Ridiculous Fiction

In fact, this isn’t all ridiculous.  But in the right frame of mind it can be.  It all depends on how deep you decide to dive. 

The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, Something Rotten, and First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde- I loved all of these.  Literary mysteries, they contain many references to literature, art, and pop-culture.  Fforde creates a world in which the line between books and reality is mutable.  For book lovers.  The Audio versions are also very nice- the readers are British actresses with voices that are easy to listen to. 

A Sudden Wild Magic by Diana Wynne Jones- a ridiculous novel about adjacent universes.  Including a ridiculous coven, cat ladies, split people, magic, and kamikaze sex.  Not quite at Xanth stupidity level, but pretty close. 

Xanth books (series, doesn’t need to be read in order) by Piers Anthony- total, complete, and ultimate stupidity.  Perfectly enjoyable especially in June, during stressful times (oh-wait, that’s most of the time) and when you’re sick.  Funny and a good romp. 

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett- I love Gaimen’s writing and Pratchett’s humor, and they balance each other well.  I have gotten into the habit of giving everyone this book for their birthday.  The apocalypse and an eleven-year-old antichrist who loves the world with a dash of angels and demons and a sprinkling of humorous footnotes. 

Ella Minnow Pea* by Mark Dunn- an epistolary novel taking place on an island that worships the god Nollop, the creator of the sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”  When letters begin falling off a memorial of the sentence, citizens take it as a sign from the great god Nollop and remove the letters from their letters and speech.  Some of the novel’s brilliance comes from the fact that Dunn removes each letter from the actual novel as the citizens remove it from their speech. 

The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy* and sequels by Douglas Adams - he hung-out with the python gang and you can tell.  A laugh-out loud sci-fi must full of brilliant metaphors.  Recommended by all.  The movie isn’t bad, but read the books first.  The audio book is also good.