Humour me

I thought I should read some new funny fiction books so I went on goodreads and checked their readers choice 'best of humour 2017' list. I was disappointed as all of the books featured on the list were memoirs/essay collections written by TV personalities and comedians! Not a single humour fiction book!

Then I checked lists from the previous years. Found it the same. I found a few fiction humour books in the 2014 list though.

So does that mean no one writes humour fiction anymore? No, I'm sure people still write many funny fiction books. But what sells is whatever TV comics write. Doesn't mean what they write isn't funny. it's highly engaging and observational. But it fits a pattern which I've only inferred from my limited exposure to this genre, so I might be wrong. But they are relatable because we see them and we know them. We can put a face, a voice and a personality to the writing and one doesn't have to use too much imagination. Easy and fun. Perfect reading for your daily commute.

I do like reading humour fiction. And apart from the classics, every once in a while I come across gems like 'Look who's back' and 'The Martian' (which is more hard science fiction than humour.) Which makes me think... Why don't they have a separate sub-genre for Fiction humour just like they have science fiction, fantasy fiction, historical fiction, young adult fiction, young adult fantasy and science fiction and romance. Shouldn't those most funny non fiction book be under 'Memoirs'? They may have to add a new genre called 'Memoirs humour'. A mess of genres but what fantastic and precise categorisation at the same time!