The Phillip Pullman books are great! I got hooked on them before Harry Potter exisited....

Christopher Moore can be hysterical if you want to laugh. The last book of his I read was Lamb - The Gospel According to Biff Christ's Childhood Pal. Warning - it is explicit, and very irreverent. If you're very religious and very devout, you may be offended by this book.

Biff recounts "the lost years" when Jesus was a teenager. From Amazon: Joshua (a.k.a. Jesus) knows he is unique and quite alone in his calling, but what exactly does his Father want of him? Taking liberties with ancient history, Moore works up an adventure tale as Biff and Joshua seek out the three wise men so that Joshua can better understand what he is supposed to do as Messiah. Biff, a capable sinner, tags along and gives Joshua ample opportunities to know the failings and weaknesses of being truly human. With a wit similar to Douglas Adams, Moore pulls no punches: a young Biff has the hots for Joshua's mom, Mary, which doesn't amuse Josh much: "Don't let anyone ever tell you that the Prince of Peace never struck anyone." And the origin of the Easter Bunny is explained as a drunken Jesus gushes his affection for bunnies, declaring, "Henceforth and from now on, I decree that whenever something bad happens to me, there shall be bunnies around."

I've read a bunch of books by Moore, Coyote Blue, Fluke, Practical Demon Keeping.