Hey, that reminds me: The Johannes Cabal novels are all good fun. Start with Johannes Cabal, Necromancer.
Two on the new adult/romance side of things that I’d suggest:
The Flatshare and The Switch both by Beth O’Leary. They’re standalone novels, not connected. I do not recommend The Road Trip, also by her.
Though these are light romance centered books, they each both have serious topics at points in them.
There’s always the Flashman series…
Good history, light reading, and very, very funny.
Chapter 1
Hughes got it wrong, in one important detail. You will have read, in Tom Brown, how I was expelled from Rugby School for drunkenness, which is true enough, but when Hughes alleges that this was the result of my deliberately pouring beer on top of gin-punch, he is in error. I knew better than to mix my drinks, even at seventeen.
I mention this, not in self-defence, but in the interests of strict truth. This story will be completely truthful; I am breaking the habit of eighty years. Why shouldn’t I? When a man is as old as I am, and knows himself thoroughly for what he was and is, he doesn’t care much.
I’m not ashamed, you see; never was – and I have enough on what Society would consider the credit side of the ledger – a knighthood, a Victoria Cross, high rank, and some popular fame. So I can look at the picture above my desk, of the young officer in Cardigan’s Hussars; tall, masterful, and roughly handsome I was in those days (even Hughes allowed that I was big and strong, and had considerable powers of being pleasant), and say that it is the portrait of a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief, a coward - and, oh yes, a toady.
Hughes said more or less all these things, and his description was pretty fair, except in matters of detail such as the one I’ve mentioned. But he was more concerned to preach a sermon than to give facts.
But I am concerned with facts, and since many of them are discreditable to me, you can rest assured they are true.
Excellent suggestion! I bought Lamb - The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal the same day I bought Me Write Book: It Bigfoot Memoir. Apparently, at that time in my life, I was in dire need of comedy. I bought a third book that day,…
No Touch Monkey! (And other travel lessons learned too late) by Ayun Halliday.
Yes, and the several sequels.
Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday are mostly lighthearted.
Excellent choice!
Yes, and always a few grins, although not humor books by any means.
Flashman is funny, but very un PC. The “woke” would probably consider those books racist, mainly because Flashman embodies the arrogance of 19th century aristocratic Britain towards other cultures.
For a recent gem of a children’s book, I highly recommend Sal and Gabi Break the Universe. It’s a middle-grade novel that’s among the funnier things I’ve ever read, about a kid at a Miami arts-magnet middle school, and his mami is dead, and he does stage magic, and he also can manipulate dimensional portals and people. So, so good.
Wooosh! 
I like the humor in Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe mysteries. The cases he investigates may be serious, but Marlowe is a wiseass gumshoe with great dialogue.
“The muzzle of the Luger looked like the mouth of the Second Street tunnel, but I didn’t move. Not being bullet proof is an idea I had had to get used to.”
“It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in.”
“The smart thing for me to do was to take another drink and forget the whole mess. That being the obviously smart thing to do, I called Eddie Mars and told him I was coming down to Las Olindas that evening to talk to him. That was how smart I was.”
“I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings.”
Oh, so you were purposely recommending something not light and amusing?
how could i be so blind
The Spellman series by Lisa Lutz.
Thirding, or more. (Well, except for Color of Magic; unless you’re up on enough old science fiction and fantasy to catch most of the in-jokes.)
Light and amusing – with an undercurrent of fury, all about the right things.
Good children’s literature isn’t “below” adult level; it’s a skill all on its own, and is definitely worth being also read by adults.
Nope, it is not. And you might like Vimes’ struggles with the Disorganizer.
These, and old mystery stories in general, for me benefit also from having become accidental historical novels, written from the inside. Modern historical novels are written by people living more or less now – but old books are just set in that time when it was daily life for the author.
That can have its downsides, of course.
– there are a lot of interesting suggestions in this thread; I should take notes before my next library trip. Which already has Dawn of Everything on it.
Absolutely right, except that it generally is “below” adult level in terms of reading difficulty, vocabulary, etc.
And of course not all children’s literature is “light and amusing to read.” A lot of it is, but some kids’ books do get fairly dark and emotionally heavy.
Still, I know what you mean, and I too sometimes turn to kids books (either favorites from my own childhood, or newer releases) when I want “a wonderful restful experience for the brain.” The Freddy The Pig books by Walter Brooks, for example, still work for me.
Mary Roach. Non-fiction. Has about 7-8 books. Question-and-answer, sciencey “What happens when _________ ?”-type format, with a humorous bent. Each book covers a different topic, and their titles pretty much tell you what you’re getting, e.g.:
“Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife”
“Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law”
“Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void”
Light and amusing? Got it.
The Yattering And Jack by Clive Barker. It’s a Clive Barker short story comedy.
A demon is sent to torment a man. The man decides to just ignore the demon, and about drives the demon insane, and eventually one-ups the demon.
I intentionally left the description vague to not spoil any laughs.
You might want to turn to Chick Lit. Female authors with a funny bone. There characters live in the real world, but there’s a ton of humor. I recommend Marian Keyes.
I’m also a big fan of Discworld (Terry Pratchett) though I tend to prefer the ones that don’t involve the Unseen University. My fave is Going Postal, but you should probably read a couple of earlier books first so you can do a good job of following who is whom.
Very yes to young adult books. Try Robin McKinley. Or try the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. The latter are adult books but can easily be followed by someone who didn’t get much of an education. Topics are serious, but plots are easy to follow.
The Atlas Obscura books aren’t “light” reading (they’re basically coffee-table sized) but they are a lot of fun.
I love atlases, but yeah, I need books I can carry with me everywhere. Slightly smaller than letter sized paperbacks are preferred.
Mary Roach is great! She writes very entertaining books about things most people would rather not think about.
There are a bunch of “Worst Case Scenario” books, some serious, others not, and some Darwin Award compilations.