I was looking over my Goodreads entries for the last two years, and there is a lot of FLUFF. I mean, it’s seriously startling how many romance and chicklit novels I’ve read considering that until a couple of years ago, I’d never read a romance. Not even one! And while I’ve found the lighter chicklit okay for a bath with a glass of wine after a long week of writing, mostly I’ve stuck to cozies when I needed a mindless read. But lately, and I know this sounds hilarious considering they’re murder mysteries, I’ve gotten tired of all the killing!

It’s pretty easy for me to see what happened last year, why I chose these lighter books that moved away from violence and deep emotion…my best friend died suddenly, and I needed escapism. The equivalent of TV, but in books. And while I’m certainly not over her death 18 months later, I’m not choosing these books to escape anymore. I think that I’ve actually been searching for humour. The truth is, what I’d love to read is really well-written humour. Like Lisa Lutz’s The Spellman Files. Or The Clueless Girl’s Guide to Being a Genius (MG).  I don’t care if it’s for teens or adult.

But you know, it’s not that easy to find humour in fiction. At least, I haven’t had much luck. Yes, there are the books that have won humour awards, or been nominated, but somehow, they don’t always seem that funny to me. I think I have a very odd sense of humour. I like wacky and outrageous, not necessarily dry intellectual humour (and yes, I get it, I just don’t love it). The thing about the the light romances…they’re often laugh out-loud funny. I can honestly say that I find the sex scenes kind of unbearable…they’re almost ludicrous in their heat and warmth and smoldering touch. You know? Okay, not almost, they are. I usually read those parts really fast and wonder if I should just skip them altogether and go get another cup of tea.

However, I’ve found a few writers who have concentrated on the funny, with the sex scenes being more of the “fade-to-black” type, and those I really enjoyed. One was Sophie Kinsella’s I’ve Got Your Number, and another was A Little Ray of Sunshine by Lani Diane Rich (her first book was good too, but they’re essentially the same book, if you ask me).

Anyway, if any of you know of any really funny stuff I should be reading, leave suggestions in the comments. I’d love to find some MG and YA that’s not necessarily “boy” humour, too. And of course, I love things like Jeeves and Wooster. I mean, who doesn’t?

Lastly, I want to say that I actually considered deleting my Goodreads account because what does it say about me to have all these light and fluffy books on my list? Will anyone really take me seriously as an author? Aren’t I supposed to be reading “important” books, or the classics or at least the award winners? But then I decided, I am who I am, and maybe that is a silly romantic who likes to laugh. I mean, I used to make my living doing comedy (improvisation & theatre). And if I could write a book as funny as Lisa Lutz’s I’d be a happy, happy girl. So whattaya got to make me laugh?