You know what they say: laughter is the best medicine. I’m actually not sure who they are or how they arrived at this conclusion. I mean, I’d definitely recommend you still go have the doctor check that rash, anyway. But just in case laughter does have some magical phoenix healing powers, here’s a list of 10 funny non-fiction books that you should definitely read if you haven’t already (in no particular).

Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

Dear Children,

 

I am your dad. The father of all five of you pale creatures. Given how attractive and fertile your mother is, there may be more of you by the time you read this book. If you are reading this, I am probably dead. I would assume this because I can honestly foresee no other situation where you’d be interested in anything I’ve done. Right now, you are actually more interested in preventing me from doing things like working, sleeping, and smiling. I’m kidding, of course. Kind of. I love you with all of my heart, but you are probably the reason I’m dead.

— Jim Gaffigan, Dad Is Fat

Jim Gaffigan is a top-notch stand-up comedian, and with the help of his wife, he’s a pretty good writer, too. This book is filled with the same witty, tongue-in-cheek comedy about food, his life, and his ever-growing brood that one could expect to find in his standup, which makes it an easy, enjoyable read. A lot of this focuses on the prison sentence known as parenthood, so I feel like you’ll probably get the most out of this if you are a parent. Or if you’re not, you know, this is probably the cheapest birth control out there.

Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself/Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda

Here’s my Golden Rule for a tarnished age: Be fair with others, but keep after them until they’re fair with you.

—Alan Alda, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself

During the first day, curious at having outsiders among them, a long stream of inmates came over and talked with me. Remarkably, according to what they told me, nearly every inmate in the prison didn’t do it. Several thousand people had been locked up unjustly and, by an incredible coincidence, all in the same prison.

On the other hand, they knew an awful lot about how to knife somebody.

—Alan Alda, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I’ve Learned

Here we are, number two and I’m already breaking the rules. Okay, I confess, technically this list should be eleven non-fiction books, but eleven’s an ugly number and I’m the author of this here post, so I’m counting these two as one. Nyah. In all fairness, I am of the opinion that basically everything Alan Alda writes should be devoured and appreciated, but I’ll focus on these two books because what they do exceptionally well is not only recount Alan Alda’s life and struggles, while matched deliciously with his sharp wit and humor, but really, they impart very important life lessons. The sort that can only be gained by experience. Lucky for us, Alda suffered the hard knocks for us, and all we have to do is sit back and enjoy.

Girl Logic: The Genius and Absurdity by Iliza Shlesinger

Yup, most people are the worst. Not you, of course—you obviously have great taste and humor, not to mention you’re reading an actual book, which is more than I can say for most people. (Fine, I admit it—we tried to condense the book into five silly memes about puppies sleeping, but I felt like my message was getting lost.

— Iliza Shlesinger, Girl Logic: The Genius and the Absurdity

Being a huge fan of Iliza Shlesinger, I bought this as soon as I realized it existed … which admittedly took a little while, considering I live under a rock. For women, Shlesinger explains that you’re not alone and deep dives into the idea of Girl Logic, which is what makes our crazy tick. Guys, still haven’t quite figured women out? Odds are you never will, but this book will at least get you that much closer to understanding. Despite being geared towards women, there are a lot of great lessons about life, confidence, and learning to be yourself that any audience can relate to, not to mention plenty of laughs to be had.

I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart

Life is a story. It’s full of chapters. And the beauty of life is that not only do you get to choose how you interpret each chapter, but your interpretation writes the next chapter.

—Kevin Hart, I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons

While still filled with Hart’s signature humor, this book reads more like a guide to live a fulfilled life, based on the author’s successes and missteps. It peels back the layers to show the man behind the comic, and I like that on its own. This is perhaps one of the less funny books on the list, but every bit worth the read. A lot of the stories related about his life are out there, but as the title suggests, they’re too crazy to make up. Like his father coming home after having been axed—literally. Followed by a very nonchalant explanation that the refrigerator repairman did it out of jealousy because he was a better repairman. Hart’s family all seems larger than life, which made the story all that more entertaining.

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

Who’s going to take care of it? You?. . . Son, you came in the house yesterday with sh*t on your hands. Human sh*t. I don’t know how that happened, but if someone has shit on their hands, it’s an indicator that maybe the whole responsibility thing isn’t for them. -Dad

—Justin Halpern, Sh*t My Dad Says

Justin Halpern’s father is the witty, sarcastic father every adult wishes they had because he’s hilarious. Maybe not so much when you’re a kid, but only because you’re not old enough yet to appreciate the obvious genius. There are soooo many things in this book that are hilarious, but yet relatable. We all have that one family member that’s just like Halpern’s father, or if not just like, similar enough. There are plenty of life lessons to be learned from this, delivered in a way that demands your attention and probably is likely to make you pee your pants from laughing so hard. Which, I’m sure, is another life lesson waiting to happen.

