Fun Stuff

Stimulating our Sense of Humor

 Books that make us laugh.Don't we all need to have a good laugh sometimes? A good sense of humor is surely a sign of

a healthy mind set, and you can tell a lot about someone by what makes them laugh. (What makes some people laugh lets me know we don't have much in common.) 

Books can be a wonderful source of humor. Some stories lifted my spirits, certain scenarios made me laugh out loud.  Two authors who come to mind with their ability to do that are Jan Karon and James Herriot.

In the first At Home in Mitford book, Karon describes Father Tim trying to remove a large painting from a dear elderly parishioner's car. Does  that sound like a trigger for a chuckle? But it was, and Karon's series to "celebrate the common life" was full of opportunites to smile.

While working a night shift on a maternity ward decades ago, I took advantage of a lull in activity to read a portion of Herriot's adventures as a country British veterinarian. His description of the genteel country lady who had a dog named Cedric with an explosive flatus problem hit my funny bone so hard there were tears in my eyes. That got my workmates curious. One of them was reading the chapter while I went back to work; her giggles followed me down the hall.

Not to leave an example of fiction out, Charlotte MacCleod, writer of two zany mystery series, has a fantastic gift of putting forth some clever wit in many of her situations. This generally makes her books a great choice for when you need a relaxing read and a reason to smile. 

Tastes vary; your belly laugh might only bring a smile to my face. Recently I enjoyed a joke in a well known publication that brought only a blank look from my husband when he saw it. The addage, "if you have to explain it, it isn't funny anymore," applied. 

But sometimes when I read him a scenario of a book that struck me funny, he gets it too. Fun stuff is usually even better when you can pass it along.