This week, some books guaranteed to make you laugh during these stressful times.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

Goodreads rating: 3.82

Allan Karlsson’s one hundredth birthday party is going to start in exactly one hour. Everyone’s going to be there. It’s not every day that a man turns a hundred. But Allan has other plans. He escapes through the bedroom window and finds himself tangled in an adventure with the most unlikely people.

This book is downright hilarious. It’s whimsical yet elegantly told. I found it entertaining that Allan played a part in so many important world events. I know this is a work of fiction but it really makes you think about the experiences one person has in a lifetime. You’ll get a strange desire to question people about their past after reading this.

Slaughterhouse-Five

Goodreads rating: 4.07

This is the story of Billy Pilgrim’s travels through time as he visits fragmented portions of his life including his experiences of WWII, and life before and after that featuring the Tralfamadorians.

It’s really difficult to summarise this book and I don’t want to summarise it for fear of spoiling anything. There are parts which will make you laugh your head off but when you think more deeply about what you read, you’ll realise that Vonnegut is actually critiquing aspects of society.

The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus Sequence #1)

Goodreads rating: 4.00

When Bartimaeus is summoned by a twelve-year-old magician named Nathaniel to steal an amulet, things spiral out of hand VERY quickly. (I believe this book demonstrates the domino effect very well.)

If you love the Harry Potter series, I’m sure you’ll love the Bartimaeus Sequence. It’s set in an alternate-London where the British Empire is still in power and there’s a lot of magic involved. You’ll be hooked right from the start. The plot never stagnates. The characters are fresh. The storyline is interesting. And the magic system is pretty cool too. (And the whole series–except for the prequel–is available in the library!)