Loveable weirdos
May 13, 2020 2:58 PM Subscribe
I want to read more books where the character is a fun person in their own right, someone I'd get along with (Like Tuesday Mooney in Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts). I just re-read the Anastasia Krupnik books and it was fun to hang out with her, but I'm curious what is out there in adult fiction. I'm interested especially in general adult fiction, but any genre with a character who is a loveable weirdo sounds good to me. What are your favorites?
Have you tried Louise Penny's Three Pines series?
posted by BoscosMom at 3:51 PM on May 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by BoscosMom at 3:51 PM on May 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
Lamb by Christopher Moore. You get to hang out with Bif, the best friend of Christ from childhood and through all those years before he got famous. It’s great.
posted by RolandOfEld at 5:17 PM on May 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by RolandOfEld at 5:17 PM on May 13, 2020 [7 favorites]
Another character named for a day of the week: Thursday Next of Jasper Fforde's alternate history series of literary adventures is someone you might really enjoy.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 5:28 PM on May 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by kitten kaboodle at 5:28 PM on May 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
I like the company of Dolores in She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb.
posted by dianeF at 7:02 PM on May 13, 2020
posted by dianeF at 7:02 PM on May 13, 2020
This is the whole idea behind Pippi Longstocking.
Terry Pratchett does good character studies. I would love to have been on the road trip in Witches Abroad.
"Emberella," thought Magrat. "I'm fairy godmothering a girl who sounds like something you put up in the rain."
posted by TrishaU at 8:04 PM on May 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
Terry Pratchett does good character studies. I would love to have been on the road trip in Witches Abroad.
"Emberella," thought Magrat. "I'm fairy godmothering a girl who sounds like something you put up in the rain."
posted by TrishaU at 8:04 PM on May 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
I came in to say Terry Pratchett. Almost all of his characters are weirdos and many of them are quite lovable.
posted by bunderful at 8:49 PM on May 13, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by bunderful at 8:49 PM on May 13, 2020 [6 favorites]
Seconding Louise Penny. Also I just finished The Little Friend by Donna Tarte, and the main character fits the bill.
posted by Red Desk at 8:51 PM on May 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Red Desk at 8:51 PM on May 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
Shit Turd (S.T.) the crow in 'Hollow Kingdom' by Kira Jane Buxton.
Zombie apocalypse told from the perspective of a crow raised by a human, who feels tasked with rescuing the surviving domesticated animals and ensuring their continued survival.
posted by porpoise at 10:56 PM on May 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
Zombie apocalypse told from the perspective of a crow raised by a human, who feels tasked with rescuing the surviving domesticated animals and ensuring their continued survival.
posted by porpoise at 10:56 PM on May 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
I guess I just recommend this book on here every day now, but The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary fits this perfectly.
posted by catoclock at 6:59 AM on May 14, 2020
posted by catoclock at 6:59 AM on May 14, 2020
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
Here's the fan letter Groucho Marx wrote her:
"Dear Mrs Tynan, I don't make the habit of writing to married women, especially if the husband is a dramatic critic, but I had to tell someone (and it might as well be you since you're the author) how much I enjoyed The Dud Avocado. It made me laugh, scream and guffaw (which incidentally is a great name for a law firm). If this was actually your life, I don't know how on earth you got through it."
posted by veery at 7:18 AM on May 14, 2020
Here's the fan letter Groucho Marx wrote her:
"Dear Mrs Tynan, I don't make the habit of writing to married women, especially if the husband is a dramatic critic, but I had to tell someone (and it might as well be you since you're the author) how much I enjoyed The Dud Avocado. It made me laugh, scream and guffaw (which incidentally is a great name for a law firm). If this was actually your life, I don't know how on earth you got through it."
posted by veery at 7:18 AM on May 14, 2020
Hazel in Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren is one of my favorite weirdos. I like that she knows she's a bit much and won't hang around people who don't like that about her.
posted by Margalo Epps at 10:22 AM on May 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Margalo Epps at 10:22 AM on May 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
Loveable being in the eye of the beholder, but my main loveable weirdo is Ignatius J. Reilly in John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces".
posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 1:28 PM on May 14, 2020
posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 1:28 PM on May 14, 2020
I'm currently reading The Miseducation of Cameron Post and while the plot is very sad and some shitty things happen to Cameron, she herself is a complete delight and I wish I could hang out with her in real life.
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl is another coming of age tale with a really fun protagonist, and less sadness. (Both of these two have young protagonists, though are not strictly YA)
A lot of the classic "chick lit" novels have GREAT heroines who are fun company: Bridget Jones, The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Jennifer Weiner's earlier stuff, Tama Janowitz.
What about comedic memoirs/essay collections? Off the top of my head, the memoirs by Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Mindy Kaling were all really fun. Would You Rather is a sweet/fun memoir that reads like queer chick lit. For personal essays: David Sedaris and Sloane Crosley.
posted by lunasol at 1:37 PM on May 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl is another coming of age tale with a really fun protagonist, and less sadness. (Both of these two have young protagonists, though are not strictly YA)
A lot of the classic "chick lit" novels have GREAT heroines who are fun company: Bridget Jones, The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Jennifer Weiner's earlier stuff, Tama Janowitz.
What about comedic memoirs/essay collections? Off the top of my head, the memoirs by Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Mindy Kaling were all really fun. Would You Rather is a sweet/fun memoir that reads like queer chick lit. For personal essays: David Sedaris and Sloane Crosley.
posted by lunasol at 1:37 PM on May 14, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by Tandem Affinity at 3:02 PM on May 13, 2020 [3 favorites]