Books
15 Books That Are So Much Fun, You’ll Laugh, Swoon, Cheer, and Generally Just Have a Good Time
Between your college required reading list and the tendency towards “serious fiction” that afflicts the bestseller lists, your might notice that your bookshelf is getting a little dreary lately. Long gone are the days when you could get praise from adult figures for devouring books about schools for wizards, wish-granting djinn, and perfect hero-full happy endings.
But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck reading nothing but miserable novels about the miserable state of affairs of our world, or those plotless surrealist books with meandering, “quirky” protagonists who do lots of slightly insane things, and then existentially cry about it. There are plenty of “grown-up” books that are super-fun, but don’t mince on the smarts. And some of them even still have magic in them!
There’s satire with a social crit bend, zany mysteries that explore the limits of the power of the human mind, and even space-faring, fantastical adventures that force you to rethink how your own society might be different. YA and kids' books don’t have the monopoly on fun anymore. In fact, fun is often the way to the freshest ideas — and plenty of authors of all backgrounds are writing fantastic stuff that'll make you have a great time while you read. So, put down that pristine copy of War & Peace that you just know you'll get through this time, and give some of the books on this list a try.
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The Sellout by Paul Beatty
You might not think a novel in which the black protagonist reinstates slavery and segregates the high school in his local town would be very funny. But it is. It’s hilarious. The Sellout is easily Beatty’s best satire, with a protagonist who laughs loudly and flagrantly and the ridiculous state race relations have wrought in the country as he vehemently defends his egregious acts in the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s a brilliant indictment of the history and present of race relations in the U.S. that will have you laughing on pretty much every single page.
'Your Face Tomorrow' by Javier Marias
You know those daydreams you’ve had where you imagine your keen powers of human analysis culled by years of obsessive reading could somehow make you into a superspy? Well, that’s pretty much how things work in Your Face Tomorrow . Let’s be real, IRL James Bond would probably totally suck as a spy. All hail the book nerd spies!
'Akata Witch' by Nnedi Okorafor
Girl discovers she has magical powers, kicks a villain’s evil ass. What’s more classic good fun than that? Only in this one takes place in Nigeria, and the girl with powers is an American-born Nigerian albino. A breath of fresh air in the classic hero adventure.
'Zone One' by Colson Whitehead
You might be getting your zombie fill from The Walking Dead, but Colson Whitehead’s play in the genre is one of the best literary takes on zombies outside of comics. You’ll find no cheap scares and lazy plot devices here, but there are plenty of zombies, which means plenty of fun. If you were ever going to get away with reading about zombies while still maintaining that fancy title of “serious reader,” this is how.
'Herland' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Who run the world? Well, in Herland , it actually, like, really, seriously is girls. Herland answers the question: “What would the world be like if it was run completely by women and only women?” And it answers it without the obnoxious male-fantasy perspective. What could be more fun than that?
'Lilith's Brood' by Octavia Butler
A book with this much alien sex definitely isn’t for the kiddos. But Lilith’s Brood is sci-fi through and through. I mean, its original title was Xenogenesis! And despite the fact that it’s set years in the future after humanity has totally destroyed itself and its planet, it’s incredibly hopeful. Finally a novel where the aliens aren’t out to get us, but are actually out to revive and save us. And, well… also… alien sex.
'Alif the Unseen' by G. Willow Wilson
An Arab-Indian hacker, code name Alif, goes underground and takes on the government of a Middle Eastern police state. Sounds like one of those box office hit conspiracy action movies, doesn’t it? Well, it reads like one, too!
'Babel-17' by Samuel Delany
Honestly, the chain-mail-bikini-clad heroine on the cover of the old edition of this book should be enough to send you to the bookstore. But in case you need a little more of a push, you can also look forward to a story in which poetry saves the universe via a charming young lady poet and telepath named Rydra Wong.
'I Am Not Sidney Poitier' by Percival Everett
Percival Everett is easily one of the most hilarious writers writing today, and he has so many amazing, funny, thoughtful novels already published that you really can’t go wrong just skimming the “E” section of the bookstore and grabbing whichever one your hand lands on. Glyph , about a genius baby’s adventures (and his freakishly erudite thoughts on them), is a personal favorite, but you can’t go wrong with the likes of Erasure or I Am Not Sidney Poitier , which follows a protagonist whose actual name is ‘Not Sidney Poitier’…
'United States of Banana' by Giannina Braschi
Hamlet, Zarathustra, and Segismundo walk into a bar… no, seriously, those are all actual characters in United States of Banana. What ensues, though, isn’t the literary nerdgasm you’d think. Instead, you get a hilarious novel with teeth, which puts U.S.-Latin American-Caribbean relations front and center, and asks what would happen if U.S. imperialism saw the end of its days.
'Oreo' by Fran Ross
An oldie based on an oldie, and definitely a goodie. First published in 1974 and thankfully rediscovered in 2000, Oreo is a modern-day retelling of the tale of Theseus, but this journey features a half-black, half-Jewish girl named Oreo navigating the dangerous labyrinth and the way too many Sam Schwartzes of New York in a search for her white father.
'Black No More' by George S. Schuyler
George S. Schuyler takes no prisoners in his biting tale about a scientist who decides to overthrow the ghastly power structure of 1930s America by inventing a process that can make black Americans white. Hilarity, second thoughts, and a whole lot of weird ensue. Schuyler takes on white leaders and black, the KKK and the NAACP, and he isn’t afraid to hit below the belt, all with a laugh.
'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline
If you’re an ’80s baby, or have a soft spot for John Hughes movies and nerd flicks, then be ready for a heavy dose of nostalgia with this book. You might not think a sci-fi adventure set in a virtual-reality-heavy future dystopia would scream of the ’80s, but Ready Player One has more ’80s references than the sale rack at Forever21.
'Pym' by Mat Johnson
Black folk in the cold? Race issues in Antarctica? It already sounds like the lead in to a familiar joke, right? Throw in a quest motivated by an unpublished Edgar Allen Poe novel, a bunch of Little Debbie snack cakes, a lost tribe of giant Yeti-like white people, and a literature professor as protagonist, and you’ve got a recipe for a hilarious disaster.
'A Case of Exploding Mangoes' by Mohammed Hanif
His name is Ali Shigri, and the dictator of Pakistan killed his father. If a darker shade of humor is more your style, then prepare for a whole lot of it in this one. Based on the wild cluster of conspiracy theories surrounding the real-life death of former Pakistani president Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, you’ll get a dose of reality that leaves you with a case of the guilty chuckles. You know the kind… the try-to-hold-it-in, hide-your-smile-with-your-hand, “I’m such a bad person” laughter.
