some fairly recent reads and well remembered fun reads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list......"

Go with Just One Damned Thing After Another, I know you will enjoy it.

Booknblues wrote: "I had a hunch fun would win, so I made a "fun" shelf with some fairly recent reads and well remembered fun reads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list......"

All Systems Red, Legends & Lattes, and Tartufo get my vote for you BnB

This calls for a dose of WilliamShakespeare's Star Wars
William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope
For these audiobook format is pretty much a must.

I've got some really silly "smut" books that I may try to read one of these:

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com
That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf

I love the Chet & Bernie mystery series by Spencer Quinn ... the first one is Dog on It.

I'm thinking I may finally get to The Guncle

I can confirm The Guncle was fun! I laughed all the way through.

Sushicat wrote: "This calls for a dose of WilliamShakespeare's Star Wars
William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope
For these audiobook format is pretty much a must."

Have you heard of the Star Wars short story collections? 40 different authors wrote stories from the point of view of supporting characters. My library has it in audio.
Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View

I think I will go back to the Discworld and read some more Terry Pratchett.

I don't use this tag but a few titles came to mind when I thought about it:

Soulless

Lovers at the Museum - a short story

Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth - a middle grade children's book that made me laugh

The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep - fun for a book nerd

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

Theresa wrote: "All Systems Red, Legends & Lattes, and Tartufo get my vote for you BnB..."

They are all books on my tbr that I really want to read. Tartufo is the one I plan to read first as it was a preorder and I've loved her other books. This one goes in a new direction from those and I can't wait to see what she is doing. I'd recommend Hollow Kingdom, the first in the duology as a fun read.

Joanne wrote: "Go with Just One Damned Thing After Another, I know you will enjoy it..."

I've had this on my tbr for years and keep thinking< I will read it soon. I even had it on my Trim list and that month, I failed.

K J Parker is one of my go to authors for a fun ride. I've read most of his books written under this pen name, not so much those written as Tom Holt.
My first April target is Saevus Corax Captures the Castle, and I challenge anyone to read the first page and just stop there. You will want to know more about this guy who claims he has killed only about 87 people, so far.
Actually, I would recommend starting with the first book in the series: Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead since it is the first one to feature the lead character.

I think I'm going with Solutions and Other Problems. I must have bought the book after reading Hyperbole and a Half & Solutions and Other Problems By Allie Brosh 2 Books Collection Set, and then I never actually read it. But it's definitely taking up room in my apartment and it looks FUN!!

Book Concierge wrote: "I love the Chet & Bernie mystery series by Spencer Quinn ... the first one is Dog on It.

Chet and Bernie are always fun!

Booknblues wrote: "I had a hunch fun would win, so I made a "fun" shelf with some fairly recent reads and well remembered fun reads:

I absolutely loved Beartown, but it wasn’t at all what I would have termed a light, fun read. The series is packed with serious topics and feels that get you right in the gut. I do think you would enjoy it, though.

Now, Lamb, on the other hand was absolutely hilarious. Many people find it completely blasphemous, but I think God has a sense of humor. I consider myself quite religious, and that book had me in stitches.

The timing is perfect because I just got off the holds list for Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV. Since I think watching reality tv is fun it fits great.

Broad tags like this are hard for me. Should I just read sports?

I think I will create for myself a fun monthly challenge. I'll start at the smallest page books on my TBR and see how many I knock off.

NancyJ wrote: "Yeah! I’m reading two serious NF books right now, so I am really going to be ready for some FUN soon. Was there a “fun” prompt in ATY or Popsugar in recent years? I haven’t found a good listopia ye..."

I have had Eyre Affair on my shelf for years! That’s a great thought.

I concur with your Christina Lauren suggestion. I listened to the audio for The Soulmate Equation a couple years ago. I am trying to do the added Goodreads Challenges (aside from just finishing a certain number of books). One of them is romance, and they have The Soulmate Equation’s next book, The True Love Experiment, on the list you can choose from. I just finished that on audio this morning, and it was delightful. My library has all of her books on audio, and I definitely plan to work my way through them.

My plans are:
A.J. Jacobs’s The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning

Emily Henry’s Happy Place

Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair

I don’t read a lot of fun, humorous type books, other than listening to lots of romance novels as a break from my work stuff. Sometimes, the sheer silliness of a Sophie Kinsella novel is exactly what I need.

Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series, which begins with Fourth Wing, have been a lot of fun for me and are great on audio. They have dramatized, ensemble cast versions, but I’ve just listened to the regular audiobooks.

Heather Fawcett’s whimsical series that begins with Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries are great audios that I’ve enjoyed immensely. (I should get to the third one this month or next)

I am the exception on Fourth Wing. I found it a slog. But as far as dragons go, the Temeraire series that starts with His Majesty's Dragon I found great fun.

