The title explains it all: Jokes to Offend Men. It flips the table over and moves sexism from men to women. Is the book funny? There are some good ones, yes. Worth reading, yes. The back cover says the authors' work has been published in the New York Times and McSweeney's. If those sources match your sense of humor, you are in luck. I found the book worth reading, and had some laughs.
Are men really that boorish?
Sadly, yes.

I never knew how much I needed to read this book until I read this book! The turnaround on the normal jokes for women was so refreshing! I feel like in places the book became repetitive and I think there was such an opportunity to expand on this so much more! That being said, I still really enjoyed this quick and funny read.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Jokes to Offend Men. This book will be published on October 25, 2022.

I know “Joke to Offend Men” is advertised as a joke book, however it is rather sad. While reading I lamented the life that I could have had, had I been a man. I enjoyed the read and I will definitely re-read in the future. I loved the illustrations scattered throughout the book. My favorite joke was the fish and tinder one.

The concept of this book was definitely more intriguing than the content itself. Although there was great social commentary throughout, very few jokes read like jokes. I also think this could’ve been more thoroughly fleshed out if there was more mention of intersectionality. There certainly is some, but I feel as though it could be improved upon.

Despite my critiques, it was an enjoyable read that puts attention on how men view, treat, and use women in a light-hearted manner. I would recommend this to any feminist who could use a laugh in these challenging times.

My favorites of the jokes:

1. “What’s found across every generation but still considered an isolated incident?

Unwanted male attention.”

2. “‘My son loves the ladies!’ said the father who won’t buy his five year old books with a gay protagonist because he’s ‘too young for sexuality.’”

This is one of those books where someone says, "hey, I got a great idea. Let's take jokes traditionally told about women and turn them around and make fun of men."

And then someone sat down to write it, and....it wasn't all that funny.

Oh, the concept was there. We get jokes like:
<blockquote>What do men and jars have in common?
It's exhausting to get them to fully open up.</blockquote>

or
<blockquote>A woman walks into a bar. "Oops, sorry, didn't see you there, bar!" she says reflexively because she's been conditioned to take up as little space as possible.</blockquote>

But, then there are a few that I at least smile at, if not laugh.

<blockquote> How many people does it take to change a light bulb?
Two, one person to change it, and a man to make them doubt they undestand the fundamentals of "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey."</blockquote>

<blockquote>"Looks like I'm sleeping on the couch tonight, the man said to his girlfriend.
"And so you are. The bedroom is haunted and the spirits need to be exercised. I'm sorry that this is how you had to find out."</blockquote>

I think the general problem with joke books is you have to throw a bunch at the wall to see if any stick, and to write a whole book of them is hard. I give them credit for trying, here.




<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Thanks to the authors and netgalley for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

2.5/5!

As many have said, while this collection of jokes definitely is funny in places and there are some hidden gems here, a lot of the jokes are repetitive and a little stale. Although I imagine a lot of people will find these jokes resonate with them.

However, I don’t think this is representative of anything other than a cis gender, heterosexual experience. I did notice a joke about two husbands but I believe that was all. I wish there was more representation of other experiences here. But overall; aside from the lacking representation there are some funny jokes here- I think this is definitely more of a coffee table read and definitely something that would be fun to flick through briefly.

I was really excited to receive this book from Netgalley, sadly it did not meet my expectations.

It was a few funny jokes and then meh. I'm a huge comedy fan, but many of these jokes seemed forced and uncreative.

This book looked like fun and there are a few jokes in each chapter are pretty funny. But I only really appreciate them a little at a time.

It’s also centered on cis-het men and women. The men inquestion are a stereotype straight man who treats his wife like his mom and takes credit for his co-workers work. This didn't represent my experience much.

Overall, a fun premise and some good jokes. This could be a fun joke gift for a friend but I don't know who the intended audience is.

Like most jokes books there are hit and miss jokes, and the more you force them the less funny they get. I like the concept of this book more than the book itself, my favorite jokes were the ones that were clever and not just about the sad state of our society. However one joke did make me laugh out loud due to its sheer accuracy.

