Class Mom by Laurie Gelman, 304 Pages

This is an absolutely hilarious tale of the politics that come with being a "class mom". If you are like me, and are currently drowning in PTA meetings, carpool lines and elementary holiday parties... READ THIS BOOK AND FIND THE HUMOR IN IT ALL! 

Jen Dixon is a mother of three- she has two daughters in college and one son in kindergarten. She reluctantly signs up to be the class mom for her son's class after some persuasion from her best friend, who happens to be the head of the PTA. None of the other parents seem to understand, or appreciate, her snarky sense of humor and seemingly do everything in their power to make her job more difficult than it already is. Throw in a nutty teacher, a huge age gap between Jen and the rest of the parents, and an old high school flame, and you've got plenty of drama and laughs to keep you entertained. 

Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore 335 pages

At the end of the first book, Charlie Asher (beta male death merchant) finds himself without a body.  No worries, his new girlfriend has a solution...of sorts.  This book finds the death merchants in a state of unusual inactivity.  It seems the need to collect souls died with the Morrigan in the first book.  You know that's not going to hold for long though.  With his characteristic whimsy and goofiness, Christopher Moore turns phrases that will make you laugh out loud.  While I confess that I liked the first book better, I still really enjoyed this one and hope that someday Christopher Moore hires me to be his proofreader so that I get to read all his stuff without the irritating wait for it to hit the shelves.

Welcome to Wonderland: Home Sweet Motel by Chris Grabenstein 304 pages

P.T. Wilkie loves to tell stories and he uses that strategy when he learns that the Wonderland Motel needs to earn $100,000 by the end of the month or the doors will be closed forever. P.T. teams up with his friend Gloria to come up with ideas to draw in customers. P.T.’s first idea is Croaky Karaoke with the pool’s giant frog slide. Their next idea is a pirate treasure hunt, which works great until they get in trouble with local businesses. P.T. learns that there may be hidden jewels somewhere, however they are two criminals who are also looking for them. Can P.T. and Gloria save the Wonderland Motel?

What We Found In The Sofa And How It Saved The World by Henry Clark 355 pages

Where do I begin?  What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World is easily one of the most fun reads I've had in a while.  I am so happy it is on the list of Mark Twain Award nominees next year, because it really deserves it.  The characters were not only believable, but likable.  There was adventure and silliness, danger and tessering sofas.  Trust me, you just have to read the book.  Several passages, usually conversations between the three main characters, made me laugh out loud.

Three kids discover an abandoned (so it seems) sofa near their bus stop.  They find things in its cushions, a domino, a crayon, a two-headed coin, but they have no idea that those things will lead them to being the only three in the world who may stop the enslavement of Earth.  I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a well-told story that will make them laugh.

The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout 178 pages

Finding myself without an audiobook to listen to while I did dishes, I turned to recent purchases from our library book sale.  Hooray!  I found a Nero Wolf book I had forgotten I'd purchased.  This one was not read by Michael Pritchard, who is my favorite reader of these books, but it was still very good.  Nero is hired by a woman to get J. Edgar Hoover's FBI men to leave her alone.  Her crime is that she bought many copies of a book called The FBI Nobody Knows and distributing them to people she thought should read it.  Wolf's ego can't turn the job down and the massive payment check piques his interest, as well.  It turns out that he may be able to accomplish the job for his client and solve a murder in the process.  Only a genius like Wolf would be able to bully the FBI into doing as he wished, but he couldn't be the effective genius he is without wise-cracking Archie Goodwin doing all the legwork.  As always, an enjoyable book from the Nero Wolf series!

Horton Halfpott, or, The fiendish mystery of Smugwick Manor, or, The loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's corset by Tom Angleberger 206 pgs

I picked this book up because I needed something to read one day on my lunch break.  I figured I could read the first few chapters in order to able to tell kids what it was about and "sell" it more effectively.  I admit that I got dragged in by its goofiness and held by its colorful writing.  If you like silly, British authors, you would likely enjoy this.  It is for a young audience, I would guess anywhere from 3rd to 5th, but it was still an enjoyable read.  It reminded me a bit of reading Roald Dahl.  Young Horton is a kitchen boy for the stingy, brutish Luggertucks.  When M'Lady decides one day to loosen her corset, the entire household feels it, setting into motion a chain of events that result in a famous detective being called in to solve multiple thefts.  It was, as I said, very silly, but highly enjoyable.

Matilda by Roald Dahl 232 pages

How had I made it to adulthood without having read this book?  Dahl never disappoints, I should have read this years ago.  I found myself laughing out loud at this book.  Matilda is a brilliant little girl who is thoroughly neglected by her parents.  Her teacher, Miss Honey, recognizes her genius, but is powerless to move her ahead in the school to the class where she belongs.  The school Matilda attends is ruled by a cruel tyrant, Miss Trunchbull, who frequently assaults children she feels step out of line.  In the end, Matilda (with her sense of justice quite well rounded) makes sure that the Trunchbull gets hers.  It is a very silly and perfect example of a Dahl book.  I highly recommend this one to children of all ages and to anyone who loves that British sense of humor!  As a side note, I really love the movie that was made from this book, too.  I don't often say that!

The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore 326 pages

Someday, if my dream comes true, Christopher Moore will ask me to be his proofreader.  That way I will get first looks at all of his books and I won't have to wait until they are published!  I love his books so much. This one, like Fool was inspired by some pretty heavy Shakespearean works.  Fool was kind of a retelling of King Lear from the fool's perspective.  Serpent has Pocket (the fool from Fool) back for more crazy, witty antics (and some pretty gnarly revenge involving a man-eating sea serpent), but inspired this time by The Merchant of Venice and Othello.  Only Moore could weave two completely different stories (make that three, because there was another work that inspired him for this one) and make it not only make sense, but have you giggling at others' demise.  I have never been disappointed by Moore, I just greedily wait for the next book.  Write faster, Christopher!!!

