10 Joke Books to Keep You Laughing

With more than 6,000 jokes, puns, and one-liners arranged alphabetically by subject – from accountants to zebras – this compendium of classic comedy is sure to have a zinger for any occasion. 

Whether you’re reading to amuse yourself, looking for material to crack up your friends and family, or trying to find jokes on a particular topic to lighten up a speech, there’s plenty of zany fun to be had in this encyclopedic collection of gags and guffaws.

Since its debut in 1988, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader has become an institution, one that can be found in bathrooms all over the country. With more than 25 volumes in print, the Bathroom Reader has hilariously covered a wide array of topics, from history to weather to U.S. presidents and beyond. 

In their New and Improved Funniest Ever, the dedicated writers of the Bathroom Readers’ Institute bring their wittiest and weirdest trivia to bear to provide a range of odd facts and hilarious anecdotes that will make your next trip to the john a joy.

No dad would be complete without some groan-inducing puns and debatably clever quips. But what do you do if you’re a dad who has trouble coming up with such material on your own? That’s where father and grandfather Gordon Hideaki Nagai comes in. 

With years of experience embarrassing his kids and grandkids, Nagai has collected more than 1,000 knee-slappers in this book that makes a perfect gift for dads, or anyone who appreciates a good (bad) joke.

Why should dads get to have all the fun? The “mother of all joke books” is packed with more than 300 gags, quips, puns, jokes, one-liners, and real-life tweets that are “like dad jokes, only smarter,” from writers whose credits include The Onion, Comedy Central’s Indecision, Adult Swim, SiriusXM, and many more. 

For all the moms out there who have been waiting for their own joke book – or anyone who appreciates a sharp, smart jab or two – this book will have you rolling in the aisles.

“Not a single gag falls flat” in this “joke book with a thesis, with the gags to back it up” that brings the reader “on a very satisfying ride” (Vulture). Tired of being the brunt of the joke? You’ll find some humor to hit back with in this feminist take on the classic joke book that delivers sharp, satirical commentary on the structural sexism that women face at home, at work, and just about everywhere else. 

Penned by a quartet of dedicated humorists whose work has been featured in The New York Times, McSweeney’s, Reductress, The New Yorker, and more, Jokes to Offend Men will keep you reading – and laughing.

Portable Press, creators of the classic Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series, also specialize in a wide array of other special interest books, including these hit joke books for kids and adults. 

Everyone loves to laugh, after all, and readers from 6 to 60 (and beyond) will find something to appreciate in this collection of classic puns, quips, and even a few certified stinkers, featuring more than 475 jokes to make kids of all ages laugh out loud.

Who says that learning can’t be fun? In Genius Jokes, Frank Flannery takes you on a crash course in nerdy humor, providing a comprehensive collection of wisecracks on a variety of academic subjects, along with detailed explanations of the concepts, history, and other facts that make the joke work. 

So, you’ll be holding your sides even as you’re packing your brain, plus you’ll arm yourself with a witty repertoire of jokes on subjects ranging from math and science to philosophy and psychology that will make you seem like the smartest person in the room at your next dinner party.

The dirty joke is pretty much as old as the joke itself, and in The Cunning Linguist, noted language scholar Richard Lederer “strives to illuminate the ‘verbal vivacity of our vocabulary and illustrate one of the most astonishing miracles of language – the ability of two or more meanings to occupy the same space at the same time’” (Publishers Weekly). 

In this case, that means exploring the rich world of raunchy jokes, bawdy limericks, and double entendres that make our language so rich – and so risqué.

The son of a kosher butcher, David Minkoff has been collecting jokes from Jewish culture since the age of thirteen, and the result is a “clever kosher compilation [that] generates giggles galore” (Publishers Weekly). 

With jokes both old and new, this “ultimate book of Jewish jokes” is “guaranteed to make you laugh” (The Reporter), crammed with humor on subjects ranging from rabbis to relationships and so much more, including Hanukah quizzes and a hilarious compatibility test for couples.

We all do it – but what do you say when you do it? When you break wind, cut the cheese, or just plain fart, what can you say to clear the air while adding a little levity to the situation? 

That’s where this illustrated book by Bree Kingwind comes in, providing you with the perfect remarks to help take the embarrassment out of what is, after all, a simple, everyday situation, and one that we all find ourselves in from time to time, whether we’re humble janitors or the Queen of England.