Tag Archives: Humor

Humorous Fiction-Digital Downloads

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Looking for some humorous fiction to read or listen to while you’re staying home and staying safe? Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Title details for Class Mom--A Novel by Laurie Gelman - Available

CLASS MOM
By Laurie Gelman

“Gelman’s debut is a literary stand-up routine, and you might as well just give in: this woman is going to get a laugh out of you.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Last Couple Standing by Matthew Norman - Wait list

LAST COUPLE STANDING
By Matthew Norman

“Charmingly realistic and clear-eyed about the peaks and pitfalls of modern relationships, Last Couple Standing explores the vulnerability required to make a marriage work”. ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson - Available

AN ACCIDENTAL BEAUTY QUEEN
By Teri Wilson

“A happily nerdy elementary school librarian ends up competing in a beauty pageant in this fun and frothy read.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

Title details for No Sunscreen for the Dead by Tim Dorsey - Available

NO SUNSCREEN FOR THE DEAD
By Tim Dorsey

“In their latest outing, cheerful Florida psychopath Serge Storms and his permanently stoned sidekick Coleman come to the aid of the residents of a retirement community.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Hating Game by Sally Thorne - Available

THE HATING GAME
By Sally Thorne

“From Lucy’s hilarious inner dialogue to Joshua’s sharp retorts, the chemistry between them is irresistibly adorable—and smokin’ hot… this one’s a real winner.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Carnegie Hill by Jonathan Vatner - Available

CARNEGIE HILL
By Jonathan Vatner

“Vatner’s debut novel is absorbing and comforting in its omniscient perspective and delicate handling of its carousel of characters. A good old-fashioned read on the venerable theme of marriage.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

“We need never be hopeless because we can never be irreparably broken.”
~John Green, Looking For Alaska

Walking with Jack

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[Cover]

Title: Walking With Jack

Author: Don J. Snyder

Publisher: Doubleday, 2013

Summary/Review: It will help you understand this tale if you are a golf nut, or at the very least, golf-term-savvy. This memoir about a father’s desire to help his son realize their shared dream of the son playing professional golf with his father alongside as his caddy takes the reader through the joys and sorrows of seeing one’s children grow up and become independent young adults. The father takes his role in this very, very seriously, as he leaves the family home to caddy at St. Andrews, Scotland for two seasons, preparing him to be the best caddy he can possibly be. The son, a very talented high school golfer can’t quite match his Dad’s zeal and only attempts to play on a minor professional golf tour some years later.

We are shown the ups and downs of a father’s love for his son and the various ways the two deal with successes and the seemingly inevitable failures. Along the way the author reveals many long-term feelings of inadequacy and some triumphs, brought on by his strained relationship with his own father.

One thing I do not understand is that the author is presented as a writer and teacher with several “acclaimed” books and screenplays to his credit, yet he spends quite a bit of time describing the financial hardships he and his family endure. Perhaps acclaimed doesn’t necessarily equate with financial success in his case.

This is a very well-written book with many humorous scenes. The author does a terrific job of describing his feelings as a father to three girls and one boy, and the joy of being a good enough husband to provide at least some degree of financial stability and a full measure of emotional support.

Who will like this book?: I recommend this book to any golfers and fathers out there.

If you like this, try this: If you’d like to read more books dealing with golf, check out John Dunn’s “Loopers: A Caddy’s Twenty-year Golf Odyssey” or Joseph Parent’s “Zen Golf”, which deals more with becoming a better golfer.  As mentioned, Don J. Snyder also has a number of other books, including “Of Time and Memory” and “The Cliff Walk”.

