# Recommend me a book that will cheer me up **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 7, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367 "2012-12-07T22:44:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Obsidian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@Obsidian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obsidian)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/1 "2012-12-07T22:44:34Z")
So. Yesterday I got some awful news. I spent yesterday mostly on recreational crying and today mostly trying not to cry at my desk. However, Amazon decided to ship my backordered new Kindle two weeks ahead of schedule, and it is waiting for me on my porch. Getting into a good book and getting out of my head seems like a fantastic idea. I am in search of a good, entertaining book. Bonus if it will make me laugh. Fiction or Non-Fiction ok. Happy ending a must. Preferably not in any way about pregnancy, babies, or motherhood. I’d like it to be something I can finish in a weekend, but won’t blow through in a few hours either (am a pretty fast reader). It needs to be available on Amazon Kindle, of course. I’m a chick, but a very nerdy one. Y’all seemed like a compatible audience to ask. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/2 "2012-12-07T23:14:50Z")
I head for the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency books when I am feeling down. Mma Ramotswe and company are just so nice to be around. It does occasionally touch on some of those themes, but they are (usually) not central and there is always a happy ending. Each book is pretty short, but there is a whole series. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/3 "2012-12-07T23:33:38Z")
Here’s a freebie: [Right Ho, Jeeves](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10554) by P.G. Wodehouse. ---
**Author:** ![Tara57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Tara57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tara57)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/4 "2012-12-07T23:38:30Z")
Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/5 "2012-12-08T00:32:46Z")
Sorry to hear you are so down. Whatever your specific situation is, I think I can sympathize a bit - the night I was having my miscarriage I watched a bunch of movies to distract myself/cheer myself up, and 3 out of 4 had pregnancy or miscarriage plots. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, it was so ridiculous! Hang in there, sweetie. Some of my favorite funny or heartwarming books: [The Stupidest Angel](http://www.amazon.com/Stupidest-Angel-v2-0-Pine-ebook/dp/B006O0I3ZO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1354926283&sr=1-1&keywords=stupidest+angel) [Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand](http://www.amazon.com/Major-Pettigrews-Last-Stand-ebook/dp/B0036S4CIO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1354926572&sr=1-1&keywords=major+pettigrew%27s+last+stand) [Good Omens](http://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-ebook/dp/B0054LJGWS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1354926610&sr=1-1&keywords=good+omens) [The Enchanted April](http://www.amazon.com/The-Enchanted-April-ebook/dp/B00849PNY2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1354926353&sr=1-1&keywords=enchanted+april) (FREE) [Pride and Prejudice](http://www.amazon.com/Pride-and-Prejudice-ebook/dp/B008476HBM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1354926688&sr=1-1&keywords=pride+and+prejudice) (FREE) - if you haven’t read it, check it out. Not one, but TWO of the most hilariously bad marriage proposals in all of literature. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/6 "2012-12-08T00:39:55Z")
Lamb by Christopher Moore ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/7 "2012-12-08T01:06:01Z")
If you have a library card, be sure to check out your local library for Kindle books so that you can blow through them at an alarming rate without impoverishing yourself. Mary Roach. She writes extremely funny non-fiction. I don’t remember if _Bonk_ had anything to do with pregnancy (it’s about sex), but I doubt any of the others do. Bill Bryson. More funny non-fiction. Dick Francis. Thrillers set around horse racing. Dorothy Sayers. Golden Age mysteries. MM Kaye. Mystery suspense set in exotic locales. The Vicky Moon books by Elizabeth Peters, starting with _Borrower of the Night_. I think Peters is quite funny. The Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, starting with _One for the Money_. I got tired of this series, but the first ones are laugh out loud funny. The Sam Jones books by Lauren Henderson, starting with _Black Rubber Dress_. There are two earlier books, but they are extremely hard to find. Apparently, I find comfort in murder mysteries. What this says about me is better left alone. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/8 "2012-12-08T01:09:36Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Here’s a freebie: [Right Ho, Jeeves](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10554) by P.G. Wodehouse. [Also available directly from Amazon.](http://www.amazon.com/Right-Ho-Jeeves-ebook/dp/B0084BMM62/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354928890&sr=1-14&keywords=wodehouse) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/9 "2012-12-08T01:13:25Z")
Spider Robinson’s _Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon_ stories do it for me. There are quite a few other books in the series, but it makes the most sense to start with the first. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/10 "2012-12-08T02:20:13Z")
If you are a Steve Martin fan, his [autobiography](http://www.amazon.com/Born-Standing-Up-Comics-Life/dp/1416553657/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354933032&sr=8-1&keywords=born+standing+up) is funny, extremely well-written, and a very pleasant diversion. Similarly, Roger Ebert’s [memoir](http://www.amazon.com/Life-Itself-Memoir-Roger-Ebert/dp/0446584967/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354933110&sr=1-1&keywords=life+itself) is equally worthy. Sorry about your difficult times. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/11 "2012-12-08T02:26:15Z")
Woody Allen: - Side Effects - Without Feathers You will be astounded at his bizarre and wacky non-sequiturial sense of humour. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/12 "2012-12-08T02:58:36Z")
The funniest book I can think of is, alas, not available for Kindle… ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/13 "2012-12-08T03:32:05Z")
Strongly second the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. I also very much enjoyed The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/14 "2012-12-08T03:51:50Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > I head for the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency books when I am feeling down. Mma Ramotswe and company are just so nice to be around. It does occasionally touch on some of those themes, but they are (usually) not central and there is always a happy ending. > > Each book is pretty short, but there is a whole series. Ha, you beat me to it. These are my go-to happy books, but I listen to them as audiobooks. The narrator’s voice is soooooo sooooothing. I love the way she rolls her rrrrrrr’s. Another happy book I listened to lately was a _The Secret Garden_ by Frances Hodgson Burnett, which is available for your Kindle free at [Project Gutenberg](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/113). ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/15 "2012-12-08T03:56:59Z")
National Lampoon’s Bored of the Rings - it has more jokes per page than anything else I’ve read. Pat McManus was the humor columnist for Field and Stream. His collected columns are very funny even if you don’t hunt or camp or fish. If you or anyone you know has hunted or fished or camped they are hilarious. His novel’s pretty good, too. Dave Barry - including his novels. The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. I don’t know which of these are on Kindle, if any. ---
**Author:** ![Obsidian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@Obsidian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obsidian)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/16 "2012-12-08T04:54:31Z")
Thanks for the awesome suggestions guys! I have lots to look at now. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/17 "2012-12-08T05:12:14Z")
You know, I was trying to think of good ideas but then I have to go with the first post - No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. I seriously need to catch up on those. I’d also agree with whoever mentioned the Dorothy Sayers Wimsey novels, particularly the ones with Harriet Vane (my particular favorite, among my favorite books in the world, is _Gaudy Night_.) How about the book that got me to read that one - Connie Willis can write some sad sad books but I first read her with _To Say Nothing Of The Dog_, which is not sad at all. Or if you want some Victorian very funny humor, _Three Men In A Boat_, which is what the Willis book is riffing off of. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/18 "2012-12-08T21:59:29Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Spider Robinson’s _Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon_ stories do it for me. There are quite a few other books in the series, but it makes the most sense to start with the first. If you do, do not read the story “A Voice Was Heard in Ramah”, based on your OP. It’s a great story, they all are in that collection, but it’s definitely about what you said you don’t want to read about. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/19 "2012-12-08T22:02:20Z")
Terry Pratchett. Always, Terry Pratchett. _Lords and Ladies_ is one of my favourites. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367/20 "2012-12-09T23:57:34Z")
For funny try Connie Willis’s : Bellweather…Lamb makes me cry at the end, don’t know why cause I know how it ends anyway. While I agree with the “Stupidest Angel” it helps if you’ve read some of Christopher Moore’s other books first. Carl Hiaasien’s stuff always makes me laugh. And of course Terry Pratchet always works as others have said. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-that-will-cheer-me-up/643367.md?page=2)