Frivolous, fun fiction

July 13, 2022 5:17 PM

Trying to find something enjoyable that will be available at my local library. The last book I really enjoyed was by T Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon, but all of her books are checked out - which is awesome, but.

What else can I read that is fun, short, easy to read and also totally feminist and a tad provocative?

posted by bunderful to Media & Arts (14 answers total)

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown.
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:31 PM on July 13, 2022

Murderbot?
posted by bq at 5:41 PM on July 13, 2022 [7 favorites]

I keep getting recommendations to read T Kingfisher’s books every time I read a Becky Chambers book on my Kindle…
posted by Kriesa at 5:46 PM on July 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

If funny essays work for you, then anything by Samantha Irby. For more fantasy:

Sorcery and Cecilia: Or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Cat Pictures Please by Naomi Kritzer
posted by lizard music at 6:16 PM on July 13, 2022 [4 favorites]

You might like Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater. It's breezy, and that's coming from someone who doesn't typically read Regency or romance. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Basically, a girl has half her soul stolen by the fae, which makes her London season very awkward. Add in a Lord Sorcier and a magical mystery, and it fits T. Kingfisher's folkloric focus.
posted by cardboard box at 7:43 PM on July 13, 2022 [3 favorites]

Any of Aminah Mae Safi's books, but especially Travelers Along the Way (Robin Hood retold, except this time as a young Arabic woman who's fed up with Crusaders)

I would second the Murderbot Diaries and add another series by Martha Wells - the Ile Rien books.
posted by sibilatorix at 8:14 PM on July 13, 2022 [3 favorites]

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.
posted by carolr at 10:17 PM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Hob's Bargain is in a T Kingfisher vein, I think. Medium length rather than definitely short.
posted by clew at 10:22 PM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Verifiers, by Jane Pek. Claudia Lin works for a shadowy detective agency that investigates people on dating sites to verify that they are representing themselves truthfully in their profiles. Fun mystery with a queer Asian American protagonist.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:06 PM on July 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

Katherine Addison
Helene Wecker
posted by Coaticass at 12:55 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

You need to read C.M. Waggoner! Unnatural Magic and The Young Lady's Guide to Wizardry can be read independently but they're better if you read them in order. Absolutely fun magical mystery fantasy romps with quasi-Victorian elements. The first one has many characters and is a world-spanning mystery (if you like the kind of story where a whole bunch of seemingly unconnected characters and plot threads turn out to be VERY MUCH connected, this is for you), and the second has fewer POVs and a narrower scope. They are both fun and feminist; I found them easy to read. Not so sure about the "short" part.

I also recommend Alexis Hall's The Affair of the Mysterious Letter. Genderflipped and genderqueer Holmes homage, and a complete romp. Fills all of the fun, short, easy to read and feminist boxes.
posted by rednikki at 6:57 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

As someone who has read 5 Ursula Vernon books so far this year, Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric and Desdemona series scratches a similar itch. Becky Chambers, Murderbot, and Terry Pratchett are also up the same alley.
posted by gideonfrog at 8:40 AM on July 14, 2022 [3 favorites]

Right Ho, Jeeves will introduce you to Bertie Wooster and his man, Jeeves. Bertie is a dolt and Jeeves is a genius. Grand fun, old sport!
posted by SPrintF at 9:34 AM on July 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's super super SUPER 90s, which may not be what you're looking for, but in other respects, I think Connie Willis's "Bellwether" fits the bill.
posted by EvaDestruction at 11:28 AM on July 14, 2022