I've been fortunate to have been introduced by my best friend to the works of Jasper Fforde.
They are so well written - set on an alternate reality Earth - and you can read them several times and still pick up new literary puns.
And that's what makes them so good. He incorporates classic (and not so classic) literature into his novels, and many people find themselves going to read these works to find out what he sees in them.
The first book is called "The Eyre Affair".
Oh - and it has Dodos in it too!
