Readers ask me for book recommendations in Questionland all the time. Match Book is about helping you find the right book, at the right time.
Hi, Paul,
What books would you recommend to a fan of Auntie Mame wanting a similarly witty, funny, and “live live live!” type of read? One of my moms and I are starting an “odd but loving” book club after having a great time reading the first Auntie Mame book together, and an almost equally great time reading the disappointing sequel. Would you please recommend funny books / authors for us? They do not have to be family-centric, as in Auntie Mame, but if they are free from mean-spirited humor, that would make mom happy.
Thank you for your time and expertise!
Take care,
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
How about Wodehouse’s Jeeves books? They’re endlessly entertaining. Almost every sentence sparkles with wit.
I’d also like to recommend Sarah Shun-lien Bynum’s Ms. Hempel Chronicles, about a young elementary school teacher. It’s a collection of short stories. Some are more sweet than funny, but the whole book is gorgeous.
You might also like Sloane Crosley’s I Was Told There’d Be Cake. I don’t know if the humor might be a bit too modern-day-lady-problems in places for your mom, but it was in no way a mean-spirited book. Maybe give it a scan before giving to to mom? I bet you’ll enjoy it, anyway.
Good luck,
Paul
[Andrea replies]Thank you, Paul, from my online searches those seem like great suggestions! I really appreciate your time, and if you don’t mind, want to take up two more questions worth of it. (To be posted in the new question queue). Thanks again!
[Rhias Hall adds] My mother and I both loved reading My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell and Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.
[Christina L adds] My mother-in-law gave me a collection of Jean Shepherd stories, plus some humorous Umberto Eco essay anthologies. None of these is mean-spirited.
Great suggestions, Rhias Hall and Christina! There’s even a snazzy new edition of Cold Comfort Farm with a great cover by Roz Chast. It’d be a great gift.
Are you about to go on a long vacation? Have you read everything by your favorite author but you still want more? Do you want to learn about a new subject, but don’t know where to start? I can help. Ask me (and everyone else) for book recommendations on Questionland
Would the David Sedaris books be considered “mean-spirited”? They are certainly hilarious and the early ones are mostly about his family.
Make way for Lucia series, by E F Benson.
Lorna Landvik’s novels will certainly fit the bill. And a second on the Gerald Durrell stories.
Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire novels…but the earlier ones from the 30’s up to the end of the war..also the Adrian Mole Diaries by Sue Townsend…Evan S Connell’s Mr Bridge and Mrs Bridge (kind of sad though)…Maybe The Moon by Armistead Maupin…
oh, Jonathan Ames The Extra Man, soon to be a major motion picture…
A Girl Named Zippy and the sequel that I can’t remember right now….by Haven Kimmel
First my credentials: I am an Auntie Mame (the movie) fanatic. I’ve read the book and it is pretty good, but the movie is fantastic.
There is a book I can recommend: Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress. It is a very funny read – but caution: There is some violence and gore, but not very ‘graphic.
And as it takes place 1965, there is racially-based social unrest, but it is all worthwhile. It is a funny book and some of its characters ‘stand’ for something.
Now that I think of it, the main characters are Peejoe and his Auntie Lucille. So there, it’s a perfect match.
The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books are endlessly wonderful, not because anything actually happens in the books, but because Alexander McCall Smith is a master of characterization and setting a scene. I loved this about the Wodehouse books, too. Also, there’s a whole array of wonderful DVDs of “Jeeves and Wooster,” acted by the incomparable Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.
Don’t just stick to Jeeves books for Wodehouse, I think my very favorite of his is Cocktail Time; and the other Blandings books are fun too.
I second the recommendation for the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books. They come from a generous and happy spirit; but they also deal with some serious issues. It’s not all sweet.
I adore Pratchett, I’d start with Guards Guards or Wyrd Sisters. It’s set in a totally off the wall fantasy world; and sees humanity with a kind eye.
For the absolute sweetness I can handle there’s also Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity books. The coziest of cozy mysteries. With some supernatural elements, Aunt Dimity is a ghost after all.