I’m considering going to the used book store and buying some reading material. I’m thinking perhaps light or humorous fiction. My tastes tend not to run toward sci-fi/fantasy. Just wondering if anyone had any recommendations of books or of authors whose works might be entertaining or otherwise enjoyable.
There is a book called ‘The Blue Day Book’, by Bradley Trevor Greive, and it’s a black-and-white picture book of animals that are ‘sad’ with captions under each one, it’s meant to cheer you up…and it’s really good at doing that. I love looking through it. It’s smallish, about 7" square and blue. Get it.
The ostrich avatar I used to have…came from that book.
‘The Versers Curse’ by our own beloved Glenn Schultz is well worth reading.
I also recommend anything by Daniel Pinkwater… a lunatic after my own heart! 
You may also enjoy ‘The Ultimate Deception’ by Frank L. Caw Jr., which is also available as a downloadable e-book in both HTML and PDF formats.
I saved copies of both formats during the brief period when they were made available as free downloads, and I’ll gladly pass them on to you if you’re interested.
I also have a very rare e-book that I downloaded several years ago, which was hyped as being a true story written by a Druid who vanished without a trace shortly after writing it.
Personally, I think it’s a very interesting work of fiction, much like ‘The Conspiracy Against Reality’… but then who am I to say for sure? 
Since I can find absolutely no reference to either the book or the author anywhere on the Internet, I think it’s probably out of print, and so I wouldn’t be violating any copyrights if I gave you a copy… e-mail me if you’re interested.
If your taste tends toward “classic” American fiction, I was just thinking this afternoon of Penrod by Booth Tarkington. It’s a coming-of-age story, absolutely hilarious, but not for just any adult.
I’ve been reading Sinclair Lewis lately. His better-known stuff is not necessarily representative. I’ve recently read World so wide and Our Mr. Wren, both of which are light with a wry sense of humor but not entirely vacuous. Two of the best books I’ve read in years. I got them both in used bookstores, too.
I just realised the book I reccomended has hardly any words in it at all. I find that oddly hilarious.
Have you read the Mitford series, by Jan Karon? If not, I think you might really like them. The first book in the series is “At Home in Mitford”.
Redwolf
Great stuff. I wouldn’t know how many times I’ve read Penrod and Penrod and Sam. For something else try one of Robertson Davies two main trilogies. The first one is usually called the Deptford trilogy. The books are Fifth Business, The Manticore and World of Wonders. I think the other is referred to as the Cornish trilogy and consists of The Rebel Angels, What’s Bred in the Bone and The Lyre of Orpheus. All these are set mainly in Southwestern Ontario. Once when I was recovering from flu and was bored I started Fifth Business. I found it unputdownable and have been a big Davies fan ever since.
Steve
Hi Walden,
one of the funniest books I’ve read is “A Tall Man In a Low Land” by Harry Pearson. I think think it’s a kind of travelogue. It’s about an English bloke’s travels in Belguim. I ordered it because I thought it was about an Englishman’s experiences cycle racing in Belguim, I couldn’t have been further from the truth. I really enjoyed it. If you should happen to get it and think that it’s rubbish, feel to recommend a good shrink 
Cheers, Mac
The Xanth series by Piers Anthony is good. He is a good writer, and I don’t think the material could get much lighter. 
The first book in the series is entitled A Spell for Chameleon
I just got through reading almost all the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. Light, fast reading fiction. I enjoyed them anyway. Maybe you would to.
Sara
Leonard Wibberley: The Mouse that Roared
Even if you’ve already seen the (Peter Sellers) movie, it’s a great read!
Also, it’s fun to re-read some the old classics, such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, as well as Penrod. (Be forewarned, my Christian friend, Penrod turns out to be something of a pagan.)
Most of my reading is either fantasy (like Apuleius: The Golden Ass, or heavy philosophical fiction (such as Mann: The Magic Mountain), so I can’t think of anything else which you might like.
The very best book I’ve read in the last couple of years is the book “Seabiscuit” by Laura Hillenbrand(spelling?). It is absolutely great!!!
AND, true. It is so amazing how this meeting of three(horse, jocky, owner) came about , how they really would never have made history without the others,and the great things they accomplished, against all odds, which captured the imigination of the whole country during the depression.A true Cinderella story. I’ve actually read it twice I liked it so much.
My next favorite is of course “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt, I suppose you’ve read that already…BUT… if you have never listened to McCourt’s reading of it on tape, do it. It is so much better when he reads it, since he lived it. Your local library probably has it on tape.
Now, if you like strange angles, “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Seabolt is intresting, if for no other reason than it’s told by the 14 yr old girl who is murdered in the first of the book and is watching her family from heaven.
Admitedly, the author has some bizarre concepts of heaven, but , it’s still different if anything.
Jimmy Carter’s memoir of his youth on the farm is really good, but I can’t remember the name of it…something about Plains in the title.
Of course, if you are into time travel(which I’m not), all things Scottish(which I am) , Druids,standing stones, the’45, etc. then Diana Gabaldon’s trilogy which starts with The Outlander is pretty good. Some of it’s light romance type garbage, but , if you can skip over that stuff, the rest is entertaining.
But believe me you’ve gotta read Seabiscuit! And, a movie from the book is coming out in July.
In the Sc-Fi vein, Bill the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison is pretty funny and a send-up of Robert Heinlein type stories. If you like crime novels both Carl Hiaasen and Donald Westlake are consistently humorous. These would all provide pretty light but enjoyable reading.
Edit: oops, you said NOT the sci-fi vein. I humbly accept the airhead award for today.
Walden, if you haven’t read it try “The Stars My Destination” by Alfred Bester. it is an early SciFi book that is definitely worth checking out.
Neither do mine.
However, I do make an exception for Terry Pratchett. Beautifully written, very,very funny. He’s written about 938519564873167416598431951 books to date, and releases a new one each nanosecond. Somehow he manages to keep the quality of writing (and jokes per sentence) up. He is for fantasy what the late lamented Douglas Adams was for Sci Fi.
Start with ‘The colour of magic’. My favorite so far is ‘Equal Rites’ (but I’ve only read about 6 of the 938519564873167416598431951).
He also writes superb kids books – Johny and the bomb, only you can save the world, The amazing Maurice.
Oh I can’t believe I forgot this- one of my all time favorites-
Taps for Private Tussy by Jessee Stuart
It’s been out of print for years but it might turn up at the used book store.
It is soooooooooo funny!!!
Walden, 
I apologise… I hastily read your post and missed the most important word NOT right in front of Science Fiction. 
My tastes actually do tend to run that way and, thinking that you were looking for a good SciFi read, I hastily posted that. It really is a great book though.
Just take my advice and buy the picture book. They have it at walmart for only $7.
Flowers for Algernon.
technically it’s considered sci-fi, but there are no aliens, no magic, nothing too weird. The only really “sci-fi” thing about it is that the operation the main charcter undergoes doesn’t actually exist.
(if you’re wondering, the premise of the book is that a mentally challenged man undergoes an operation to increase his intelligence. It tracks his psychological reactions through “progress reports” the character writes.)
I keep meaning to re-read “The Riddle of the Sands” by Erskine Childers. It should be widely available in used paperback format in what was once a ‘new edition’ (Harper Torchbook?) with some important information about Childers. Of course, I’ll have to get it back from the guy I loaned it to…