Joke Books: 2023's best comedy books

Fern Brady: Strong Female Character (Octopus Publishing Group)

Twenty years after first reading about autism in her school library, Fern Brady was diagnosed with the condition. In Strong Female Character, she writes with a propulsive honesty about symptoms often overlooked in women. At first glance, Brady may seem a bit of a riddle: a brainy student who felt more at home in strip clubs than at uni; a language-lover struggling to translate hidden meanings in 'polite' conversations; a comedian whose happiest moods can rapidly spiral into episodes of Hulk-smash rage. With precision, Brady's memoir fosters a deeper understanding of her own unique experiences of autism – and her insights may help many others. 

Jesse David Fox: Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture – and the Magic That Makes It Work (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux)

Jesse David Fox is the leading chronicler of American comedy. A senior editor at Vulture and host of Good One: A Podcast About Jokes, Fox's first book shows how comedy is both neglected as an art form yet central to all our lives. In each chapter, comedy acts as a surprising and playful lens, offering us a new perspective on how to understand the contemporary world: why did satirists struggle to hold Trump to account? How did Bo Burnham capture the 'truth' of the pandemic? Is Adam Sandler a modern-day Shakespeare?! Covering an era from Seinfeld to TikTok, Comedy Book is an indispensable guide to today’s comedic landscape.

Jo Caulfield: The Funny Thing About Death (Birlinn)

Annie Caulfield was a versatile writer and dramatist, authoring travel books on Benin and Cambodia, creating the children's fiction series Katie Milk Solves Crimes and writing scripts about the most intriguing subjects, such as one on Dusty Springfield's stand against Apartheid. She enjoyed a long collaboration with Lenny Henry – first as his joke-writer, then later he'd star in her plays. After her death from lung cancer in 2016, her funeral was conducted by Radio 4 colleague Sandi Toksvig. Annie was also stand-up comedian Jo Caulfield’s big sister. The Funny Thing About Death is like moving through a gallery of vivid portraits: shared memories of growing up on RAF bases, hitchhiking in Europe, working in 1970s London kitchens. Jo captures a lifetime as though with fine, detailed brushstrokes – illustrating "the complicated, funny, clever ball of things that my sister was."

Lou Sanders: What's That Lady Doing? False Starts and Happy Endings (Bonnier Books)

Lou Sanders was already standing out when growing up in a small seaside town – crawling along the street with a duvet on her back, pretending to be a snail, before a neighbour returned her home. But an up-and-down relationship with her stepfather, an early dependence on alcohol, and sexual assaults eroded her self-worth and encased her with unwarranted feelings of shame. By the time Sanders moved to London, alcohol had become her own life's protagonist. Yet somehow this book manages to be an uplifting read and a celebration of an artistic mind gradually finding themselves in comedy. Sanders is a natural, chatty, warm, friendly, personable narrator. She treats people as individuals rather than as heroes or villains – it enhances the memoir and the pages resonate with her generosity.

Maria Bamford: Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere (Simon & Schuster)

My family consider Maria Bamford such a comedy legend we once named a kitten Lady Dynamite after her Netflix series. Bamford's memoir is structured around the groups she’s joined over the years, mainly 12-step recovery programmes, where belief systems – for better or worse – are meant to answer such complex problems as debt or addictions. It makes for a panoramic view of mental health care. The book offers context to Bamford's story and acts as a nuanced companion to many of her best stand-up routines. It’s all told in her original comic style – offbeat, wry and wise at the same time. Bamford's vocal range shines in the audiobook edition. 

We'd also like to give special mentions to: Josie Long's Because I Don't Know What You Mean and What You Don't (Canongate Books), Adam Bloom's Finding Your Comic Genius (independently published) and Glutton by Ed Gamble (Bantam).