Marian Keyes - Under the Duvet (Notes on High Heels, Movie deals, Wagon Wheels, Shoes, Reviews, Having the Blues, Builders, Babies, Families and other Calamities) 
is a collection of short stories that had me laughing out loud and turning the pages.
As regards fiction, how about the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Very easy to follow and incredibly funny. There are 18 books in the series, you can get the first one (One for the Money) and see how you get on.
If you think you might enjoy a whodunnit, I suggest The Pelican Brief by John Grisham. Page turner extraordinaire.
Other books I have enjoyed which are easy to follow, engaging, funny, not scary or gruelsome:
Stephenie Meyers - Twilight
Mike Gayle - Mr Commitment
Sophie Kinsella - the Shopaholic series (The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic)
In fact, most books by Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham or Jill Mansell should fit the bill.
Brief (and detailed) explanations are available on Amazon, Wikipedia and other sites 