Giving a funny book as a gift is trickier than it looks. Firstly, because plenty of “funny” books aren’t. Secondly, because humour is a minefield: what makes your best mate cry laughing might leave your sister stone cold, or worse, get you a polite “that’s nice” in the tone usually reserved for bad presents and ugly babies. So you need to aim carefully. Not necessarily “the most intelligent book in the world”, nor “the most literary”, but the one that triggers that slightly ashamed laugh you get when you realise you’re reading something deeply stupid, and loving every second of it. If you’re after a funny book to give an adult, for a birthday, Christmas, a Secret Santa, or simply to let someone know you’ve correctly clocked their issues, here’s a selection that deserves a spot on a bedside table.

1. A fake survival guide for a deranged cat owner

Some people own a cat. Others live in a complex psychological relationship with a small passive-aggressive predator they refer to as “my son”. It’s for these people that Is My Cat Gay? was written. The concept is simple, and simply excellent: imagine your cat developing increasingly absurd behaviours — they go woke, racist, become an insufferable Londoner, promiscuous, a conspiracy theorist or a K-pop fan — then lay out worrying signs, solutions, and ever more ridiculous conclusions to help you survive it. The book works especially well as a gift if the person:

• owns a cat;
• already refers to said cat as a toxic flatmate;
• or has a sense of humour battered enough to enjoy a fake guide devoted to “the 100 worst things your cat could become”.

In other words: it’s a brilliant idea for anyone who loves cats, absurd jokes, and social diagnoses applied to animals that eat plastic.

2. An absurd humour collection, because the brain occasionally deserves to be mistreated

The perfect funny book isn’t necessarily one that tells a story. Sometimes what you actually want to give is an object you can open anywhere and that immediately triggers the reaction: “who on earth wrote this, and why did nobody stop them?” Absurd humour collections, fake guides, daft lists, very short satirical pieces: all of this works brilliantly as a gift, especially for people who read in fragments, on the Tube, in the loo, or at their desk while pretending to “get on with a report”. The great advantage is that it removes the pressure of finishing a novel. You’re not handing someone homework. You’re handing them a string of perfectly calibrated nonsense designed to improve a commute.

3. A book that mocks everyday life with enough bite

The best funny books often share one thing in common: they take something entirely mundane — work, relationships, family, life with a pet, social media — and push it just far enough to reveal how ridiculous it already was. A good comedy book doesn’t need to be “nice”. It can be a little mean, a bit dry, even slightly unpleasant, as long as it stays precise. What you’re after is that very particular feeling of laughing because a piece of writing has just put words to something embarrassingly true.

4. A gift book you can open at random without losing the thread

If you’re giving someone a funny book, think about how they’ll actually use it. Most people won’t settle into an armchair with a blanket, a cup of tea and three hours of free mental space. They’ll read:

• ten pages before bed;
• a chapter on the train;
• three paragraphs while waiting for an appointment;
• or a page on the loo, because that’s just real life.

That’s why “fragmented” funny books work so well: they let you dip in and out effortlessly, while keeping the instant payoff of the joke.

5. A book you can give without knowing the person’s exact taste

The great advantage of a funny book is that it makes a very honourable backup gift. Not sure exactly what the person reads? No idea if they love Icelandic thrillers, memoirs about shame, or biographies of people who died in 1847? No problem. Give them something funny instead. Well-chosen humour has a huge advantage over other genres: it requires less commitment and creates less disappointment. Nobody will hold it against you for giving them a book that made them laugh, even if it wasn’t “deep”. Conversely, handing someone a hefty novel they couldn’t care less about is a very elegant way of giving them homework.

6. A book for someone going through a rough patch

Worth saying too: sometimes you’re after a funny book not because you want to give an original gift, but because the person on the other end needs to think about something other than their inbox, their exams, their ex, or their boss. In that case, the goal isn’t “give a beautiful cultural object”. The goal is much nobler: short-circuit the brain for 20 minutes. A good funny book is a pocket antidepressant, no prescription needed, no leaflet, and fewer side effects than a family dinner.

7. A book that isn’t afraid to be properly stupid

There’s a very British temptation to believe that, to be respectable, humour has to stay a bit refined, a bit subtle, a bit “witty”. That’s simply not true. A good funny book can absolutely be sharp and clever. But it can also be plain daft, as long as it’s done with real skill. What matters isn’t the loftiness of the subject. It’s the precision of the aim. A joke about a conspiracy-theorist cat, a brother-in-law convinced he could single-handedly fix the economy, or a cat owner humiliated by their own litter tray can easily be more delightful than an entire chapter of grand bourgeois irony.

8. A book you want to read passages of out loud

Excellent gift test: when you read a passage, do you want to read it out to someone else? Does it make you want to send a photo of the page to a friend, say “this is literally you”, or give it to someone whose neuroses you know inside out? If so, you’re probably onto something good. Funny books that work well are often the ones that make you say: “hang on, listen to this, it’s so stupid”. They immediately create a little social scene: someone reads, someone laughs, someone sighs and leaves the room. That’s exactly what you want.

9. A book that clearly says: “I thought of you, and a little of your neuroses too”

A successful funny book, as a gift, is never neutral. There’s always a bit of subtext. It says:

• “this reminded me of you”;
• “I know exactly what kind of person you are”;
• and sometimes even “I’m judging you a bit, but affectionately”.

That’s exactly what makes a book like Is My Cat Gay? such a practical gift: it lets you tell someone, “I know you’re at psychological war with your cat, and I’ve decided to encourage the problem instead of helping you.”

Conclusion

The best funny book to give as a gift isn’t necessarily the one that’s won three awards, nor the one the press calls “irresistible” with the forced enthusiasm of an intern under threat. It’s the one that lands exactly right: the perfect level of absurdity, meanness, precision and daftness for the right person. If you’re after a gift for someone who loves cats, fake guides, absurd humour, or books that fully own their own stupidity, Is My Cat Gay? ticks a fairly worrying number of boxes. And honestly, at this point, it’s practically a public service.