Just how many dysfunctional families have you read about? The Guardian, London's answer to the NYT, posted this literary quiz recently. I got about half the answers, so I guess my reading tends toward the light and happy, rather than the glum and quirky. You might like to take the quiz, just for fun.

I just finished Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. His stuff is great on so many levels. There is the tongue-in-cheek social commentary. Then there is his clever dialogue and quirky use of words. He creates twisted plots. His characters range from complex to amusing caricatures. Alas, there were no Wee Free Men is this book, but Pratchett compensated with a scattering of werewolves, Igors, golems and and even a banshee, to say nothing of wizards, henchmen and assassins. Pratchett's stuff can't be called easy reads but his books are definitely romps.