The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett 289 pages

This story was originally written as an ongoing serial in a newspaper.  At the time, Pratchett was all of 17-years-old.  After his Discworld books became quite popular, people starting trying to find The Carpet People...the long lost novel.  That led to the publishing company contacting Pratchett and basically asking, "How about it?"  So, Pratchett describes this as a book written by two completely different people.  He went back and tweaked the story, making it closer to something he would write today, but not quite.  Nor is it quite what he wrote in his youth.  The effect is a very funny (if you like Pratchett) adventure story about the people of the carpet.  Fray is threatening their world and the main characters must find a new home.  They encounter many strange and sometimes dangerous creatures in their travels.  This is extremely British.  I listened to the audio version of this title and found myself laughing out loud often.  Even though it has been published for a juvenile audience, I think Pratchett fans of all ages will enjoy it.

Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-tale Detectives by Michael Buckley 284 pages

Life in general has not been all it's cracked up to be for sisters, Sabrina and Daphne.  Everything was great until the day their parents disappeared.   Suddenly, the girls were thrust into the foster system and bounced from home to home.  Often, they bounced themselves out of homes.  A message comes quite unexpectedly from a woman very far away that she is their grandmother and wants them to come live with her.  The social worker is ready to wash her hands of the two, so not much investigating goes into verifying this fact.  Needless to say, the girls have their doubts.  After all, their parents told them all their relatives were dead.  Who is this woman?
To confuse matters even more, there are very strange goings-on in the village of Ferryport Landing.  Can the girls find all the answers they're looking for and find the home they've been needing for so long?
This is a great book for kids around 8-10 years of age.

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman 101 pages

When I picked this book out on audio, I was surprised to find it was only one disc.  I love Neil Gaiman, so I'm not complaining, I was just expecting maybe a higher reading level and a longer story.  This is probably a bit closer in reading level to his Wolves in the Walls.  It's a farcical story about a dad who is left in charge of his two children for a few days while Mum is away.  No worries, she left him a list of what to do.  One of those things was to get more milk, as they were nearly out.  Well, Dad forgets until it's too late and his children are staring mournfully at their dry bowls of cereal.  Worse, he'll have no milk for his tea, so he hops to the store to get more milk.  After waiting a very, very long time, the children are getting worried.  What has happened to their father?  Fortunately, he appears...with the milk...and a very silly story about his delay.  Fortunately, the milk made it home.  I highly recommend this.  It was read on audio by Gaiman, and even though it is probably suitable for 2nd-3rd grade, it was a really cute story.

Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris 275 pages

David Sedaris is one of the funniest authors out there.  All of his works are mostly autobiographical, with the exception of his goofy fake stories/letters from uptight white women.  David's pieces draw largely on his experiences growing up with his family.  Lately, he has been writing more about living abroad, but we still get lots of hilarious peaks into his childhood and formative years.  If you have never read nor listened to a David Sedaris book, I highly recommend Me Talk Pretty One Day, as it remains my favorite of all of his books.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed by any of his works.  Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls didn't have me shaking with laughter as much as some of his others, but it was definitely funny!  Also, I have always listened to him read his own books.  I think there is something charming about him, and listening to how he tells his stories has always appealed more to me.  Other people I know don't like his voice and prefer to read his stuff.  I think they're missing out, but you can be the judge.

Champagne for one by Rex Stout 205 pages

This Nero Wolfe mystery begins with Archie Goodwin going to a swanky party as a favor to a friend.  The catch at the party is that it is an annual event held for just a few unmarried mothers who availed themselves of Grantham House, an institution set up to assist women in that particular need.  While there, one of the young women warns him that another girl has cyanide in her purse and has threatened to kill herself in the past.  Archie is on high alert and watches like a hawk...as the girl dies.  He knows for a fact it was not suicide, because he was watching and certain she did not poison her drink.  If it had been anyone else, perhaps it would have been dismissed, but Wolfe, Cramer and the homicide department know better than to doubt Archie's powers of observation.  Now the question is, who would have wanted to kill her and how could they do it when the champagne was being poured and delivered randomly to everyone?  If anyone can figure it out, it will be the genius, Wolfe, but only with the assistance of Archie.

Read by Michael Prichard and wonderful, as always!

Fer-de-lance by Rex Stout 285 pages

This is the first book in the Nero Wolfe series.  It's a great introduction to the characters and is a really spectacular mystery, too.  We get to meet Wolfe, Archie and Fritz, not to mention Saul, Orrie and Fred in one of the most confusing mysteries Wolfe ever had to tackle.  When a young woman hires Wolfe to find her brother, no one can see the connection between the death of this "nobody" and the death of a major player on the social scene.  No one, except Wolfe, of course.  I'm not going to give anything away in this one, the twists and turns are too good to miss.  Archie's voice was already well-tuned, even though this was the first ride with him and Wolfe.

This is read by Michael Prichard (who would want to listen to Nero Wolfe books read by anyone else?) and is a really great story.

Si-cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty's Favorite Uncle by Si Robertson 240 pages

Si Robertson is a very interesting man. I was first introduced to him through the TV show Duck Dynasty, as the quirky uncle with always something to say. I am not normally a person who reads biographies, but I was glad that I read this one.There were many times that I would start laughing out loud.

Si takes us through bits of his childhood, his time in the military, and introduces his family. The stories that Si tells are hard to believe, like the one where he got a buzz off of drinking soda for 4 days straight while cramming for finals. Well, I guess Si does say, “My stories are 95 percent true.”

 If you are looking for a good laugh, give this book a try.