It’s hard work to get a book out: all the months, and possibly even years, of slaving over a manuscript, getting to an agent or a publishing house, then all the editing, layout, typesetting, and cover design.
Like it or not, the cover design can affect just how much sales your book can get. Sometimes, editors intentionally create funny book titles or covers to grab their audience’s attention. But a lot of the time, they end up with a book title or cover design that was not meant to be funny, but the joke is just too good to pass up.
Most of these books are still available of sale, although some of them may have already gotten a much-needed cover revamp. For some of these examples, the titles may not have been funny during the time they were published, but as the language evolves, certain words may come to mean different things years down the road. In that case, it really isn’t the publisher’s fault!
8 Funny Book Covers to Convince You Covers are Important
Sure, sure, everyone says don’t judge a book by its cover. But how do you keep from laughing when you come across one of these?
1. The Manly Art of Knitting by Dave Foughne
Sure, we agree that gender roles shouldn’t dictate what handicrafts men and women can do. Is it just me, or does something seem off from this book cover featuring a cowboy knitting while riding a horse?
2. How to Raise Your IQ by Eating Gifted Children by Lewis Frumkes
At first I thought this book simply suffered from typesetting issues. Shouldn’t the title read better this way: “Gifted Children: How to Raise Your IQ by Eating”? As it turns out, Lewis Burke Frumkes is one of the best satirists in the US, and in this book, he shares 49 hilarious tips on coping with the current fads, fashions, and fears of modern society.
3. How to Make Money in Your Spare Time by 673126
Note: This book is no longer in print. We’re not sure if the cover design was intentional, but it seems as though it’s encouraging robbery and theft as a way of making extra money? (If this was intentional, I wonder what the book actually contains, and how they got away with it!)
4. The Best Dad is a Good Lover by Dr. Charlie Shedd
We’re guessing that the original intention of the writer has nothing to do with incest, but for some reason, the way the title is phrased just seems a bit off! It’s available on Amazon, but it doesn’t seem to have sold many copies.
5. How to Shit in the Woods
Now this is probably an example of a catchy title! The mere use of slang makes the whole title funny, even if the premise probably isn’t meant to be humorous. After all, needing to go with nowhere to go isn’t really a laughing matter, is it? Just in case you’re curious, here’s the link to purchase the book.
6. Reusing Old Graves
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0721914705
Hmmm…. Is this something you would be interested to know? Perhaps the neighborhood undertaker can learn a thing or two from this book!
7. The Missionary Position: Mother Theresa in Theory and Practice by Christopher Hitchens
If you don’t get the joke, we’re not telling you. This is clearly an example of double meaning playing into the humor. Of course, we know the author didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just the unfortunate play of words that makes this funny.
8. Fancy Coffins to Make Yourself
This is taking do-it-yourself to a whole new level! But who knows, some woodcrafting enthusiasts just might want to make this project! In case you’re interested, here’s the link to purchase.
Making Intentionally Funny Book Covers
Using humor is considered a great way to grab your audience’s attention. But we don’t think the accidental publicity that comes from book titles and covers that suddenly become rife with perverted meaning resulted in much good—as taken from the fact that a lot of these are now obsolete!
Lesson learned? If you’re self-publishing, make sure you double-check your book cover design—maybe get a friend or two to take a look?—before you hit publish!
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- Spoonerisms: Why We Have Funny Slips of the Tongue
- Humor Writing: How to Tickle Your Reader’s Funny Bone
- 12 Funny Books for Women: Riotously Relatable Fiction and Nonfiction
- 12 Funny Book Titles That Will Grab Your Attention
Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.
