# Recommend me some fluff reading, please! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068 "2006-09-09T15:05:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068/21 "2006-09-12T02:00:51Z")
I’m actually quite fond of Robert Rankin already; the only trouble is that he doesn’t seem to have native distribution in the states, so it’s a matter of getting lucky to find him in the bookstores (such as an autographed copy of _Knees Up, Mother Earth_ that I found!) or in the used shops. Luckily the library seems to have a few of his books, which I’ve placed a request for. 🙂 Tom Holt is another amongst these that I’ve had some experience with, though not as positive; his _Snow White and the Seven Samurai_ (IIRC) was a bit of a let-down for me. I’m quite willing to give him another go, however. Interesting that you should mention Mrs. Frisby, **Ellen Cherry** ; I’m a huge fan of the movie and read the book ages ago; it’s still sitting on my shelf here. If only I could get my Garth Nix books back (the Abhorsen series) I’d give them another whirl too. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068/22 "2006-09-12T02:04:40Z")
Weird fiction and Nero Wolfe? And fluff? Maybe you could try some MaryJanice Davidson starting with the shoe buying vampire epic [Undead and Unemployed](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425197484/ref=pd_cp_b_title/102-1560452-9413723?ie=UTF8). ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068/23 "2006-09-12T06:22:28Z")
[QUOTE=Hunter Hawk] Light, easy, fun fantasy/weird/sf fiction…here’s some initial brainstorming. More to come later perhaps. … “Slaves of Sleep” and “Typewriter in the Sky” by L. Ron Hubbard (yes, _that_ L. Ron Hubbard; it’s awful but fun) … [/QUOTE] Danger! Danger Will Robinson! If you must read L. Ron books DO NOT order them online! Do not buy them new in a bookstore with anything but cash. Your safest bet is to look for them in used bookstores, in a city other than where you live, in a disguise and do not drive your own car there. Otherwise _THEY_ might find you and inundate you with junk mail and spam. Good luck. Oh and try Spider Robinson’s Callahan series (the early books). ---
**Author:** ![Tortuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Tortuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tortuga)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068/24 "2006-09-12T17:36:02Z")
I think Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is unbeatable in the fun fiction category. Another vote for Christopher Moore. I quite like _Island of the Sequined Love Nun_. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068/25 "2006-09-12T18:31:04Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Even better than Hiassen is Tim Dorsey. Start with _Florida Roadkill_, then move on to _Hammerhead Ranch Motel_, _Triggerfish Twist_, _Orange Crush_ and the rest. You’ll never look at serial killers that same way again. 😃 [/QUOTE] I’m not sure about that. Hiassen’s Skink is fine in limited quantities. Serge Storm, Dorsey’s equivalent, is sometimes too much as the stories focus. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy both writers. I just prefer Hiassen’s leads. **AuntiePam** , it would be difficult debating which Moore book is sillier. That said, I love them all. **Lemur Catta** , you might look at Robert Asprin’s early Myth series (now collected two per book). Another Fine Myth was the first. Also, when I can’t find anything else light to read, I can always pick up an Elmore Leonard novel and be amused. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068/26 "2006-09-12T18:53:49Z")
I’ll echo the Pratchett recommendations, but they can require some actual thinking to get the jokes. For fluff, I suggest the [Thraxas series](http://www.martinmillar.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/thraxas/thrax.html), though the last two are weaker. ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068/27 "2006-09-12T19:06:43Z")
Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files” About a crime solving wizard in Chicago, it’s not as innane as it sounds. Charlenne Harris “Souther Vampire” series is also fun, ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068/28 "2006-09-12T19:10:32Z")
Hmph. IMHO, Vance’s Dying Earth and Leiber’s Lankhmar are both too good to be considered “fluff.” YMMV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fluff-reading-please/372068.md?page=1)