How we choose books
How a book makes the cut.
Plenty of books get called funny. We want the ones that are. Here’s what every book has to clear before it lands on a shelf, and how we keep the pages honest.
- 1
It’s a real, published book.
We confirm the title, author, series and edition with the publisher, the author or a library catalog. We list fiction: novels, novellas and story collections. A web serial counts once it has a published edition.
- 2
The humor is the real deal.
Comedy has to be central to the book, or a big part of it that keeps coming back. One witty sidekick or a “humor” tag on a store page doesn’t make a funny book.
- 3
Someone credible backs it up.
We look for evidence about this particular book: the author or publisher, a review, an award, a reading sample, or readers in several different places pointing to the same jokes. One enthusiastic forum post can put a book on our radar. It can’t get it onto a shelf by itself.
- 4
We write it up in plain English.
The page covers the setup, the kind of humor, who it suits and anything you’d want to know first, in our own words. Short quotes from the publisher are clearly marked, and the sources are listed at the bottom.
- 5
A second set of eyes checks it.
AI helps us research and draft. Before anything goes live, a separate review goes back to the sources and checks each claim. If it’s still unclear whether a book is funny enough, a person makes the call.
Same bar for everyone
What you won’t find here.
Humor is personal. Our job is to describe a book well enough that you can tell whether it’s your kind of funny. Some things would get in the way of that.
- Star ratings or scores
- Paid placement
- Made-up quotes or reviews
- Pretending we’ve read a book we haven’t
- Promises that a book will make you laugh
Questions people ask
Have you read every book on the site?
No, and we won’t pretend otherwise. Each page is built from the sources listed on it: publisher descriptions, reviews, reading samples, author interviews and what readers have said. Think of it as a well-informed bookseller’s notes, not a personal review.
Can I pay to get a book listed?
No. Listing is free, and nobody can pay for a better spot. Authors can become Friends of HahaFiction by answering a short interview or sending an ePub, which gives their book a small nudge in shelf order. No money is involved. About Friends of HahaFiction →
Why does the shelf order keep changing?
We reshuffle every Tuesday, so lesser-known books get their turn near the top instead of the same few titles sitting there forever.
Why isn’t my favorite funny book here?
We may not have found it yet, or we couldn’t find enough to back up the humor. Tell us about it and we’ll take a look. Suggest a book →
What if you got something wrong?
Please tell us. Send the page and, if you can, a source that shows the right answer. We’ll fix it in the next update. Send a correction →