There’s always time for a good laugh, the kind that makes your beverage of choice try to escape out your nostrils. There’s something magical about a book that can make you laugh, because comedy is so personal to each of us. I have a very strange sense of humour. It’s an odd hybrid of British sarcasm, Australian swearing, and Canadian self-deprecation. Because of this, when I find something that clicks and genuinely makes me giggle, I won’t shut up about it. I’ll tell the postman, the pizza delivery person, the police officer who keeps telling me to put trousers on when I’m out in public. Now I’m telling you!
Level Up tells the story of what happens when reality breaks and starts following video game rules. Marcus finds himself thrown into familiar situations that poke fun at gaming tropes, all whilst trying to figure out how he can win the game and level up.
Also, there’s a squirrel called Nutsack. If you stifled a snigger at how immature that name is, you’re the target audience.
I’ve been a Terry Pratchett fan for as long as I can remember. I don’t recall at exactly what age I read my first Discworld novel, but I must have enjoyed it because I promptly devoured the rest of them. You should too!
I appreciate that recommending a 41-book series straight out of the gate may be a tad ambitious. We should probably grab a bite to eat and get to know each other before I shoehorn two years’ worth of reading into your TBR pile.
If you’d prefer to start with a quick snack, Good Omens is a great choice. In this standalone, Terry teams up with the equally fantastic Neil Gaiman. The book follows an angel and demon that conspire to slack off work as much as possible. Who can’t relate to that! It’s packed to bursting with memorable characters and the kind of witty dialogue that results in hot beverages taking the emergency exits.
THE BOOK BEHIND THE AMAZON PRIME/BBC SERIES STARRING DAVID TENNANT, MICHAEL SHEEN, JON HAMM AND BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
'Ridiculously inventive and gloriously funny' Guardian
What if, for once, the predictions are right, and the Apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea?
It's a predicament that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon, now find themselves in. They've been living amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and, truth be told, have grown rather fond of the lifestyle and, in all honesty, are not actually looking forward to the coming Apocalypse.
Don’t worry, I’m not just rattling off books by British writing duos. Except the previous one. And this one. I promise that’s it!
If you’re old(ish) like me, you might have seen the Red Dwarf TV show. I loved it, but I enjoyed the books even more. They follow the story of Dave Lister, a total slob who finds himself floating through space with a small gang of misfits, a hologram, a robot butler, a malfunctioning A.I., and a guy that evolved from cats. Hijinks ensue. The books deal with some really interesting concepts, like time travel, loneliness, and that one person that always drives you up the bloody wall.
I can still remember reading the last three paragraphs of Chapter 1 for the very first time. I had to stop reading because I was laughing so hard. I can still recite those paragraphs word for word, a quarter-century later. You’ll know which bit I’m referring to when you get there.
Awakening from a drunken spree in a London pub to find himself on one of Saturn's moons, Lister joins the Space Corps and boards the Red Dwarf, determined to return to Earth
See, I told you I wasn’t only going to recommend British duos!
This is where I tip my hand as a long-time gamer. Dungeon Crawler Carl is in the GameLit genre, which means it blends gaming elements into the story. Sometimes this is done in a very stat-heavy way (which is fine if that’s your jam!) but in DCC, the stats are on the lighter side. It leans into the gaming aspects when Earth gets thrown into utter chaos, followed shortly by being thrown into an actual dungeon, which is also a game show. Matt creates a cast of genuinely funny characters and then throws them into the wackiest situations. It’s hard not to laugh at the insanity of it all, and just when you think it can’t get any crazier, it kicks it up another notch. It takes itself just the right amount of seriously, which makes it all the funnier. All hail Princess Donut!
A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.
In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.
The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.
This book is a little different from my other recommendations because it’s not satirical. It is however an absolute masterclass in sharp and witty dialogue. One of my favorite tropes is the ‘fish out of water,’ where two people from very different backgrounds are thrown together and expected to communicate. Their misunderstandings make us question our own assumptions and ways of doing things. This book takes that to a whole new level. I adored the back and forth between the two main characters, the banter was top-notch. I enjoyed the book enough to also grab the audiobook, which made me belly laugh several times whilst out walking my dog. My neighbors finally stopped giving me funny looks and now just slowly back away as I cackle gleefully to myself.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space…
This book takes the fish out of water trope I just spoke about in a whole different direction. In Vainqueur, it’s not so much a fish, as a hungry shark that finds itself out of its usual element.
A dragon wakes up from a lengthy nap and finds that the whole world is now an RPG-style game. It can level up, gain abilities, and accept quests. Thankfully, it’s a bloody big dragon, which makes some of the quests a tad easier to complete.
The dragon really steals the show and behaves exactly as you’d expect a grumpy old murder machine might. The book has wonderful dialogue and a fresh perspective on some of the genre tropes. It’s a nice easy read, with the perfect amount of groveling minions.
Vainqueur Knightsbane is your average dragon: a giant, fire-breathing lizard who loves to take naps on his golden hoard, kidnap princesses for fun, and make the life of adventurers miserable. Vainqueur's only pleasure in life is to watch his treasure get bigger, one coin at a time.So when a would-be thief turned unwilling minion tells him about "classes," "levels," and "quests," Vainqueur wonders if maybe, just maybe, he should consider a career change. After all, why bother hunting monsters for free when you can get paid for it?
I have been a writer for more than twenty years and have favored pursuing “truth in fiction” rather than “money in formula.” I also spent over thirty years in the corporate world and was exposed to many situations reminiscent of those described in my fiction and in these recommended books. While I support enterprise, “enlightened capitalism” is preferable to the bare-knuckle type we have today, and which seems to resurface whenever regulation weakens. I also find writing novels closer to my lived experience connects me intimately with readers who are looking for socio-political, realist literature.
Avery Mann, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, is in crisis.
His wife dies of cancer, his son’s marriage is on the rocks, his grandson is having a meltdown, and his good friend is a victim of the robocalls scandal that invades the Canadian federal election. Throw in a reckless fling with a former colleague, a fire that destroys his retirement property, and a rumour emerging that the drug he helped bring to market years ago may have been responsible for the death of his wife, and Avery’s life goes into freefall.
Does an octogenarian beekeeper living on Vancouver Island hold the key to Avery’s recovery, a man holding secrets that put lives in jeopardy? Avery races across the country to find out, with crooked bosses, politicians, and assassins on his tail. Joseph spins a cautionary tale of corporate and political greed that is endemic to our times.
Avery Mann, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, is in crisis. His wife dies of cancer, his son’s marriage is on the rocks, his grandson is having a meltdown, and his good friend is a victim of the robocalls scandal that invades the Canadian federal election.
Throw in a reckless fling with a former colleague, a fire that destroys his retirement property, and a rumour emerging that the drug he helped bring to market years ago may have been responsible for the death of his wife, and Avery’s life goes into freefall.
Does an octogenarian bee keeper living on Vancouver Island hold…
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