You are not a lone Robin, Fourth Wing was a DNF for me.

Robin P wrote: "I am the exception on Fourth Wing. I found it a slog. But as far as dragons go, the Temeraire series that starts with His Majesty's Dragon I found great fun."

That does look like fun! I have never been much of a fantasy reader of any kind, but over the years I’ve read a few for PBT tags or based on members’ reviews. His Majesty's Dragon reminds me of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, with its Napoleonic setting and magical focus. That is another one I listened to on audio. I found it outstanding, but when a bunch of us read it, it, too, was hit or miss for the group.

I read the Fourth Wing books because I read a series of Rebecca Yarros’s contemporary romance about army helicopter pilots. They were really quite good. Some great-nieces were doing Fourth Wing, so I joined them. If you read both series, it shows her breadth as a writer. My nieces suggested the book to me because the main female character and I both have the same general syndrome. I had never read a book before with a character like me, so I was probably predisposed to love her. I do, however, always love how books that some people absolutely rhapsodize about are complete misses for others.

As I’ve said, I think of fun as completely preposterous circumstances, or situations, and of completely light reading. That is why I’m going with The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties. (Aunties, #4) And maybe a couple of other ideas that begin with an absolutely ridiculous premise. Other than that, maybe fun is just whatever turns you on. I absolutely think Jason should go with sports for fun.

As I said, I didn’t vote for it . But I do appreciate as a palate cleanser, the occasional thriller or preposterous scenario to break up my heavier reading, which is my historical fiction and World War II. Sometimes we can all just have a thing or two that doesn’t grow us, or give us more compassion and insight, but merely just gives us a good laugh. It’s Vera Wong Time. Or whatever your thing is. Something magic or fairytale perhaps.

I am planning on reading:
- Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
- The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain: The Immersive and Brilliant Historical Guide to Regency Britain
- Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales

I can recommend:
Less Is Lost
Our Hearts Were Young and Gay: An Unforgettable Comic Chronicle of Innocents Abroad in the 1920s
Skios
My Family and Other Animals
The Princess Bride
A Year in Provence
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters

I'm reading a book with a heavier theme right now, so when I'm done I'm looking forward to reading lighter fun stuff. I think I'll go for:
Iron Flame - and -
Island of the Sequined Love Nun

I've recently added a few to those I might read, either because they are things I consider fun or I thought the titles were fun:

Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation
Dude, Where's My Walking Stick?: What not to do on the Te Araroa!
Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World
See You in the Piazza: New Places to Discover in Italy
Aunty Lee's Delights
Ukulele of Death

Aunty Lee's Delights is delightful and definitely FUN!

I was just looking at other books that might be fun, and found these two:
Miss Benson's Beetle
Welcome to Glorious Tuga

Jason wrote: "Broad tags like this are hard for me. ..."

That's why I tend not to like the broad tags as much. Usually I just have so many that could fit. But hopefully whatever I choose does happen to be fun! :-)

Hmmm....this is broad. Well, I think any romance novel I read is fun, so I am sure I will not have a shortage of options!

Joy - you will LOVE Miss Benson's Beetle. Its Quirky! I think that one will be a hit!

Joy D wrote: "I was just looking at other books that might be fun, and found these two:
Miss Benson's Beetle
Welcome to Glorious Tuga"

Those sound good to me too.

I also found an unexpected NF choice, with 19 fun tags:
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet, by John Green. I read parts of it last year (in between challenge books) and it seems like a nice easy mix. Good for bedtime listening,

I just remembered that I have never read P.G. Wodehouse - surely the Jeeves books will be fun! If I can find it, I'm starting with:
My Man Jeeves

Joy D wrote: "I just remembered that I have never read P.G. Wodehouse - surely the Jeeves books will be fun! If I can find it, I'm starting with:
My Man Jeeves"

I am almost done with the series, and they all surpassed my expectations. I envy you for the sense of freshness and discovery that awaits.

I also have a technical question about the April tag: I am just now writing a review for a book that was good fun and I would like to include : Ella Enchanted, but can't wait for the end of March, I am more than 10 books behind in my reviews.
Does it matter is the date finished is before the official start of April?

Algernon (Darth Anyan) wrote: "Joy D wrote: "I just remembered that I have never read P.G. Wodehouse - surely the Jeeves books will be fun! If I can find it, I'm starting with:
My Man Jeeves"

I am almost done with..."

Everything we do here is on an honor system. There are no PBT police. Officially only books read within the month should be posted in that month's discussion folder. Those books will be added to the group bookshelf for that tag. You can still post your review for that book in the 2025 Other Books folder. You'll get participation points for posting.