BOOKS THAT MAKE YOU LAUGH, CHUCKLE, SNICKER, ETC.

In the past decade or so, I have noticed that the books with the most humor in them seem to fall into the category of so-called “cosy” mysteries. Agatha Christi fans have long been amused by little old Miss Marple’s adventures, but now a whole legion of authors has picked up on her light tone to create what is now an entire genre of suspense writing. The largest sub-division centers on cooking, including recipes, and inevitably—poisoning. Most popular among these are the ones by Diane Mott Davidson who wrote, for example, “Chopping Spree”. Joanna Fluke’s books always sound mouth watering, like her “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder”. (She also has one giving equal time to sugar cookies.) The zaniest, however, are those by Tamar Myer: “Crepes of Wrath”, “Custard’s Last Stand”, and “Grape Expectations”. These books are filled with Pennsylvania Dutch cooking since the plots are centered in Mennonite/Amish country. Don’t be fooled by that word-these are laugh-out-loud books-rare indeed.

A recently published mystery, which received a lot of publicity, is “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Bowl”, by Alan Bradley. Set in England, in another era, it features a young girl sleuth and a purloined letter (shades of Poe). This book is a stand-out because the heroine is not only unique in her insights and devotion to her family, but has a rare intuitive ability to see through hypocrisy. The humor, based on her internal monologues, is threaded throughout, subtle and ironic. Similar to this, is a new series by Laura Lutz, beginning with “The Spellman Files”. This family of detectives is more contemporary, but features young women who out-smart their elders at every turn as did Bradley’s. I especially liked the youngest, a tweeny, who simply outwits everyone, and cannot be reined in. In trying to analyze why I was laughing so hard, I realized it has a lot of the Poconos resort slapstick humor-sort of Rodney Dangerfield in a skirt!

When patrons are complaining about the state of the world, I often suggest the collected thoughts and writings of well-known comedians who sometimes really do have something to say that is worth reading. Dave Barry, Bill Cosby, Denis Leary, and even Best-Seller List Chelsea Handler fall into this category. Distracting and light-hearted-no one said it was great literature.

Collections of cartoon strips are next on my list for fun. A favorite is “Get Fuzzy” (available in the Boston Globe unless the paper folds) because the Shar Pei dog and Siamese cat really do capture a perverse range of human activity and mischance. Other animal strips famous for doing the same thing are:”Peanuts”, “Calvin and Hobbes” and “Pogo” (We have met the enemy and he is us!)

Finally, I have been amazed at the head-snapping switches from tragedy to comedy in many of the very popular long-running series on cable television. Locally, we are all fascinated by “Boston Legal” since James Spader is a summer resident here. His antics in and out of the courtroom leave the viewer not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Similarly, “Monk” uses the severe psychological problems of its detective to mine a whole range of emotions, much of the time happy ones. Both “Desperate Housewives” and “Nip/Tuck” take themselves seriously on one level, but much of the time the all-too human dilemmas provoke chuckles, or at least, tee-hees at the ridiculous plot developments. “Rescue Me”, Denis Leary’s zany, and sometimes deadly earnest portrayal of New York City firefighters, leaves the viewer wondering where to put his emotions. You’re still laughing when, all of a sudden, it’s no longer appropriate, but you can’t help yourself-much like real life-it all changes very quickly. Similar to this very masculine show, is Kyra Sedgwick’s “Closer” in which a very Southern female police officer has to bond with, and boss around, a squad of very macho detectives. Episodes leave one wondering how it is possible to mine laughter from murder.

After reading, or looking at, selections from any of these genres, I always feel more energetic and optimistic. Wasn’t it that odd little magazine “Reader’s Digest’ that had a section called “Laughter is the best medicine? “ I leave that for you to find out!

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