Recommended: uh, YES! 🙂 For people who like slice-of-life comics, for a trusty source of smiles, for more of Catana’s established comic style, for anyone who’s been in a long-term relationship and is familiar with the feeling of settling in and having routines
Summary
When you’ve reached that sweatpants-wearing cozy place in your relationship, it’s all In Love & Pajamas! This brand-new collection of Catana Comics presents some fan favorites and half of the book features never-before-seen comics that delight and amuse readers of all ages. Wholesome, sweet, feel-good humor!
A guy who found his way into being a librarian shares his path there and some of the joys and pains of the job. Disclaimer for those who think otherwise: it’s not all reading quietly during work. 😂
Thoughts
A cute little read about one guy’s journey to being a library person. I super appreciated all the points he makes about the misconceptions people have about working in a library, or about librarian science. There’s a crap ton that goes into managing all of that information, and good luck to anyone who thinks they can just walk in and do it. Or the poor misguided fools who think they can just read all day if they work at a library. 😂 It is, essentially, a service job in many ways. And I think it’s widely known that service jobs tend to really suck sometimes. This is more of his story than it is a collection of anecdotes. I expected the latter, but wasn’t disappointed to get the former. There are a lot of disclaimers and lessons learned throughout, which I appreciated as a way to see how he’s grown.
The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson Verdict: way too many digressions; the crude / poop jokes didn’t really do it for me either; and the characters felt flat and singularly defined by one characteristic.
Recommended: there’s definitely people who will love this (just…not me) If you love crude humor and poop jokes; if you can follow along a whiplash ride and don’t mind constant diversions; if you’re looking more for humour than a story or developed characters; if you’ve never read an “epic adventure” parody book (because this one wasn’t great, so if you’ve read and enjoyed another you’ll probably be disappointed)
Sure, you think you know the story of the fearsome red dragon, Dragonia. How it terrorized the village of Skendrick until a brave band of heroes answered the noble villagers’ call for aid. How nothing could stop those courageous souls from facing down the dragon. How they emerged victorious and laden with treasure. But, even in a world filled with epic adventures and tales of derring-do, where dragons, goblins, and unlicensed prestidigitators run amok, legendary heroes don’t always know what they’re doing. Sometimes they’re clueless. Sometimes beleaguered townsfolk are more hapless than helpless. And orcs? They’re not always assholes, and sometimes they don’t actually want to eat your children. Heloise the Bard, Erithea’s most renowned storyteller (at least, to hear her tell it), is here to set the record straight. See, it turns out adventuring isn’t easy, and true heroism is as rare as an articulate villager. Having spent decades propagating this particular myth (which, incidentally, she wrote), she’s finally able to tell the real story—for which she just so happened to have a front-row seat.
DNF @ ~80%. My, oh my. The digressions were just way too much for me. Heloise must have a touch of ADD. What a shame because this was one of my Fast Forward Friday features! But, look, even the BLURB is enormously long and wordy.
Oh, looks like he already has. 😁 This was a re-read for me, but I read it so long ago that I wanted to go through it again. It’s pretty expansive in how much it covers, and I knew I would have forgotten a lot of it. What a delight to revisit this one!
(I tried REALLY hard to think of a Pollack-fish pun 😂)
Recommended: yes for people who have enjoyed her comics on social, for women who enjoy short comics that are #relatable, for anyone looking for a little smile
Summary: Cassandra Calin’s ability to document the hilarity of relatable everyday events in a series of webcomics has generated a huge following on social media. This beautifully illustrated compendium of first-person comics about the trials of the single life, school, stress, junk food, shaving, and maintaining a healthy self-image. Cassandra Calin’s comics frequently highlight the humorous gap between expectations and reality, especially when it comes to appearance and how much she can accomplish in one day. This book is funny, lighthearted, introspective, and artistically stunning—the perfect gift for young women, recent graduates, and anyone who might need a little comedic incentive to leave the house today.
Recommended: yes for people who have enjoyed her comics on social, for women who enjoy short comics that are #relatable, for anyone looking for a little smile
Summary: Cassandra Calin’s ability to document the hilarity of relatable everyday events in a series of webcomics has generated a huge following on social media. This beautifully illustrated compendium of first-person comics about the trials of the single life, school, stress, junk food, shaving, and maintaining a healthy self-image. Cassandra Calin’s comics frequently highlight the humorous gap between expectations and reality, especially when it comes to appearance and how much she can accomplish in one day. This book is funny, lighthearted, introspective, and artistically stunning—the perfect gift for young women, recent graduates, and anyone who might need a little comedic incentive to leave the house today.
