Robert Gray: Seeking Venture Capital for FunReads Bookshop

With more than a hundred recommendations received thus far here at Fun Book Central, our list has become impressively long-tailed (with apologies to Chris Anderson). So if anybody wants to pony up some venture capital in this thriving economy, have I got a niche bookstore concept for you--FunReads Bookshop.

The clear leader (the head of the long tail, as it were) at this point is author Christopher Moore. Sue Gazell of BookMan, Nashville, Tenn., calls him "my pick for fun fiction, hands down. He's a scream. My favorite is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal."

Exclamation points flying, Alice Meyer of Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, Iowa, is just one of many readers who agree: "Christopher Moore! Especially, after I get 'a sense of the wind and the water', Lamb."

Angela Cozad of Lafayette Book Store, Lafayette, Calif., adds, "Here are a couple of titles that I like to promote as fun: Christopher Moore's Lamb and Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. They are only by coincidence a religious theme but they are hilarious. Definitely laugh out loud. Another fun book is Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold. Lots of fun!"
 
While conceding that, "as you said, it's all subjective, this idea of a 'fun' read," PGW sales rep Cindy Heidemann recommends "any Christopher Moore." Her list also features The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar, Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith and The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens.

And Aaron Curtis of Books & Books, Coral Gables, Fla., offers the following "faithfuls": "Christopher Moore's Lamb, if they don't take religion too seriously; Carl Hiaasen's Sick Puppy, if they don't take animal rights and environmentalism too seriously; Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series--seriously. If they really want to be just silly about the whole thing, then I'll recommend Mario Acedvedo's X-Rated Blood Suckers . . . if they don't take porn and vampires too seriously."

If Moore is at the top of the list in terms of popular vote, perhaps the dark horse candidate is Jonathan Tropper, whose novel, The Book of Joe, has been cited by many, including Carol Schneck of Schuler Books and Music, Okemos, Mich. She calls it one of "two that never fail," along with Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo.

Come to think of it, where is Russo? That's what author Linda Urban (formerly of Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, Calif.) wonders: "Nobody has yet mentioned Straight Man by Richard Russo? My all-time favorite funny book. Still plenty of depth and literary showmanship, but at the gut-level a flat-out hilarious read."

Urban reminds us not to forget "middle grade novels for a good laugh! Many are written with as much depth and insight as novels for grown-ups, but young people's writers are some of the best at mixing in the humor. Two of my favorites are Sue Stauffacher's Donuthead and Gary Paulsen's Lawn Boy. (There's a little lesson in the stock market for Lawn Boy readers that may make it especially timely--although maybe a little less funny.) For even younger readers, Sara Pennypacker's Stuart's Cape is filled with the sort of surreal humor that grown-ups love in Terry Pratchett, while Christopher Paul Curtis's Mr. Chickee series is sure to be a hit with dads and sons who bond over a good joke."

Speaking of Pratchett, he's been getting plenty of attention here as well. Deborah Andolino of Aliens & Alibis Books, Columbia, S.C., says "his books are wonderful--and laugh-out-loud funny. Pratchett's audience is growing in the U.S., which I am happy to see."

Read "just about anything in the Discworld," suggests Gavin Grant of Small Beer Press. "If readers are willing to give this a shot (and after the Lord of the Rings films we know that millions of people know who elves and dwarfs and so on are), they'll find rich characters facing a challenging and changing world. Filled with one-liners."

Suzanne Schwalb, editor at Peter Pauper Press, concurs: "How about Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books? They make me laugh out loud. Some of the most fun I've had reading (or listening to them in audio form) since giggling over Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as a child."

Perhaps giggling over books is a good prescription for readers of any age. Another Pratchett fan, Stephanie Anderson of the Moravian Book Shop, Bethlehem Pa., adds that "if YA counts here, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is easily one of the top three funniest books I read in the last few years. I had to keep putting it down so I wouldn't lose my place when I was laughing!"

Imagine opening a bookstore just for laughs. Funny money indeed.--Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)

 

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