I can't remember the last time I read a raucously funny book. You know, the kind that sort of shocks and surprises you, that makes you laugh aloud in a conspicuous way. Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job did exactly that and was just what the mortician ordered when it came to relieving stress and just enjoying a freaking book.

This story of a smart and cynical paranoid "beta-male" raising his somewhat strange daughter in the Bay Area takes the reader right to the edge of seriousness, staring mortality down its bony throat until we're just about to jump in front of a train and end it all, then pulls us off the tracks with something -- usually a one-liner -- so absurdly funny that we forget how depressed we just were.

It's a long book but a quick read, dark at times but always moving forward. Granted, those who live in the Bay Area will easily recognize the city and its inhabitants, which makes for a pleasant reading experience, but really, anyone with a sense of humor will absolutely adore this bundle of joy.