so-soNot quite the thoughtless diversion I first took it for, which actually makes sense, because the sharply satirical Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is the whole reason I picked up another work by Stephen Leacock.
I'll admit some of these entries - it's a collection of ten short stories - read a little goofier than others, but once you realize it's as much a commentary on different types of classic stories as it is a collection of individual 1/?
My new (old?) definition of a comfort read: a book which “may bring some passing amusement...or some brief respite when the sadness of the heart or the sufferings of the body forbid the perusal of worthier things.“
pickI‘m still on a comedy kick, so why not turn to the funniest purveyor of parody? Gotta love the weirdly creative mind of this man! Remember all those hilarious parodies he did back in the 80s, 90s and 2000s (Eat It, Like a Surgeon, Tacky) Guess what? Weird Al is still at it and currently on tour. He even wrote a children‘s book! This is a crazy fun read that will send you right to YouTube to reminisce and rewatch your favorite parodies. 😁🙌🏻
pickThis is very meta. I am definitely late to the party on this author. But I get it now and I will continue to read his backlist.
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
In some ways this is just as silly as When the Moon Hits Your Eye, but it has so much more sweetness and heart. A reread for me, and just as good as the first time.
*#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
pickScalzi plays on all the stereotypes of fantasy and sci fi to write the opening to a series that doesn‘t exist. I repeat, even though it says it‘s book one, it‘s not. It‘s a parody of a series opener. It‘s very short (an 11-minute read) and often funny. An easy final read for June‘s #authoramonth @Soubhiville
![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png){kind=icon}
These are genre send-ups, so the form is fooled with to the extent that most stories are actually a dark comedy of errors, many people are obviously made fools of by conmen or shown to be fools by their own actions, naming schemes are often ridiculous (which I fear wanders past stereotypical into xenophobic/racist when the tales have a clear cultural origin 😬), 1w
I don't actually think this book offers enough to the modern reader that you need to seek it out, but it hasn't completely put me off checking out Leacock's other works either.
⚠️mention of suicide, cannibalism, child abandonment, infanticide, misogyny (edited) 1w