Recent Funny Fiction

April Fools Day is only a couple days away, so let's celebrate some of the best humorous fiction of the past year.

Chuckerman Makes a Movie by Francie Arenson Dickman - "Love matters a little, but luck matters more."
The words of thirty-five-year-old David Melman's Jewish grandmother still haunt him. He's scared to settle down. Instead, he dates twenty-something pop stars that he meets through his celebrity-branding business. But when his niece and nephew inform him that he's hit "rock bottom" with his latest inappropriate relationship, David realizes that change might be in order-so when his sister Marcy, with her own ulterior motive, pushes him to take a film-writing class taught by her friend Laurel, he agrees.
Will writing a movie about a childhood visit to his grandparents in Florida, an unforgettable driving lesson, and a 1977 Cadillac bring David love? Luck? Or both?
Alternating between David's present-day life and his past through his movie script, Chuckerman Makes a Movie is a romantic comedy blended with a comedic coming-of-age.

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde - Imagine a world where all humans must hibernate through a brutally cold winter, their bodies dangerously close to death as they enter an ultra-low metabolic state of utterly dreamless sleep. All humans, that is, apart from the Winter Consuls, a group of officers who diligently watch over the vulnerable sleeping citizens. Charlie Worthing is a novice, chosen by a highflying hero Winter Consul to accompany him to the Douzey, a remote sector in the middle of Wales, to investigate a dream which is somehow spreading amongst those in the hibernational state, causing paranoia, hallucination and a psychotic episode that can end in murder. Worthing has been trained to deal with Tricksy Nightwalkers whose consciousness has been eroded by hibernation, leaving only one or two skills and an incredible hunger; he's been trained to stay alive through the bleakest and loneliest of winters - but he is in no way prepared for what awaits him in Sector Twelve. There are no heroes in Winter, Worthing has been told. And he's about to find out why.

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten - Maud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and... no qualms about a little murder. This funny, irreverent story collection by Helene Tursten, author of the Irene Huss investigations, features two-never-before translated stories that will keep you laughing all the way to the retirement home. Ever since her darling father's untimely death when she was only eighteen, Maud has lived in the family's spacious apartment in downtown Gothenburg rent-free, thanks to a minor clause in a hastily negotiated contract. That was how Maud learned that good things can come from tragedy. Now in her late eighties, Maud contents herself with traveling the world and surfing the net from the comfort of her father's ancient armchair. It's a solitary existence, and she likes it that way. Over the course of her adventures--or misadventures--this little bold lady will handle a crisis with a local celebrity who has her eyes on Maud's apartment, foil the engagement of her long-ago lover, and dispose of some pesky neighbors. But when the local authorities are called to investigate a dead body found in Maud's apartment, will Maud finally become a suspect?

Jeeves and the King of Clubs by Ben Schott - What ho! A new Jeeves and Wooster novel, penned in homage to P.G. Wodehouse by bestselling author Ben Schott--in which literature's favorite gentleman and his gentleman's personal gentleman become spies in service to the Crown.
The misadventures of P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster and his incomparable valet, Jeeves, have delighted audiences for nearly a century. Now, bestselling author Ben Schott brings this odd couple back to life in a madcap new adventure that is full of the hijinks, entanglements, imbroglios, and Wodehousian wordplay that readers love. And, by Jove, there's a hook!
In this escapade, the Junior Ganymede Club (Jeeves's association of butlers and valets) is revealed to be an arm of the British intelligence service. Jeeves must ferret out a Fascist spy, and only his hapless employer can help. Unfolding in the background are school-chum capers, affairs of the heart, drawing-room escapades, antics with aunts, and sartorial set-tos.
Energized by Schott's effervescent prose, Jeeves and the King of Clubs delights longtime fans and introduces a new audience to the comic joys of these beloved characters.

Mr. & Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel - The year is 1969. Dick Nixon was just sworn in as the thirty-seventh President of the United States. Neil Armstrong just took one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. And notable Palm Springs socialite Maxine Simmons just found out that her husband is leaving her for his twenty-two-year-old secretary. After a public meltdown at Thanksgiving, Maxine finds herself not only divorced but exiled to Scottsdale, Arizona. However, these desert boondocks will not be her end--only her Elba. The former beauty queen sets her eyes on a new crown: that of the Mrs. American Pie pageant, awarded to the nation's best wife and mother. Maxine only has one problem: to win the crown she'll need to find--or build--a family of her own.

The Reluctant Fortune Teller by Keziah Frost - Norbert Zelenka has always lived life on the sidelines. It's why at seventy-three years old he's broke and alone except for the company of a Chihuahua. But when "Carlotta's Club"--three strong-willed seniors with plenty of time on their hands--decide to make Norbert their latest project, he reluctantly agrees to their scheme: establishing himself as the town's fortune-teller. Soon his life begins changing in unexpected ways.
It turns out that years of observing other people make Norbert an excellent card reader. As Norbert's lonesome world expands with new friendships and a newfound self-confidence, he finally finds himself in a place where he belongs. But disaster looms on the horizon. When a troubled young woman goes missing after a bad reading, Norbert must find a strength beyond the cards to bring her home safely.

Restless Souls by Dan Sheehan - Set in the early-mid 1990's, RESTLESS SOULS tells the story of the friendship between three wayward Irish lads in their late twenties. After three years under siege in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War, Tom returns to Dublin a brittle, haunted shell of his former self, suffering from severe PTSD. Karl and Gus meet him at the airport, knowing they're unqualified to help their best friend yet determined to somehow see him through the darkness. Grasping at straws, they embark on a journey for an unlikely cure on the other side of the world, an experimental PTSD clinic on the California coast called RESTLESS SOULS. A wry, shambolic road trip that's at turns tremendously moving and darkly funny, Restless Souls wrestles with larger themes and meditations on grief and PTSD, and on the way our memories simultaneously comfort and restrict us from growing up and moving on. Author Dan Sheehan skillfully moves between ribald humor and aching pathos to ask a question we can all relateto: in the process of growing up, how do we not also grow apart?

Talk to the Paw by Melinda Metz - Jamie Snyder is thirty-four and single but NOT ready to mingle. After suffering through The Year of the Non-Commital Man, The Year of the Self-Absorbed Man, and The Year of the Forgot-to-Mention-Im-Married Man, Jamies ready to celebrate The Year of Meand MacGyver, of course. MacGyver is an adorable tabby with a not-so-adorable habit of sneaking out at night and stealing things from the neighbors. Thats right, MacGyver is a cat burglar. Hes still the only male Jamie trustsand the only companion she needs . . . MacGyver knows his human is lonely. He can smell it. Its the same smell hes noticed on their neighbor David, a handsome young baker whos tired of his friends trying to fix him up. But now MacGyvers on the case. First, he steals something from David and stashes it at Jamies. Then, he steals something from Jamie and leaves it with David. Before long, the two are swapping stolen goods, trading dating horror stories, and trying not to fall in love. But theyre not fooling MacGyver. When humans generate this much heat, the cat is out of the bag . . .

This Body's Not Big Enough for the Both of Us by Edgar Cantero - In a dingy office in Fisherman's Wharf, the glass panel in the door bears the names of A. Kimrean and Z. Kimrean. Private Eyes. Behind the door there is only one desk, one chair, one scrawny androgynous P.I. in a tank top and skimpy waistcoat. A.Z., as they are collectively known, are twin brother and sister. He's pure misanthropic logic, she's wild hedonistic creativity. The Kimreans have been locked in mortal battle since they were in utero...which is tricky because they, very literally, share one single body. That's right. One body, two pilots. The mystery and absurdity of how Kimrean functions, and how they subvert every plotline, twist, explosion, and gunshot--and confuse every cop, neckless thug, cartel boss, ninja, and femme fatale--in the book is pure Cantero magic. Someone is murdering the sons of the ruthless drug cartel boss known as the Lyon in the biggest baddest town in California--San Carnal. The notorious A.Z. Kimrean must go to the sin-soaked, palm-tree-lined streets of San Carnal, infiltrate the Lyon's inner circle, and find out who is targeting his heirs, and while they are at it, rescue an undercover cop in too deep, deal with a plucky young stowaway, and stop a major gang war from engulfing California.

The Very Principled Maggie Mayfield by Kathy Cooperman - Maggie Mayfield, an elementary school principal in the upscale suburbs of San Diego, likes to do the right thing--for her students and, after her marriage takes a hit, for herself as well. What's wrong with that? To keep her cash-strapped school afloat, Maggie says yes to a sweet deal from Silicon Valley's hottest for-profit education company. They'll provide enough funding so that Maggie can keep her science, art, and PE teachers in exchange for some dopey beta-test program backed by handsome CEO Danny Z. No layoffs! Happy kids! Professionally, everything's flourishing. Personally, the right things are tingling--Maggie can't resist Danny Z's magnetism. But as the school year continues, Maggie senses that she might have been duped. As things take a turn for the worse, Maggie and her BFF assistant, Diane, must keep things good--by going a little bad.