Thoughts: If you follow her on Instagram or have otherwise seen her comics, then you can expect more of the same art style and humour. For those new to Cassandra Calin, YOU’RE IN FOR A FUN TIME! Mostly short 4-panel comics or expectations vs reality side by side comparisons, these are everyday issues most people run into. Her comics probably do appeal to women more since she writes about her experiences like menstruating, trying to find comfortable clothes, and attempts at hair styling. Men will probably get a laugh too, but honestly I could also see a lot of them scratching their heads or cringing in horror as they learn things they never knew about the female mind and body. 😂
For new content, there are definitely comics from her social sharings in here that I recognized. I’m not sure if any are exclusive to the book, but it was about half ones I’d seen and half ones that were new to me. The arc follows roughly a year in her life, with some seasonal and school based comics.
Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!
One of my reading goals this year was to seek out books that would make me laugh. Not just a smile, or a flash of amusement, but an actual out-loud guffaw, chuckle, giggle, or other form of chortling. Even if this isn’t one of your goals, everyone could use some laughter in their day! Especially with the given state of the world at the moment. (If you’ve got any books that have made you laugh, please let me know so I can add it to my TBR!)
So I can’t promise that you’ll also find these books funny, because maybe we have different senses of humor. For example I dislike Will Ferrel and Tina Fey, so if those are your go-to’s, we may be at opposite ends. Nonetheless, I’ve grabbed a relatively wide range of books for you here, from fiction to nonfiction, from middle grade to adult, and from parody to memoir. Which means there should hopefully be something you’ll enjoy. 😁
Nonfiction
I typically laugh most at nonfiction works, probably because due to their very nature the authors are more able to make jokes and write conversationally. Humor lends itself to nonfiction. Here are some of my favorites!
A Lawson two-fer
Ok, so if you follow this blog there’s a high chance you’ve seen me talk about at least one of these books before, but there’s a reason for it. The reason is that they absolutely make me cackle. These are the books I read when I feel the worst, for any reason. They’re completely absurd and hilarious and I greatly enjoy Lawson’s voice. Note however that they do also address mental illness like depression, so they’re not 100% lighthearted.
Type of funny: Unexpected situations, familial banter, thought trails that wander off as you might when you’re falling asleep, questions you never thought to ask
A drunken bet, a fridge, and Irish folks
Please note that this is not written by Tony Hawk, the professional skateboarder, but by Tony Hawks, a British Comedian. The premise of this is probably pretty clear from the title, but it’s the story of him hitchhiking all the way around the coast of Ireland, with a minifridge. I feel like the humor writes itself. Besides the laughs, I also loved the people he meets during the journey, and they were so many kinds of wonderful. This is also very feel-good to read.
Type of funny: situational humor, misunderstandings, interpersonal moments, observational humor
Stories from humans
People are funny. Probably every person, even if they don’t realize it. Some people just need some help shaping their humour, and the crafters at The Moth are professionals at doing just that. The result is genuine stories from people who just learn how to tell it exactly right. I do recommend listening to the original recordings of any that you particularly enjoy, because the voice aspects can really enhance a story. Still, this will be filled with stories of many kinds and many emotions, but plenty to make you laugh.
Type of funny: varies by story/person but generally relatable humour, a warm interpersonal humour like laughing with friends about something silly that happened
Take her advice, just… later
This one relays a woman’s journey to push herself to be more than her job (or jobless) self. To RSVP yes to friends and actually follow through, to face all her fears, and to figure out how to make friends as an adult. Personally, I saw so much of myself reflected in her, and I think most people would. How DO you make friends as an adult?? I admired her bravery and candor and, okay, I admit it: I also felt somewhat inspired. Maybe not ready to do standup comedy yet, but improv classes perhaps!
Type of funny: watching someone try doing things they’re bad at/ new at, situational humor, laughing at actual jokes (as she does stand up routines), trying to find answers to awkward questions
Fiction
While I don’t get guffaws from fiction quite as often, there are certainly some that are written just right to coerce a cackle from me!
