Humor and Satire
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goal of getting away. But when she heads
west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. She
arrives in Arizona with a three-year-old American Indian girl whom she "acquired" on the road,
and she learns that she must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity of
putting down roots.
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Cold Sassy, Georgia, named for the cold breeze under the sassafras tree that stands near the
railroad depot, is a typical, quiet Southern town. However, on July 5, 1906, things take a
scandalous turn. Speaking in the Southern dialect, Will Tweedy leads the reader through the
humorous scrapes and inner workings of a fourteen-year-old boy’s conscience.
A Dog's Life by Peter Mayle
This is a delightful book written from the point of view of Mayle's dog Boy, who "overcomes
humble beginnings" to become master of the Mayle household. His obedience training has to do
with training the family to do what he wants, rather than the other way around. This book is for
all lovers of dogs, irony, and good humor.
A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
(Ex Libris Selection)
Told from the point of view of a dog, this book explores the relationships people have with their dogs as
well as the relationships people have with each other. At the end of each of his lives, the dog is
reincarnated as another dog, and he builds upon his past experiences in order to figure out what his
humans need from him-- what his purpose is.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
(Ex Libris Selection)
This funny page-turner is perfect for the poolside. The author explores the serious and humorous
sides of sisterhood, motherhood, and daughterhood in the Louisiana Bayou. (P.S. Boys will like
it, too.)
Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas (Ex Libris Book)
When she was seven, Firoozeh and her family moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving
with no firsthand knowledge of this country beyond her father’s glowing memories of his
graduate school years here. Funny in Farsi chronicles the American journey of her wonderfully
engaging family: her engineer father, a sweetly quixotic dreamer who first sought riches on
Bowling for Dollars and in Las Vegas, and later lost his job during the Iranian revolution; her
elegant mother, who never fully mastered English (nor cared to); her uncle, who combated the
effects of American fast food with an army of miraculous American weight-loss gadgets; and
Firoozeh herself, who as a girl changed her name to Julie, and who encountered a second wave
of culture shock when she met and married a Frenchman, becoming part of a one-couple melting
pot. (Publisher’s synopsis)
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
This book is about another book, also called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a travelogue
for adventurers in the space/time continuum. Its first injunction to the reader is this: DON’T
PANIC! Part science fiction, part Monty Python comedy, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has
been a cult favorite since the seventies.
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Durrell’s account of growing up on Corfu is filled with humor and great anecdotes about his
encounters with the animals on the island.