101 So Bad, They’re Good Dad Jokes, by Elias Hill, illustrated by Katherine Hogan

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Books Go Social/Net Gallery.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

The book is at least mostly accurate in its description of the contents of this book.  There are 101 jokes.  They are bad, and they are the kind of jokes that lame “Dads” would be associated with.  When reading a book I tend to like to figure out which audience this book would be best for, and in this case the book is one that would be appreciated by a friend of mine who happens to be a deacon in my local congregation and a frequent dinner companion of mine who regularly tells terrible puns when songleading at services.  This book would be right up his alley.  While at best the books brought a wry smile to me, since the puns of this book are more obvious than my usual sense of humor but some of them were witty, there are many people who are more fond of this sort of humor that will find this book to be very amusing.  So it is with humor that everyone has their own tastes [1].

This book is a very simply organized one that, as I mentioned, lives up to its title.  All of the jokes of this book are pretty bad, some of them are so bad they are good, and all of them are illustrated and organized the same way.  There is a setup, and then a groanworthy and punny punch line.  Without much variation this format continues for the entire length of the book.  Obviously, this is not the sort of book most people would read straight through.  It is rather the sort of book one might glance at from time to time in the hope that one will find good material.  Depending on one’s duties as an emcee of one kind or another, some of these jokes may provide an audience with droll amusement if they are not a hard audience to please and have a high tolerance for puns.  For most people this is the sort of book that would be best read in private, not least as a way of anticipating the punch line of people who make the sorts of puns this book celebrates.  Being knowledgeable about puns and tedious punchlines is a good way of spoiling their effect for those who are so inclined.

As far as a book goes, I am aware that I am not the target audience of this book.  There are many people who appreciate this book’s humor more than I did as a reader.  That said, though, the book is still of value, not least because it brought me at least some amusement as a reader and because these jokes do appeal to a known audience that is probably quite large.  Not everyone is willing to tell extended and complicated bits that are based on one’s observation and experience, and as dads are reputed to not often be very interested in taking a lot of work in order to gain a reputation as being comical, and so these jokes are certainly the sort of humor that would be expected for someone who wants the most efficient wit for the least amount of effort.  To his credit, the author is apparently known for a wide variety of such books geared to somewhat different audiences, so if you like what this book has to offer, there are many other such books that you can read and chortle to to your heart’s content.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012/01/26/comedy-is-a-choice/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011/03/23/comedy-and-the-art-of-the-roast/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011/01/10/on-the-unity-of-tragedy-comedy-and-history/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/12/08/laughing-matters/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/01/19/book-review-are-you-a-bromide/