The pre-teen awkwardness
Chances are high that if you’re reading this, you’ve been through puberty or are currently going through puberty. And that can be hella awkward at the time, and hella funny looking back. This graphic novel about a mean girl who only just realized she was a mean girl takes an unusual look behind the curtain of popularity and cliques to a perspective not often given. The artistic delivery is absolutely perfect, too, and captures the mind and tone of a middle school girl very well.
Type of funny: relatable, artistic punctuation of moments, situational
Culture clash is a beautiful thing
Okay, admittedly, this one has some extra impact for me since I lived in Korea for a while and absolutely fell in love with the country and people and culture and FOOD. 🤤 But with that said, I’m confident that this story will be funny to people without that experience too, maybe even more so since the confusion the reader has will mirror the confusion Merri feels.
Type of funny: cultural miscommunications, Korean cliches that look wildly out of place in U.S. high schools
Meta-art and character humour
While this overall address racism and stigma and the micro-aggressions that can be so common, it’s done in a remarkably light yet accurate way. This is another graphic novel, and Craft makes use of the character’s artistic ability by including some of Jordan’s drawings and interpretations of events in the story. Combined with the way Jordan and others use humor to cope, there ends up being a lot of moments that make you laugh out loud even as you’re rooting for the good guys to come out on top. Pop culture parodies are sprinkled in to give this a very modern feel, as well.
Type of funny: humor from reactions, witty comebacks, wry artistic wit
A surprise gem
This one I found completely by accident and ended up loving its elements of parody and warping of the traditional epic-adventure genre. This one could admittedly read as lazy orr tiring to some people, as it’s very similar to so many other plot lines we see. The key difference is in the skewing of the values of the world, the authority of the authority figures, and the truth behind “the chosen ones.” Imagine a caricature of Lord of the Rings combined with The Hobbit and you’ve just about got it.
Type of funny: parody, extreme exaggeration, slapstick-esque, absurdity, twisting of tropes
Sweet and sour laughter
This is a manga that will crack you up and warm your heart. The part with the frog? I laughed very hard. And re-read it multiple times immediately. It’s not all fun and games, as there are certainly some dark moments in here, but there’s a lot of comic relief. Based on the Japanese stories of animals with special spirit powers and duties to the gods, this is a classic story of a villain who is forced to change his ways, whether he wants to or not. Type of funny: events that don’t end as expected, characters that contrast with each other, a general playful art and story style
What books have made you laugh?
Please, help me with my goal for the year! If you have any books that have made you laugh, let me know what it was in the comments so I can add it to my list. 😁
Hello again! As promised, here’s part 2 of my favorite nonfiction reads. The first batch was so fun, and I love reflecting on these unique reads. Nonfiction reading seems to be far less common in my usual reading circles. Any chance I get to share them is lovely. 😊
I originally read the first volume of this, so when I heard there was a second coming out I was absolutely delighted. I have a special hatred of moths, so this was honestly kind of a struggle for me to embrace, name-wise. I first heard the stories on The Moth hour on NPR. Man, are they fantastic. A whole range of stories and emotions, and I love their focus on maintaining it as a well-told story. The books lose the character of spoken word, but some of the stories told in this one were destroyed or lost as audio, so the fact that we can still get them in written form is a treasure. These collections are perfect for whatever kind of day you’re having: laughter, tears of joy, empathy, gratitude, inspiration, pride… you’ll get a bit of everything in this. PS – here’s one of my favorite stories, featuring Blue Man Group!
Ah, man. If I hadn’t become a teacher and then accidentally fallen into a tech career, I would definitely have been a chemist or something else lab-related. God, I love chemistry and stuff. And learning about stuff. The cool reactions and precision also appeal to me, like “if you add 2mL it’ll turn into rainbow colors but if you do 2.1mL it’ll BURN THROUGH YOUR HAND.” I’m not much of one for danger, but damn does that get me. Point being I can live vicariously in my Other Life through books like this. Plus they are just fascinating. Everything is incredible if you think about it enough.
The extent of my religious knowledge stems from trailing along with friends when I was growing up to churches, synagogues, temples, and whatever Mormons call theirs (I think it’s still just a church?). My biblical knowledge is approximately nil. So this sounded like a pretty fascinating story, and a way I could learn little tidbits and debates about the Bible without, you know… reading it (though I’ve tried multiple times). It was hilarious and enlightening and honest and cemented him as one of my favorite non-fic writers. I’m currently about to read what I see as the female counterpart, too!
