readers advisory for all discussion

Even though there are many (many) choices on my to-read shelf, none of them are catching my fancy right now. These are dark days in the world, and I've been reading some pretty dark, sad stuff - so I need a mood-lightener.

I'm looking for something funny, or at least amusing, but not frivolous, vapid or trite (I like black or sardonic humour best, but nothing mean-spirited - think Vonnegut). There still needs to be some conflict and tension in it - either characters or plot-wise.

I like realistic psychologies but not necessarily realistic settings. I like historical fiction, but that's feeling a little too "heavy" for me right now. Dystopias are definitely out.

Is there such a thing as a literary mystery / detective story? Something like a sardonic, funny who-dun-it, but with character development? That might suit me.

I want to be swept up into a fictional world where I can forget the sad realities of this one for a while. Something epic, with lots of characters spread out over time would be fine as long as it was engaging and the story moved along well. I'm thinking here kind of Middlesex-ish or The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier & Klay-ish.

In terms of pacing, I need to be able to read it in small chunks before bed or on the subway, which is all the time I have, but not lose the flow. I don't tend to read a lot of dialogue-heavy books - my tastes veer toward more literary fiction: description-heavy and atmospheric. But maybe that's part of the problem. Maybe I need a break from this style.

I want a happy ending. Not hearts-and-flowers, head-in-the-sand happy, but I'd like to feel, at the end, that things worked out well. That everybody is going to be ok. That some kind of problem was solved, or evolution achieved. Something hopeful or optimistic or both.

Nothing saccharine. Nothing chick-lit. Nothing too domestic. Nothing cliched or predictable. No brutality or heart-wrenching sadness.

Something real but not too real. Light-hearted but with depth. Funny but not silly. Happy but not sappy.

Thank you in advance for your readerly advice.

Signed,
Goldilocks

Freddy and Fredericka might work.

It's a little YA but Nation. It's by Terry Pratchett, but it is not a Discworld book. It is fantasy, but more alternate history.

two suggestions (for now):

this one is not terribly funny, but there are some good wry moments: Fingersmith. definitely character development, definitely atmospheric, it is historical (victorian), definitely epic: it is split-narrative between three characters, one or more of which may be unreliable. it is tricksy and enjoyable convoluted, and i didn't find it predictable at all. because the narrators change, it should be easy to read in chunks, even though it is literary fiction, and so densely written. however, it is the kind of dense writing that pulls you in and makes you want to never put it down (this is also how i felt about middlesex, which was a book that really surprised me)but the book is about con artists, so it is crime fiction/mystery genre, but just wonderfully written.

the other suggestion is more obviously comical:An Evening of Long Goodbyes: A Novel . this is about an irishman who longs to live a life of luxury and leisure, in the "idle gentleman" manner, but the financial realities keep getting in the way. the humor is very much in the wodehouse style, and can be a little madcap, but i thought it was a great read. pacing is very quick, and it can definitely be put down for intervals without losing the flow of the novel.

i will think of more, probably

oooooh yesssssssss

You might enjoy The Intuitionist. I found it humorous, but definitely not in a light, surface-y way. The humor is more submerged and sardonic. It's also a mystery that is character-driven. I would say the ending is optimistic.

The main character is the first African-American female inspector for the Department of Elevator Inspection.* The city and time is never mentioned but I think you can tell it's supposed to be New York in the 60's. It deals with the subject of racism and gender politics, but I found it to be a surprisingly fun read.

*This cursory description doesn't really do it justice. A large part of the humor for me is how the author builds an entire world around this seemingly obscure part of modern society. For instance, the title comes from the fact that there are two different schools of thought in regard to elevator inspection: The Empiricists, who inspect each individual part of the elevator; and The Intuitionists, who take a more holistic approach.

This is AMAZING! Just reading the blurbs of these has already lifted my mood. :-)

Chris - with further input from Ko, I'm going to try my first Helprin thanks to you - I'm going with Memoir from Antproof Case.

Karen - both of those look really appealing (hey, you're good at this! hehe). In thinking about what I wanted to read, I was thinking of what I would re-read: Dickens and Wilde both came to mind. But I'd rather something contemporary. I'm loving both of these suggestions.

Tommy - A Visit from the Goon Squad is very high on my to-read list! I loved Look At Me, and also have The Keep on my to-read shelf. I will get to all of these soon. It will depend what's available first or at all in my library.

Dave - that one ALSO sounds fantastic; I love the absurdity of the premise. Elevator inspection? That's got the right twist of quirky weirdness that I like -- and I didn't even say that in my request.

What an great experience this is.

Karen - just by way of additional info, maybe this matters to you, maybe not - but I'm generally pretty confident and very picky about what I read. I hadn't submitted a request until now, because until now, I've known what I want to read next. These suggestions - based on my incoherent rambling request - are SPOT ON. I am not kidding you. Each and every one of these is going on my list, and they are all more appealing to me right now than anything else on there. I can't wait to read them (a few of them, anyway) and will report back once I do.

Oh, and don't let this stop ongoing suggestions, whoever wants to add.......

oh, man - i am glowing right now! this is really dear to my heart, so i am thrilled that people are contributing and having fun etc...

i'm sure i will return to this thread for you.

additional suggestions:

Skippy Dies - actually the same author as An Evening of Long Goodbyes. Funny/sad story about a boys boarding school. large cast, lots of humor but a serious treatment of the angst of transitioning to adulthood (and dealing with encroaching middle age), shades of david foster wallace, and even though it is 600 pages it is a fun and fairly speedy read.

A Fraction of the Whole - i admit i haven't gotten to this one yet but it sounds like just the thing: a comic novel tracing the crazy history of a family of social misfit outlaws in australia.

Shantaram might fit the bill. It is literary but has a fair amount of plot. Not comic per se, but has its share of light and funny bits. The later parts mightt lean a little too much on the "heavy" side, but the first two thirds or so do not. Lots of characters and an offbeat approach to the setting.

Two of the three books that I tend to recommend to most everyone fit loosely into the original poster's matrix. The Clan of the Cave Bear may be too historic [or prehistoric] but is character heavy, light [though not funny], and a good mix of long and epic but easy to digest in small pieces. Some of the same might be said of the less epic [and with fewer characters] but still literary-but-light The Monkey Wrench Gang.

Neil Gaiman to me sounds like what you're looking for.
Neverwhere or American Gods should fit the bill.

Hi! Joel - both of those have gone on my to-read list - thank you. In fact, I had commented about a year ago to a friend, who was reading A Fraction of the Whole, that it looked good. So those two recs seem well-aligned.

Brian - Unfortunately, I have tried Shantaram and had to give it up. The crucifiction of the mouse and graphic wallowing in cholera did me in. :-)

I've read The Clan of the Cave Bear ages ago - I'm not sure what I'd think of it now.

I'm putting The Monkey Wrench Gang on the list for sure, though.

Nick - heard of, but never tried, Neil Gaiman. Any particular reason you recommended him?

i enthusiastically endorse The Monkey Wrench Gang and The Keep. i take you have read The Yiddish Policemen Union. if not, it seems absolutely perfect for your description. and it's fantastic.

I see that Chris mentioned Terry Pratchett above - I haven't read Nation specifically, but I would definitely recommend Terry Pratchett. The Discworld books are great, funny and smart without, I think, being too silly. If you haven't read Good Omens, it might be good for your purposes. It's about the apocalypse, but it's very funny and generally pretty hopeful.

Jasper Fforde might also be a good bet, especially since you seem to be interested in mysteries. He has two series that are clever and light. One, beginning with The Eyre Affair, follows Thursday Next, a literary detective. Lots of fun stuff about books. The other, beginning with The Big Over Easy (I think), is also pretty bookish but focuses on nursery rhyme characters.

For mysteries, I'd also suggest Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce books. Flavia is a very interesting young girl with lots of opinions who finds herself investigating mysteries around her home.

And finally, China Mieville. Perdido Street Station has epic, atmospheric, and interesting characters, but it might be a bit darker than you want right now. Kraken is also pretty epic, with tons of fascinating characters, along with mystery and adventure, plus it's terribly witty and not as dark as some of his other work.

so many choices!!!

jo, big thumbs up on The Yiddish Policeman's Union--I have not read it yet; great suggestion.

Christy, I'm also going to put Good Omens and The Eyre Affair on the list. The rest look intriguing but have to wait for my mood to shift, I think. I take it the Flavia de Luce series is YA? I tend not to read much of that.

