# I Want Something Light and Amusing to Read **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [January 24, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312 "2022-01-24T15:09:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/21 "2022-01-24T19:28:09Z")
How about **Potash & Perlmutter: Their Copartnership Ventures and Adventures** by Montague Glass. It’s a book of short stories about two Jewish businessmen in the garment trade in New York in the early 1900s. I thought it was very funny. There are a number of sequels, too. > **[Potash & Perlmutter: Their Copartnership Ventures and Adventures by...](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18164)** > > Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by volunteers. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/22 "2022-01-24T19:31:22Z")
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren is a memoir by a geochemist and geobiologist. It has some science in it, but it’s also full of wild and hilarious anecdotes, especially about field trips with her students. > **[Lab Girl: Jahren, Hope: 9781101873724: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Lab-Girl-Hope-Jahren/dp/1101873728)** > > Buy Lab Girl on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/23 "2022-01-24T19:33:10Z")
How about this leaflet, “Famous Jewish Sports Legends”? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cxqjsyfbcd4/maxresdefault.jpg "Airplane - Famous Jewish Sports Legends Leaflet (TBC)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxqjsyfbcd4) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/24 "2022-01-24T19:43:15Z")
Richard Zacks _History Laid Bare: Love, Sex, and Perversity from the Ancient Etruscans to Warren G. Harding._ Perennial (February 1, 1995) ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 006092599X ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060925994 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/25 "2022-01-24T20:17:31Z")
Mostly not that dark, but sure. Okay, one book, but quite thick- _The Hounds of the Morrigan._ If you don’t mind something a little dated there are the books by Edith Nesbit- Five Children and It, etc. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/26 "2022-01-24T20:59:10Z")
If your a fan of road trips, Robert Sullivan’s meandering treatise on life on and the history of the American Road might be of interest– **Cross Country** : _Fifteen Years and 90,000 Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America with Lewis and Clark, a lot of bad motels, a moving van, Emily Post, Jack Kerouac, My Wife, My Mother-In-Law, Two Kids, And Enough Coffee To Kill An Elephant_ [Kirkus Review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/robert-sullivan/cross-country/) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/27 "2022-01-24T23:14:14Z")
Anything by Tobias Smollett. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/28 "2022-01-24T23:59:54Z")
Winterdance by Gary Paulsen. About running the Iditarod. It is howlingly funny. Which I guess is a pun. Very different is A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles. The premise:In Stalinist Russia, an aristocrat’s death sentence (for being an aristocrat) is commuted to spending the rest of his life inside the Metropole Hotel. A gentle wise book, I don’t know anyone who has read it who does not feel fondly toward it. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/29 "2022-01-25T00:31:58Z")
Some non-fiction. Not funny books, but fascinating ones that focus on really neat and wonderful aspects of humanity. _The Emerald Mile_ is one of my favorite reads ever. It’s a ramble of a discussion of the Grand Canyon, using a record-setting dory run as a sort of focal point. But the book itself wanders through science, history, and biography. It’s just delightful. Anything by Simon Winchester. _Krakatoa_ is my favorite. Science and history in equal doses. And he does such a good job reading them, if you like audio books. _The Dawn of Everything_. This one isn’t light at all, but it’s absolutely freaking amazing. And it’s about prehistory, so it doesn’t feel all heavy and relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/30 "2022-01-25T00:42:00Z")
Jimmy Breslin, The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. A 1967 or thereabouts mob comedy. What impressed me was how well-written it was, crammed with these amusing, sometimes silly details. Concerns a low level wiseguy who thinks he can take over from the old crime boss, but, well, he makes a lot of stupid errors. It’s funny, and has no Trump content. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/31 "2022-01-25T00:42:14Z")
I didn’t expect to see Georgette Heyer mentioned here, but yes, light and frothily witty. _Friday’s Child_ and _Cotillon_ are two of the lightest and most sparkling. Both are available on [archive.org](http://archive.org) if you like ebooks or want to sample. Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire series, from the 30s, is amusing too. Start with _High Rising_ or _Wild Strawberries_, both available here: [Search: fadedpage.com](https://www.fadedpage.com/csearch.php?author=Thirkell,%20Angela%20Margaret) I tried reading Terry Pratchett, based on so many positive comments here on the Dope, but couldn’t get into him. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/32 "2022-01-25T00:55:44Z")
A fantastic read: The Cheese Monkeys (Chip Kidd) > **[The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel In Two Semesters: Kidd, Chip: 9780061452482:...](https://www.amazon.com/Cheese-Monkeys-Novel-Two-Semesters/dp/0061452483)** > > The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel In Two Semesters \[Kidd, Chip\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel In Two Semesters ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/33 "2022-01-25T01:14:01Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > I didn’t expect to see Georgette Heyer mentioned here, but yes, light and frothily witty. _Friday’s Child_ and _Cotillon_ are two of the lightest and most sparkling. Excellent recommendations. I would add _Regency Buck_ (because classic Regency, with Beau Brummell as a supporting character, and a “thriller” theme, as that term was used in 1930s book talks), _Sprig Muslin_ (because of a different take on the older gent - young damsel theme), and _The Quiet Gentleman_ - a detective mystery, before there were detectives. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/34 "2022-01-25T01:46:02Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > Jimmy Breslin, The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. I second this. It’s been _decades_ since I read that book, and I still remember large parts of it because of Breslin’s inimitable way with words. Example, the mooks who kept getting killed in the gang war were described as dying “suddenly,” “very suddenly,” or, in the case of the mook who was playing around with the bomb’s remote control, “very, very suddenly.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/35 "2022-01-25T01:56:43Z")
An oldie but a goodie, [Summer of '42](https://www.amazon.com/Summer-42-Herman-Raucher/dp/1626818894/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=summer+of+42&qid=1643075569&s=books&sr=1-3), about a teenage boy’s efforts to lose his virginity. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/36 "2022-01-25T02:00:04Z")
David Brin, _The Practice Effect._ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/37 "2022-01-25T02:17:42Z")
Definitely Pratchett. If psychotic serial killers and beyond hard core drug abusers are your thing, Tim Dorsey’s “Serge” books are a hilarious look at Florida. People who should know say he captures the crazy perfectly. #25 is being released tomorrow, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/38 "2022-01-25T02:54:21Z")
I can highly recommend the Zamonia works of Walter Moers; I (of course) have been reading them out of order but most folks start at the beginning with [_ **The 131⁄2 Lives of Captain Bluebear** _](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_13%C2%BD_Lives_of_Captain_Bluebear). It has great art, too: [![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/717jsDnGdmL.jpg) ](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/717jsDnGdmL.jpg) > **[Amazon.com: 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear: 9781585678440: Moers, Walter:...](https://www.amazon.com/Lives-Captain-Bluebear-Walter-Moers/dp/1585678449)** > > Amazon.com: 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear: 9781585678440: Moers, Walter: Books ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/39 "2022-01-25T03:21:53Z")
**The Milagro Beanfield War** , by John Nichols is very funny; I think I’ve read it three times. It’s actually book one of a trilogy, but stands alone. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312/40 "2022-01-25T04:17:52Z")
_All Creatures Great and Small_ by James Herriot. It’s a lighthearted account of being a veterinarian in 1930s Britain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-something-light-and-amusing-to-read/958312.md?page=3)