This might be familiar to some people, as it definitely started from the online comic xkcd.com which I admit I only sometimes understand. This book, however, is as close to a spirit-animal-book as I might ever get. I’m always the one asking the apparently bizarre questions to my friends, who then just laugh and add it to my quirks. I genuinely want to know the answers though, and this book is filled with them. Scientifically accurate and completely fascinating. 😍
This one comes down to cleverness and humor and admiration. Boiling yourself down to 6 words is difficult at best, but to do it in a smart and entertaining way doubles that effort. These people, all young, did such a remarkable job. As I often get with my nonfic loves, it contains all the feels. Based on that famous Hemingway trope of the dare, they make you laugh and cry and relate and overall leave you very impressed and ready to boil your own elements down to 6 words. My attempt: Mostly optimistic, but still working hard.
Any familiar titles?
So that’s my list! For now. I certainly plan to continue with these, and hope to find some more gems this year. Honestly there are still so many I could include, but I wanted to highlight some from my range within nonfic.
Let me know what your favorite nonfiction read is in a comment! I’m always looking for more, and it’s generally harder to get recommendations on this genre than, say, young adult fantasy. I’m pretty open to any genre, but especially love stories that make you feel things and investigations into specific events, people, items, etc.
As I’ve gotten older I’ve had the delight of falling into the varied world of nonfiction. I am a forever-curious person (did you know that “flops” and “nines” and “banana dosage” are all units of measurement?), which means that nonfiction will always have something to interest and entertain me.
There are books written about pretty much anything, like this one about salt. As a firm believe that every little thing is surprisingly awesome, I adore deep explorations into what seemed simple or mundane but is actually incredible. It’s much the same how I feel about people. (….usually.)
Often times, nonfiction also makes me a laugh a lot, because the authors can write the way they might talk and take a conversational tone. This includes jokes, and who doesn’t love jokes?
Here’s a range of some of my favorite nonfiction, some of which really changed my life. I can track important events in my life through my nonfiction reading, but some of it is also just really fun and cool. Why not have both? 😊
This is a recent re-read that rather inspired this post. I’ve had some crazy life decision being thrown at me and with that comes all the requisite fear of making said decision plus then living with that decision. Anyway – this book is my master guide to dealing with bad days. It makes me laugh, cry, and feel better. There are the deep talks about how to handle your own depression and bad days, how to help others through theirs, what hers are like, and tales of how she lives aggressively full throttle on the good days. It’s everything I need when I’m starting to feel terrifyingly overwhelmed.
This was my first “sit at a coffee shop and read a book” book. And my god, was it a good choice. It’s a perfect example of a nonfiction topic I love because I know just about nothing about morgue-life (or morgue-death?). Having taken a forensics class, I know enough about other death-stuff to be really interested and not grossed out. Again, this was also hilarious. I love that all the questions were from kids, because I still have a lot of those same questions too.
I lived in Korea for a while, and I absolutely fell in love with it. To be honest, it kills me daily that I’m not there now. And yes, I do mean literally now, even though I lived in Daegu which is currently a quarantine zone for Covid-19. This book is primarily in Korea’s northern c ounterpart, but realistically these are the same people. Yet with drastically different lives. I’ve read a lot of nonfiction about North Korea, but this was by far my favorite because it’s handled with thorough interviews of people from various walks of life and reads almost like a novel through the recreations of scenes and included emotion. It’s absolutely stunning, and humanizing to a place that needs it. The amount of general ignorance I encountered when telling Americans I was going to live / had lived in Korea was painfully revealing.
Ahhhh, WoW Classic. You triggered this all over again. World of Warcraft is (if you’re somehow unfamiliar) an online roleplaying game where you collect stuff, kill stuff, and do stuff. It’s amazing. And last year the company re-released the game as it was when it originally released YEARS ago. There was a huge resurgence of players and excitement, and part of my own excitement was to finally track down Felicia Day’s memoir. She had issues with addiction to the game in some depressive times, but there’s more to her book than that. Ultimately for my life, this means I was playing the video game, reading about someone who played the video game, listening to other people play the video game, and watching a show about people who played the video game. ….It’s a good game. (Though not so much at the moment…)
I have more I want to highlight, but also want to do them justice, so they’ll be in the second part of this post!
My Book Joy 