Something to read...

[DuplicateValue]

So, I've got a flight to France to look forward to in the near future, and I find myself short on reading material. So I was hoping you lot could recommend some good books to keep me entertained for a while.

I'm not looking for anything too heavy, something entertaining and possibly funny would do the trick.
I usually read Tolkien books, or similar works, but I'm really not in the mood for that sort of thing at the moment.
If you've read Submarine by Joe Dunthorne, try and think of something along those lines if you can.

My thanks in advance, Escapists!

 

[Nincompoop]

Discworld is phun. But honestly, I'm not very much of a reader.

 

[Oh That Dude]

Marcus Zusak. Guy writes good stuff. I am the Messenger and The Book Thief.

 

[Total LOLige]

Hitchhikes Guide to the Galaxy is light, short and funny. That's the title that springs to mind for me.

Yeah go with "The Guide" its beast

 

[DuplicateValue]

Discworld is phun. But honestly, I'm not very much of a reader.

Yeah I've been meaning to try some Terry Pratchet books, but I wasn't sure which one to start with. Any ideas? A lot of them don't seem to be too related to each other as far as I can see.

Marcus Zusak. Guy writes good stuff. I am the Messenger and The Book Thief.

I read The Book Thief and I loved it, but I wouldn't class it as light or funny really...

What's the other one like?

 

[Nincompoop]

Discworld is phun. But honestly, I'm not very much of a reader.

Yeah I've been meaning to try some Terry Pratchet books, but I wasn't sure which one to start with. Any ideas? A lot of them don't seem to be too related to each other as far as I can see.

I have only read the first one, which was hilarious. But I'd wager all of them are good.

 

[Oh That Dude]

Marcus Zusak. Guy writes good stuff. I am the Messenger and The Book Thief.

I read The Book Thief and I loved it, but I wouldn't class it as light or funny really...

What's the other one like?

Well it's a bit lighter but there are bits that are most certainly not light. It's definitely funny at bits, but either way it's a feel-good book at the end of it.

 

[ALuckyChance]

The Young Wizards series, by Diane Duane. It does go into science and stuff, but it's usually filler and used to explain why the hell magic exists. I love the series personally, as it delves into sacrifice and all the stuff while still having lighthearted moments.

 

[Meggiepants]

Christopher Moore is both funny and clever. Good escapist books that hook you right in from the beginning.

 

[Mr_Universal]

pick up "The colour of magic" by Terry Pratchett, it´s the first book in the Discworld series, though most of the books can be read separately, but you do get a hang of the characters better if you read the first one first then the second one etc etc....

 

[twistedmic]

'Vampire$', by John Steakly is pretty good, though I don't know if you'd consider it light or heavy. And while it does feature vampires, they are about as far away from the Twilight style as humanly possible.
Another good book is 'Gossamer Axe' by Gael Baudino (again, I don't know if you'd consider it light or heavy) but it's an older book and, being out of print, hard to find.
Link to the Amazon.com sellers page for 'Gossamer Axe' below
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0451450256/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&qid=1282160028&sr=8-1&condition=all
Or you can look through nearby used bookstores (if there ere any near where you live). I've always enjoyed browsing though used bookstores, it's a good way to find older and less popular books at a decent price.

 

[Yagharek]

On Pratchett I think "The colour of magic" is first(though it may be "The light fantastic" I forget). They are both pretty decent, but there are definetely better books in the later series. Most of them use recurring characters, but almost all of them work as stand-alones. Personally I wouldn't start with either the colour of magic, or the light fantastic, but that's just my preference.

Personally, I would suggest Mort, The Nightwatch, The Hogfather, or Small Gods to begin with.

Some of the books have occaisional references to others, but really, it's not that important where you start.

If you want something amusing, pratchett is a pretty safe bet. Most people seem to like him.

A couple of more serious standalone recommendations would be Whitechapel Gods by SM peters, Heart of Darkness by Conrad, and American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

Also, I would recommend "Storm Front", the first of the Dresden files, by Jim Butcher. It's kind of hard to classify it. It's an Urban-fantasy detective novel, I suppose. About a wizard private investigator working in chicago. The whole series is excellent, though I definetely prefer some books to others. The writing is good, the story is good, and there are lots of pop-culture references. It's probably a bit more serious than pratchett(certainly later books) but funny aswell. Most people seem to think the first few books are the worst-but they're still really good.

 

[Torque669]

The Demonata Series by Darren Shan I will always recommend to anyone who reads books.

 

[Woodsey]

I hear Twilight's comedy gold.

 

[Rylot]

Personally, I would suggest Mort, The Nightwatch, The Hogfather, or Small Gods to begin with.

My suggestion would be Small Gods. The characters are only from this book and it doesn't relate very much to the other books but is still very funny and a great introduction to the series and Pratchett's writing style.

 

[Yagharek]

Oh, and American gods probably doesn't fall into light. It has humour, though it's not really the purpose of the novel. Heart of darkness is a short book, but not particularly funny. Aboslutely brilliant though, so i'd still recommend it, but maybe not now.. Whitechapel gods is pretty fast paced, but not particularly humorous. Should've read more thoroughly.

Oh, and as mentioned before, the hitch-hikers guide is brilliant. Though opinions vary on the later books. Personally, I would stop after the 3rd.

So, I'd recommend the Dresden files, the Hitchikers guide to the galaxy, and Practhetts discworld novels.

Which you'd like most is hard to say really. Dresden is funny, but not as focused on it as the other two. It has more of a story though. Also good if you like detective novels.

I haven't read hitchikers guide in quite a while though, so it's hard to compare it well to the discworld books, because my memories are vague. Either of those would be good really though.

 

[similar.squirrel]

PG Wodehouse. He's my usual holiday reading. Coupled, oddly enough, with continuous Cradle of Filth listening sessions.

 

[darkdrgon2136]

If you're into fantasy, The Riftwar books by Raymond Feist are great. Magician is the first one, but I think you can only get it in 2 parts now (with the updated content), so I'd go with Magician: Apprentice.

 

[DuplicateValue]

Well it's a bit lighter but there are bits that are most certainly not light. It's definitely funny at bits, but either way it's a feel-good book at the end of it.

Hmm, I might give it a try sometime then.

The Demonata Series by Darren Shan I will always recommend to anyone who reads books.

I remember reading some Darren Shan books before (I think Cirque du Freak was one of them), but I don't think I liked them.

 

[tomtom94]

After having this discussion with a friend on a school trip, take some Doctor Who books. They're light on the sci-fi aspect and are usually good fun.

Or you could go with Discworld too, that'd work.