I'm off to the bookstore today - I'll report in on what I get. Thank you, everyone!

Good Omens, is as the cover of my edition points out, a cross of Monty Python and the End times. Jasper Fforde is good too, I'll second that recommendation.

You might also want to check out The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear

Despite the young protagonist, the Flavia de Luce series isn't actually YA.

I had forgotten about the mouse.

I have had some success! Lo, the to-read bookshelf (literally). War & Peace and Between The Assassinations have been sitting on it awhile. The Erdrich The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse was an earlier rec that intrigued me (thanks, jo!). If any of your recommendations aren't there, it's only because either they weren't in stock or they would have put me over my $100 limit. :-D



I'm going to start with .................












The Intuitionist.

did you get all these books for less then $100??? wow.

i am all choked up...

Me, too. She chose mine first. I hope it pleases.

Also, I've been meaning to add in re to the thread title: twss.

j - I had coupons!(6/8 - I already had W&P and BTA)
k - *hands tissue*
D (upper-case for you) - you win! twss indeed.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define...

Did I use it incorrectly? I was just happy *someone* noticed my double entendre. That's what we used to call it, anyway, back in the day. :-p

oh. i get it. moron me. really good, jakaem, and good to dave for spotting it!

(i posted the link bc i had to look twss up. once i did that, having entirely missed the double entendre, i proceeded to instruct this jolly crowd, succeeding only in embarrassing myself.)

hah! I had to look it up too!
*sheepish grin*

hey, this is weird: I share a surname with the main character in The Intuitionist, which I did not know before selecting it as the book I'd start with.

It seems like an added piece of synchronicity boding well for the reader's advisory rec and my choice of it. :-)

you did not love fingersmith.

i did bad RA work...

au contraire! I thought it "a fun romp and a good diversion." 3.5 stars!! That's very good. And more than that, a fun rompy diversion was EXACTLY what I asked for.

Good RA, good!

I couldn't go up to 4 coz it just didn't have the "weight" of a 4, y'know?

I need to go update my chart.....

What a Carve Up! is a literary mystery, which I am not personally so excited about but Karen, and nick hornby, and the rest of the world is super excited about.

Still Life with Woodpecker is a really great smart beach read kind of a book. robbins is nice cause there is stuff to think about, but there is also a really fun plot, and it's nothing heavy that weighs on you like kundera and those guys. I think on the book it says it's the kind of romance that happens in a camel pack, and I really think that's the best description of the book.

I would say on the China Miéville he is super fun, but I think he is a bit heavy, he tends to get dense and confusing periodically.

Hi, Jasmine!

Robbins is one of my faves and I've read just about everything, I think. My fave is Jitterbug Perfume, and you are totally hitting the nail on the head on how well he fits with the original request. China Mieville is another who's been on my list forever - just haven't quite got around to him yet.

I'm getting to the end of the original set of books I bought based on everyone's recommendations. And my book reading mood is also shifting -- so, score one for RA overall and all the wonderful suggestions I received (regardless of how I rated them!).

did you try any others from this list?

Sure have! Of the recommendations made, I've read:

The Yiddish Policemen's Union - 5
Good Omens - 4
Fingersmith -- 3.5
An Evening of Long Goodbyes - 2 (sorry!)
The Intuitionist - 2 (sorry!)
The Keep - 4
Memoir from Antproof Case - 3.5
Skippy Dies - 5

And I started, but abandoned, The Monkey Wrench Gang - that one didn't grab me for some reason.

Not too bad, huh?

oh wait ... The Keep was my own recommendation to myself. Well, I really enjoyed it. :-p

Jennifer (aka EM) wrote: "oh wait ... The Keep was my own recommendation to myself. Well, I really enjoyed it. :-p"

that happens to me all the time.

ooo you read my suggestion! yay! you liked it! yay!

i will go check your ratings later, but i am glad you read so many! whee!

I have added them, Karen! (I was being lazy last night)

Joel - I put A Fraction of the Whole on my to-read list, but haven't got to it yet - have you?

awww - thank you! now i can be lazy!

not yet... i've read almost exclusively genre fiction this year, so my other to-read lists have been moldering. it is still on my radar.