Recommended by: Mark Z, guest reviewer

If you think you’d like to try this book, visit the Fairfield Public Library catalog to see if it’s available and/or place a hold

Dad is fat

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[Cover]

Title: DAD IS FAT

Author:  Jim Gaffigan

Publisher: Crown, May 2013

Summary/Review: Anyone who has children, has been a child or knows anyone with children will love this book. Jim Gaffigan, a stand-up comedian best known for his riffs on Hot Pockets,  has written a funny, honest look at parenthood.  He is the father of 5 children, all under the age of 9. To some of us that would be enough to strike fear in our hearts. Add into the mix that he and his family live in a 2-bedroom, 5-story walkup in the Bowery section of Manhattan and most of us would run screaming for the hills.  He credits his wife with being the one who holds it all together, but what comes through in the book is the wonderful partnership they have, collaborating not only on parenting but on his stage shows, movies and books as well.  His ability to laugh at himself, all while clearly adoring his family made it a great read. This was a wonderful book, a laugh-out-loud funny book.   Included in the chapters are drawings by his children, family pictures and floor plans that map out how to put 5 children to bed in a 2-bedroom apartment while still allowing for mommy and daddy time. Needless to say, it’s not easy!

Who will like this? Anyone who needs a good laugh, as anyone who reads the book will be able to identify with at least one chapter in it!

If you like this, try this:  If you’re interested in reading more about the lives of comedians, try Chelsea Handler’s “Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang” or “Lies Chelsea Handler Told me”, or Ellen DeGeneris’ “Seriously…I’m Kidding”.   Another hilarious book you may like is Jenny Lawson’s “Let’s Pretend this Never Happened”.  If you’re looking for comedy, try anything by David Sedaris or Dave Barry.

Recommended by: Linda, Circulation

If you’re interested in this book, visit the Fairfield Public Library catalog to see if it’s available and/or place a hold

 

The Fiddler in the Subway

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[Cover]

Title: The Fiddler in the Subway: The true story of what happened when a world-class violinist played for handouts – and other virtuoso performances by America’s foremost feature writer

Author: Gene Weingarten

Publisher: Simon and Schuster, July 2010

Summary: If you take one of the worlds best musicians and place him in the middle of one of the nation’s busiest subway stations and have him play his heart out, will anyone stop and listen? In this collection of sharply observed essays, Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten shows why he is the only person to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing twice. Not only is he a brilliant writer (or, ‘investigative humorist,’ as he calls himself), he chooses to write on a variety of subjects from the ridiculous (trying to incite the French to be rude to him in Paris) to the sublime (witnessing the lengths to which a concerned citizenry will go in order to save a small bird trapped in a shop window.) Along the way, you will discover that the highest paid children’s performer in the D.C. area, “The Great Zucchini,” is a man whose personal demons might be his greatest professional asset, and you will meet the residents of Battle Mountain, NV, who might just live in “The Armpit of America.”

Like any great humorist, Weingarten is not afraid of pointing out his own shortcomings. Like any great journalist, he is willing to get to the root of his subject, even if what he finds there is chilling, disturbing, or deeply tragic. Many people believe Weingarten is the best essayist in America. Readers of this book would have a hard time arguing with that.

Who will like this book?: This is a great book for all general non-fiction readers – the essays cover a wide array of topics. And as Weingarten is a former editor, this book is also full of useful information and inspiration for writers.

If you like this, read this: How Did You Get This Number? by Sloane Crosley. I’ll Mature When I’m Dead by Dave Barry. Don’t Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian

These Children Who Come At You With Knives

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Title: These Children Who Come At You With Knives and Other Fairy Tales

Author: Jim Knipfel

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, June 2010

Summary: Fractured fairy tales have long been a popular genre in youth literature, and in this wicked, inspired collection, the grown-ups finally get their own twisted takes on ‘happily ever after.’ If you are expecting a modern-day Cinderella or Little Mermaid story, this is not the book for you.

Instead, you will meet a chicken who is too smart for her own good, a demented gnome bent on world domination, and a gossipy houseplant that would give Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors a run for her (it’s?) money. And it’s not giving too much away by saying that none of the stories has the traditional fairy tale ending. This bold collection will make you laugh and squirm at the same time.

Who will like this book?: Fans of satire. Cynics. People who think to themselves, ‘if Cinderella’s slippers were really made of glass, wouldn’t she cut up her feet?’

If you like this, read this: Another great (albeit less brutal) take on fairy tales for grown-ups, the Fables graphic novel series by Bill Willingham.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian