April 2014
Editor's Desk

Like a little humor in your reading matter?  Do you have patrons who are always on the lookout for a laugh-out-loud book?  If so, then you're in luck, as the April issue of RA News discusses several aspects of humor writing.  I'm definitely anticipating several recommendations for books that I will love.
 
Kaitlyn Moore and Jennifer Brannen address some adult genre fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Historical Romance), while Tom Reynolds provides suggestions for your teen readers.  And don't think we've forgotten nonfiction! Mike Nilsson discusses some autobiographies and memoirs.
 
Now to get this party started, let me give you a few recommendations of my own:
 
Fiction
Four to Score by Janet Evanovich – Stephanie gets help from Sally Sweet, a seven-foot-tall transvestite, and regular sidekicks Granny Mazur and Lula. Car bombs, quirky characters, and a memorable scene at an Atlantic City casino will leave you rolling in the aisles.
 
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett -- Like all of the Discworld novels, there are several touching moments, but it also features a fast pace, lots of word play, and some truly hilarious situations.
 
Nonfiction
Eat My World by Simon Majumdar  -- The author found an old note to himself, "go everywhere and eat everything" … so he did.
 
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris -- One of the reviews made me laugh. Sedaris applies his trademark wit to learning French, his family, and other equally laugh-provoking matters.
 
In This Issue
  • Laugh Your Past Off
  • Around the Web
  • That's Not Funny, That's True!
  • NoveList Bookshelf
  • Down to Earth
  • Looking for a Good Laugh


Find something funny to read. The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal Award for Canadian Humour Writing is given annually to a Canadian writer for the best work of literary humor.
 
 


Learn about NoveList: Expand your readers' advisory reach

Want to save staff time and deliver expert reading recommendations 24/7? Come to a demonstration of NoveList Complete and we’ll show you how. 

 
Laugh Your Past Off: An Exercise in Humorous Historical Romances
by Jennifer Brannen

I like my romances like I like my men -- funny. If you can make me laugh, I am willing to forgive inconsistencies, odd plot devices, and the occasional incongruous phrase or clanging fact. So writing a piece on humorous romances seemed like an obvious choice and contemporary humorous romances seemed like...Continue Reading
Around the Web with Jessica Zellers
I’m breezing through Control Point, the first of Myke Cole’s Shadow Point series, which mines a great premise: what if magic suddenly manifested in the contemporary world? How would the American military respond? What happens when you put wizards in combat fatigues?
 
It’s a good choice for readers who like a little fantasy in their military adventure stories, and vice versa. It’s also a good choice for readers who want…Continue Reading

 
That's Not Funny, That's True! 
by Michael Nilsson

I’ve always thought that the most difficult type of writing is nonfiction humor, since humor is hard enough to find in real life, much less to invent. The positive results from nonfiction humor are often more impressive and more rewarding for nonfiction humor readers as they get to learn something while they’re laughing. How often do you get to do that in life? (I never see people yukking it up at the DMV when they learn that their licenses are expired.) What we find humorous is…Continue Reading
 
NoveList Bookshelf
Every month, we include a few of the titles that NoveList staff and contributors are reading. Have you read them? What did you think?



Shadows on the Nile
Recommended by 
Katherine Johnson
Hyperbole and a Half
Recommended by
Krista Biggs
Truth in Advertising
Recommended by
Shauna Griffin
Down to Earth: Humorous Science Fiction and Fantasy
by Kaitlyn Moore

Science fiction and fantasy fans sometime catch a little heat for not reading "serious literature." This holds true for humor fans as well and this article won't do anything to dispel that image. Science Fiction, Fantasy, and humor readers share a common talent -- they can step outside the real world and immerse themselves in settings that appear…Continue Reading

 
Looking for a Good Laugh: Humor in Teen Fiction
by Tom Reynolds

When their life gets too crazy, teenagers turn to humor to help them navigate adolescence.  They love a good joke or story, particularly if it involves sarcasm, irreverence, sexual or off-color references. In fiction and in real life, humor is…Continue Reading 
 


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Editor: Krista Biggs
Production: Cassi Broach