Lorrie Moore, Anagrams

Lorrie Moore, Anagrams. Extraordinary. Absolutely fucking comic and engrossing and worthwhile. Benna is a character with so much imagination, so much character, so much more everything - her voice is half-monologue, half dialogue, alternately and concurrently understated and hyperbolic, dryly witty and broad slapstick. Tragedy that was so funny I had trouble breathing and read bits out loud to myself to laugh again. Seriously considered starting over at the beginning when I got to the end.

Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Herman Melville, Moby Dick. One of my very favorites and every time I've forgotten.

Robin Sloane, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Robin Sloane, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. This is a cute little silly story. At first you think is is going to descend into a lugubrious "one big misunderstanding" sort of book, but it stays light and funny. And for what it's worth, it is infinitely better that The Circle (which tried to be a funny satire of current technological and social trends and failed dreadfully - Mr. Penumbra has some of the same topical Google-ly stuff, also a little ridiculous, but without the strident whining and bitterness).

More light reading

Been reading some fun stuff between the cracks lately. E.L Konigsburg, The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place. A cute story about a girl's relationship with her elderly uncles and the giant scrap metal towers they built in their back yard. George R.R. Martin, Tuf Voyaging. A portly cat loving intergalactic trader acquires god-like powers. Daniel Pinkwater, The Afterlife Diet. Heaven for chubby people and diet book scams.

John Scalzi, Redshirts

John Scalzi, Redshirts. Wouldn't those poor crew members on the Enterprise figure out something was up?

Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. A most elaborate autobiography as a set for a series of dick jokes: the jokes are related with such delight and propriety, however, that it would be inhuman not to enjoy them.

Saladin Ahmed, Throne of the Crescent Moon

Saladin Ahmed, Throne of the Crescent Moon. A truly enjoyable swords & sorcery story - the best kind of genre - smart, funny, with a set of evil-fighting wise-cracking mismatched heroes that are fun to walk around a city with. (Chapter one as well as a short story are on the author's site.)

James Joyce, Ulysses

James Joyce, Ulysses. A really great reading by John Lee with an accent you can chew on - I found I missed some aspects of the text by listening, but also gained some hilarity by listening to a speaker read the lines. Did I mention that it's funny? Don't let Joyce's reputation scare you -  slide along with with the words and be entertained.