Top Ten Tuesday: Book Series That Make Me Laugh

The theme for last week’s Top Ten Tuesday list was “Book Series That I Want to Catch Up On” but I didn’t get my post done in time for Tuesday. (This week’s theme is Bookish Places I’ve Visited, so I’ll also share my Top Ten Bookish Things to Love About London post from a couple of years ago.

I had too many book series I want to catch up on to list just ten, so I narrowed it down to series that make me laugh. If I’m already caught up on some of them (which I confess I am), then I’m including them because I’m hoping there will be more to come. A lot of these I have listened to on audio, or partially on audio.

The series are in order by author. I usually try to read in order of pub date.

1. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich (15 books so far, some novellas)

First Book in Series: Midnight Riot (2011)

2. Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde (8th and final book, Dark Matter, coming out in October!)

First Book in Series: The Eyre Affair (2001)

The first in a series of outlandishly clever adventures featuring the resourceful, fearless literary detective Thursday Next! In Jasper Fforde’s Great Britain, circa 1985, time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously.

3. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (Can be read in any order!)

First Book in Series: The Wedding Date (2018)

The first six books are loosely linked to one another, and characters from one book will pop up in another, but all of the books stand alone! If you would like to read the books in release order, it is: The Wedding Date, The Proposal, The Wedding Party, Royal Holiday, Party of Two, While We Were Dating. — Author FAQ

4. Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz (6 books and 1 story total)

First Book in Series: The Spellman Files (2008)

Back in my early librarian days, The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz was often my go-to book to suggest if someone was looking for a funny book. I didn’t know there was a final short story that I missed!

5. Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo (3 books and 1 novella)

First Book in Series: Breakfast with Buddha (2007)

The first book probably made me laugh the most, but all of the books are generally optimistic and hopeful, despite some serious themes.

6. Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer (too numerous to count)

First Book in Series: Rumpole of the Bailey (1978)

“From the name that Dickens could not have bettered to the suite of tics that defined him, Rumpole was a classic character.” — The Guardian

7. Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (5 books so far)

First Book in Series: The Thursday Murder Club (2020)

This mystery series has now been made into a TV show, while the Rumpole books (#6) were adapted from a TV show! As with Breakfast with Buddha (#5), the Thursday Murder Club books get darker as they go, but are still funny!

8. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (trilogy)

First Book in Series: The Rosie Project (2013)

9. The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

First Book in Series: All Systems Red (2017)

Hilarious, but also dark. These literally make me laugh out loud while listening on audio! I listen to these with my husband on road trips. (He doesn’t laugh out loud, too focused on the road ahead, but does occasionally crack a smile.)

10. Bertie & Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse (??)

First Book in Series: Thank You, Jeeves (1934)

“Generally regarded as among the best of Wodehouse’s Jeeves/Bertie Wooster novels, Thank You, Jeeves and Jeeves in the Morning are timeless farces that should delight listeners as long as literacy survives.”– Library Journal

Honorable Mention to an all-time favorite authors, whose books are funny but aren’t exactly a series:

10. Oxford Time Travel by Connie Willis (4 books so far, more of an interconnected universe)

First in Series: Doomsday Book (1992)

I’m sharing this with Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. You’ll find many other Top Ten book lists there!