I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the necessity and joy of escapism. The news sometimes feels like we’re watching the real-life version of the Reaping in The Hunger Games, so I like to balance that darkness with humor. A good funny audiobook or movie can help lighten heavy days so here are some recommendations on the Libby and Kanopy apps for those who could use a giggle or two.

Putting the "com" in rom-com

Audiobooks
If you like your romance with banter and jokes alongside all the kissing and mushy stuff, romantic comedies are a no-brainer. There’s a scene in Abby Jimenez’s Just for the Summer that makes me laugh just thinking about it involving some raccoons drunkenly smuggled into someone’s jacket. I won’t spoil any more of it but suffice to say, all her books include humor mixed in with love stories and the ups and downs and sometimes hard realities that come with any relationship.

Romantic Comedy is set at a Saturday Night Live-esque comedy show, featuring a sketch writer and a pop star host. And The Hating Game is a classic enemies-to-lovers story that will make you laugh and give you all the swoony romance too.

Movies
The Hating Game film adaptation is also streaming on Kanopy. I love the rom-com selection on Kanopy so much that it was hard to pick just a few, but you can’t go wrong with peak madcap comedy Amanda Bynes in She’s the Man or the indie “will they/won’t they” silliness of What If starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan (and featuring a quirky Adam Driver role).

Maybe NSFW but you'll LOL

Audiobooks
Would I get in trouble at my office for listening to any of these audiobooks out loud? Probably (although really, you shouldn’t be listening to any audiobooks out loud at the office—how rude to your coworkers! Put in headphones!). These books might be a little raunchy, so if you can’t hang with some colorful language and frank talk about sex, these might not be for you.

If the description of loosely veiled Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce fanfic with bonus silly wordplay related to dachshund dogs intrigues you, you have to check out The Wiener Across the Way. Yes, it’s part of a series and no, you don’t need to have read the others to understand what’s going on. (And if open-door romance is your thing, make sure to check out 9 spicy romance novels that’ll have you sizzling!)

Phoebe Robinson and Chelsea Handler are both comedians who have multiple books to choose from if you’re looking for an audiobook that will make you laugh and blush. Phoebe Robinson’s Instagram captions alone regularly make me cackle (shout out @dopequeenpheebs #ThotNaysh).

Movies
Sleeping with Other People is a comedy that is dirty, funny, and actually very sweet. The To-Do List stars Aubrey Plaza working through a sexual bucket list one crazy summer. And Babes isn’t afraid to show some of the wild parts of being pregnant and new motherhood.

Tongue firmly in cheek, a little absurd, a lot of fun

Audiobooks
Before listening to John Hodgman’s audiobooks, I never knew I needed to hear someone list hundreds of hobo names. But I did! His first audiobook, The Areas of My Expertise, has its own theme song. Most audiobooks don’t have a theme song—so that’s a selling point right there.

Prefer your wacky humor in fiction form instead? Dial A for Aunties is cozy mystery meets kooky relatives and absurd adventures. For a more sci-fi tale (and a full cast audiobook), try Welcome to Night Vale.

Movies
Don’t want to think too hard? Just need some mindless, silly entertainment? What about Andy Samberg as an amateur stuntman on a moped in Hot Rod? Or The Brady Bunch Movie, where the Brady family from the 70s sitcom is living in 90s L.A.? (I loved spotting RuPaul as a school guidance counselor in my recent rewatch of this.)

And if you like ridiculous funny movies and haven’t watched Anchorman, this is a grievous error that can only be solved with some jazz flute, the smell of rich mahogany, a spray of Sex Panther cologne, and streaming the legend of Ron Burgundy on Kanopy. Stay classy, San Diego.

“Comedy is tragedy plus time”

Audiobooks
Humor can come from unexpected places. Death, mental illness, and childhood traumas are not inherently funny but in the hands of the right storytellers, even life's darkest moments can become a source of laughter.

In The Guncle by Steven Rowley, a glamorous, slightly out-of-practice gay uncle (or "Guncle") finds himself in charge of two kids and is hilarious while also deeply poignant about grief. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson is another book that somehow involves raccoons (taxidermy this time) and dives into mental health alongside humorous tales about Lawson’s life.

And in Joyful Recollections of Trauma, Paul Scheer proves that if you can’t laugh at your childhood wounds, you might as well turn them into a memoir.

Movies & TV series
If you’re also a fan of Paul Scheer’s long-running podcast, How Did This Get Made?, you’ll be delighted to learn that so many campy “so bad, they’re good” HDTGM movies are available to stream free on Kanopy from Gigli to Sleepaway Camp to my personal favorite, Grease 2.

Did you know you can also watch TV series on Kanopy? Explore grappling with death but in a funny way in Dead Like Me and relive the awkward teenage years with Freaks & Geeks.

*Title availability may vary by region.

Wipe away those tears (of laughter) and download the Libby & Kanopy apps to get started. Don’t forget to subscribe to Libby Life for more recommendations delivered to your inbox weekly.

Titles featured in this article:

• Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
• The Wiener Across the Way by Amy Award
• You Can’t Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson
• I'll Have What She’s Having by Chelsea Handler
• The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman
• Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
• Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
• The Guncle by Steven Rowley
• Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
• Joyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul Scheer

• She’s the Man
• What If
• Sleeping with Other People
• The To Do List
• Babes
• Hot Rod
• The Brady Bunch Movie
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
• Dead Like Me
• Freaks & Geeks
• Grease 2