10 Books That Are Just Plain Fun

You all were sooo encouraging on my post earlier this week about being in a reading slump! I gave up on Anna Karenina. For now, at least. Maybe I'll try again another time. But for me right now? I'm done.

The day after that post went live, I was listening to one of my new favorite podcasts, Awesome with Alison. In Episode 3, she talked about how important having fun is. A lightbulb went off, guys. That's why I read. That's my fun activity. So without further ado, here are 10 books that are just plain fun to read (plus the one I'm reading to get me out of my slump.)

The Harry Potter series. Can you talk about reading for fun without mentioning Harry Potter? I certainly can't. I absolutely love these books. Especially on audio. I've mentioned them on the blog several times, but Jim Dale's narration of these books is magical and utterly without fault. I just finished listening to Deathly Hallows and I'm strongly considering starting back over at the beginning.

Shades of Grey - no, not that one. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. Jasper Fforde is better known for his Thursday Next series, which I haven't read, but Shades of Grey? It's fantastic. Society is divided up into a cast system based on what colors you can see, and there's a hierarchy based on those colors. Eddie Russet (a red) wants to move up in the hierarchy, but his plans to marry into a powerful family are derailed after meeting a grey named Jane. This book is fun and fast paced and I want more, but there hasn't been any news about the previously promised sequels in a long time.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling. These books are hilarious. I love Mindy. I thought she was brilliant as Kelly Kapoor on The Office (only my favorite show of all time) and I love her new show The Mindy Project. She's so funny and so smart and so talented, and I basically wish we were best friends. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? is more memoir while Why Not Me? is a series of essays about life in Hollywood. Both amazing. Both hilarious. And you should read (or listen - read by Mindy herself!) to both of these books.

Contrary to the contents of this list, I don't read a ton of chick lit or romance novels, but Agnes and the Hitman is one of the few books I have read multiple times. What do you get when you put together a food critic, an actual hitman, a dognapper, and a big southern wedding? Zany is the best way to describe it. Zany, funny, and fun.

The Assistants takes a crazy premise and makes it almost believable. Tina Fontana is a thirty something executive assistant to the CEO of a multinational media conglomorate. One day after seeing said CEO spend the entire balance of her student loans on a single flight, she accidentally double submits his expense report and pays off her loans. This quickly spirals out of control as more people find out about it, but what a ride we take along with Tina. Can you imagine being able to pay off your student loans in one fell swoop?

Dark Matter - talk about a page turner! This was probably the most fun and exciting book I read last year. Jason Dessen is walking home from a bar one night when someone whacks him over the head. When he comes to, a familiar voice asks him, "Are you happy with your life?" Then he wakes up in an entirely different world. Completely insane. Super fast paced. It left me breathless until the last page.

The Stephanie Plum series. This series has a lot of books in it. A lot. 23 at last count (plus 4 holiday books, I think) I haven't read all of them, I think I've read through 18 or 19 of them. But you guys, they are so so funny. No one gets in so much trouble as Stephanie and Lula. These are fun and funny and each one revolves around a single mystery. They're quick, easy reads and the main dudes are delish. (Team Ranger forever.)

The Royal We by the Fug Girls (Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan) is a basically Prince William/Kate Middleton fan fiction. And I loved it. This was one of the first books I checked out when I discovered my local library (it took me too long.) I'm not super into the royals, so I don't think you have to be to enjoy this story. Will and Kate are instead Nick and Bex and Bex is American. There's a Pippa (Bex's twin sister) and a Harry too (called Freddie here.) This book was fun and funny and was everything that a good romance novel should be.

Another series - The Raven Cycle. YA, mystery, fantasy, magic, ghosts, psychics, cute boys, and badass girls. What's not to love?

And finally, the current front runner for favorite book of the year (I know it's only February, but it's going to be hard to top this one.) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. When I first heard about this book, I was very hesitant. I like quirky, but that title seemed just a little too quirky to me. I didn't know much about it and I think that made all the difference in my ultimate love for it, so I'm not going to talk about the plot. I will tell you only this: this story was so heartwarming and charmingly told that when I finished it, I wanted to go right back to page one and start it all over.

So what am I reading now to get out of my slump? I'm so glad you asked! My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella.  I'm not too far into it, but it's light and fun and just what I needed to revive my reading life.

Tell me about your last reading slump and how you got over it.