One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul

Plenty of people take a gap year between high school and university to travel, or spend a summer back-packing through Europe to “find” themselves. (A bullshit statement if ever there was one. Where do you think you’ll be? No one finds anything in France except bread and pretension, and frankly, both of those are in my lap right now.)

—Scaachi Koul, One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter

Not gonna lie, Scaachi Koul basically is me but more interesting and also Canadian Indian. She opens with going on a vacation, but it’s less of a vacation and more of a worry fest of all the things that could kill her on the trip. What? Is that not how vacations usually begin? While there are definitely aspects of her life that I can’t relate to (being an immigrant, coming from a large Indian family), Koul’s emotions and fears and lessons were highly relatable. Her dad is also hilarious (there seems to be a theme here). I loved her perspective of life as the daughter of Indian immigrants living in Canada and about being raised with a different culture than the people around her. While being insightful, the book was also extremely funny and insightful.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

The names of the kids with detention were announced at every assembly, and I was always one of them. Always. Every single day. It was a running joke. The prefect would say, ‘Detentions for today…’ and I would stand up automatically. It was like the Oscars and I was Meryl Streep.

—Trevor Noah, Born A Crime

This is another one that’s not as funny, but that’s just the nature of where and when Trevor Noah grew up: in South Africa during Apartheid. While his personality and humor still certainly comes through, this book is more powerful as far as the things Noah has overcome. Sure, there are plenty of moments to laugh at situations or the tongue-in-cheek ways Noah writes about his circumstances, but overshadowing everything is this powerful realization of how different it was for me being raised in the US. Either way, it’s worth a read.

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens by Eddie Izzard

It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized you could buy a packet of cereal with a free gift and then just stick your hand in and root around in the packet until you found the free thing. It seems a much simpler way. But that took me about fifteen years to work out.

—Eddie Izzard, Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens

Eddie Izzard is brilliant. I rest my case. Not enough? Well, fine. There is so much to love about this book. From the start, Izzard destroys your heart by recounting the death of his mother when he was just six, because who needs a heart anyway? It’s a useless organ, like the appendix. Bit by bit, as he grows and tries different things, he finds himself, and then quickly hides away, afraid of admitting who he is. But he does, indeed, come out as a transvestite and then transgender. This book is another that isn’t terribly funny (I know, I KNOW, I wrote the dang title myself, but hear me out), but there are quite a few funny moments. It reads a lot like Izzard’s comedy, which is a more intellectual humor and not outright humor, so it fits with his voice, and what a powerful voice it is.

8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter by W. Bruce Cameron

First things first. Let’s diagnose the situation. Just because your blood pressure is so high you swear other people can hear it doesn’t mean you’re suffering from teenager—your daughter might be a preteen, which is sort of like having a tornado before a hurricane hits.

—W. Bruce Cameron, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter

This is an old one. I was a mini version of myself when I read this, back when the show was still on TV and John Ritter was alive and I was, in fact, a teenage daughter. My parents bought it for me for Christmas, thinking they were being all sarcastic and witty. Well, joke’s on them, because I loved it and then promptly dismissed most of what it was trying to teach me. Because, well, I was a teenager. This isn’t exactly a book I would run to for life lessons and actual advice, but it’s pretty relatable and definitely made me laugh. Of course, it was also written forever ago, so parts of it are going to be dated by now, obviously, but attempting to survive raising teenagers is pretty universal.

There’s Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say by Paula Poundstone

It is my wish to die of unique causes, perhaps in a high-speed tricycle crash, a bizarre stapling incient, or as a result of inadvertently sucking my brains out through my ear while trying to untwist the vacuum hose.

—Paula Poundstone, There’s Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say

Paula Poundstone will forever have a special place in my heart, because not only do I love her unique and funny perspectives of everyday situations, but she was also the first comedian I ever went to see live. And it was fabulous. This book, though, is hit or miss. It’s hit enough that I would recommend it (or it obviously wouldn’t be here), but it’s written in much the same rambling style as Poundstone’s comedy, except with even less structure, if that’s even possible. The premise is that Poundstone recites biographies of some famous people and slips her own life experiences and ways she relates to them into the biographies, which is every bit as messy as it sounds. Still, she is quite funny. Funnier so if she had just gotten rid of the random famous people and compiled the stuff about herself into one book of randomness.

Have you read any of the books on this list? Are there any funny non-fiction books I left off this list that you would consider must-reads?