Nine Books That Will Actually Make You Laugh

The phrase serious literature comes with an unfortunate double meaning. When we call books serious, we mean they are satisfying, well written, and worthy of consideration. But we also use serious as an antonym for funny, which can mislead us into assuming that a good book shouldn’t make us laugh. That’s too bad, because humor is a bona fide literary effect, right up there with tragedy, suspense, and profundity—just as much a part of the author’s toolbox, but a lot harder to fake.

Let’s be honest: What passes for funny in book marketing falls beneath the standard just about everywhere else. The number of published works that say “Hilarious!” on their cover but turn out to be merely quirky—or the dreaded wacky—is enough to make a reader cynical. The sense of desolation is deepened by the “humor” genre of commercial publishing, in which comedians and influencers monetize audiences they built on television or social media. Many of these books are entertaining, but they tend to prioritize individual gags over sustained effect in a way that crowds out all the other pleasures the reader might be looking for.

Admittedly, this problem seems inherent to the, that funny literature is a contradiction in terms. It is true that such books are hard to find—but they are out there, and I have recommended some here.