{A guest post from my book loving friend, Tina. She’s a frequent visitor around here.}
“As Hagrid had said, what would come, would come…and he would have to meet it when it did.”
~Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire
And with those ominous words I finished reading aloud to my daughter the 734 pages that comprise J.K. Rowling’s fourth book in the Harry Potter series, The Goblet of Fire. We thoroughly enjoyed the book but it definitely felt like a long winter read with its twists and turns, dark magic and an unexpected death
A day later we started in on our next read for mother-daughter book club, A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd. And it felt like spring was let loose in the room. With words like spindiddly, expressions like what the hayseed, a teacher dressed in polka dots and a town with its own ice cream factory, we found ourselves gladly leaving the gloom of England behind and delighting in the sights and smells of Midnight Gulch, Tennessee
If you are looking for some light-hearted, fairly quick, springish reads that might even make you laugh out-loud here are a few titles to consider:
Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan (Adult Fiction)
I can still remember reading this and laughing out loud multiple times as I did so. I’d turn to my husband and say, I’ve got to read you this. We definitely qualify as dog lovers but even if you aren’t, this story of the world’s worst dog and his family is a delightful read. John Grogan is a writer who definitely knows how to tell a good story with lots of humor. (Caveat – the dog does die at the end so you also need to be prepared to shed a few tears with this one). The movie version is also great but, as the old saying goes, the book is better.
L.M. Montgomery’s Anne series (Young Adult but really this appeals to every age)
My daughter is working her way through this series in audio version. I love walking into her room in the afternoon and stopping to listen for just a minute or two to see what scrape Anne is in at this point. Whether it is dyeing her hair green, putting liniment in the cake, or falling off the ridgepole of a roof there is something about an Anne book that always brings a smile to my face and lightens my step. Even though Anne grows older as the series moves along she still manages to cultivate the kind of friendships that lead her into unexpected adventures and find her mixed up in the strangest of stories. A read through an Anne book always lifts the spirits.
- Anne of Green Gables
- Anne of Avonlea
- Anne of the Island
- Anne of Windy Poplars
- Anne’s House of Dreams
- Anne of Ingleside
- Rainbow Valley
- Rilla of Ingleside
Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl (Young Adult)
This book is all kinds of fun. Althea must marry well to save her destitute family and their falling-down-around-them castle. But when the young gentleman who is courting Althea is named Lord Boring, and is quite literally incredibly boring, well, who can blame her for not being too excited about the possibility. This quick read is a delightful romp of a story about finding true love and taking care of family, with some mistaken identities thrown in for extra fun.
Love Among the Walnuts by Jean Ferris (Young Adult)
Ferris writes with a delightful sense of irony and whimsy in a style reminiscent of vaudeville. We know who the villains and the good guys are from the start so we sit back and enjoy the show as they battle it out to see who will get the family fortune. Wonderful humor and eccentric but loveable characters make this an entertaining and engaging read. (I also love her Once Upon a Marigold series for JF readers).
Horton Halfpott; or the Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; or, The Loosening of M’lady Luggertuck’s Corset by Tom Angleberger (Juvenile Fiction)
I randomly picked this one up off the shelf at the library because I was so intrigued by the title. This book also has the feel of vaudeville with overly dramatic characters, wonderful asides, and a pretty goofy sense of humor. Both my tween daughter and my elementary aged son adored this book as I read it aloud and it provoked several rounds of laughter for us all. If you enjoy wacky humor in a medieval type setting this book is for you.
The Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo (Early Readers)
Both my kids have adored the Mercy Watson series. Loveable characters, delightful humor, wonderful illustrations and lots of hot buttered toast make for fun reads. Just yesterday, I heard one of my kids walk through the living room quoting our favorite line from the Mercy Watson books: Francine, you are like a refrigerator. You hum. I still remember how hard we laughed when we first read that line together. These make for quick read alouds or you can get the audio version and listen to them in the car when you are driving around town together. Delightful!
Happy Reading!
Tina 🙂
{All links are Amazon Affiliate Links – you know the drill and you can also rest assured that we recommend only what we have read, own, and/or love.}