"There are plenty of fish in the sea," said the Tinder employee.
"I'm afraid not," said the marine biologist.
"The straight men caught them all for their profile pics."

Absolute gold. Men if your reading this, your fish do not impress me, nor do your gym photos.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the Advanced Readers Copy

Okay, these are not the kind of jokes that are going to have you rolling on the floor. They are the kind of jokes that will make you – if you are a woman, smile and nod, sadly sometimes. These jokes highlight what we already know, the world treats men and women very differently, whether it’s your boss, your husband, father or your elected officials. Empowering because it makes us know we are not alone and that gaslighting is a real end pervasive thing if you’re a woman in the 21st century

This was just okay. The premise sounded interesting, and some of the jokes were quite good (and realistic and relatable), but I started feeling done after 50 pages or so. Maybe it's meant to be more of a coffee table book rather than something to go through in one or two sittings. I was hoping to laugh out loud a bit, but it didn't end up being that kind of read for me.

Very fun work to share with friends and family, and certainly a bonding lament of cis men and the patriarchy.

Jokes to Offend Men had me laughing loudly because of the truth of the jokes. I loved that the book was broken down into joke categories based on the type of man you’re dealing with. This would be the perfect gift for any of your friends who have to deal with men that think they know everything!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own!

I wanted to like this, but this book wasn't for me. Many of the jokes fell flat or were more wry observations and snarky comments than jokes. Half of the time, the ' jokes' did not resonate with me, possibly because I am not American, I don't work in corporate, and I don't have a useless husband/boyfriend, which maybe I should be thankful for. Apart from a few seemingly arbitrary, throwaway references, I also didn't think the book was very inclusive of different sexualities/gender identities.

However, there were defiinitely some jokes that I found very funny in all the different sections. I probably liked the section with the film jokes the most, especially the ones with the references, which worked very well. Additionally, the few drawings that are in the book were wonderful, I really loved the art style! I think this book would work much better if it was in a kind of tear-off calendar format with more drawings, so that you could read one every day for a year.

One of my fave jokes from the book;
"What did the pair of jeans say when their boss called them "sweetie"? - That's inpantilizing."
But then again, maybe I just like puns a little too much

Look, I love making fun of the patriarchy as much as the next gal, and this book looked like fun. The first five jokes of each chapter are pretty funny. But after that point, they start growing a bit tiresome and get less and less funny as they go on and try harder. This one, for example, just makes no sense:

“What’s something everyone can see but no one can touch? How uncomfortable Greg is making the new intern.”

It’s also centered on cisgender, heterosexual experiences. There’s one joke about two husbands I noticed but that’s most of it. The man joked about here is a stereotypical straight man who needs a woman to mother them but will still steamroll them in the board room. Which is definitely a man to be made fun of, but there are lots of kinds of terrible men! Some folks may not care about this, but others might wish there were some jokes that represented their experiences a bit better.

Overall, a fun premise and some good jokes, but the chapters tend to grow stale after a page or so.

This book is an absolute delight, and I was cackling as I read through it. The authors repurpose common joke formats to make jokes that strike back at the patriarchy and toxic masculinity. I keep finding great jokes to share with friends, as I felt so seen on these pages.

The jokes tackle content from patriarchy in the workplace to on the screen to politics, and so very much more.

A favorite that gives you a sense of the flavor of the book:
"A woman walks into a barracuda. The experience is still less predatory than walking into a bar."

I give this book 🔥 🔥🔥🔥🔥 for its boldness and sass in the face of sexist discrimination and systemic oppression. I want a copy of this on my shelf, facing outward for all to see.

This was just okay for me. I LOVE the idea. It reminded me of my much beloved Misandrist Lullabies from The Toast. But unfortunately most of the jokes didn't feel like jokes, more like the author's fantasies of comebacks to misogynistic comments, or mildly annoyed observations. They just weren't that funny to me. I love nothing more than a good joke at the expense of men, but these just didn't do it for me. I think I chuckled once. I was hoping for a lot, and was just a bit disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While not all of the jokes are laugh-out-loud funny, they all point out the double standards in society. The being talked over, pain dismissed, and general lack of being safe are highlights in the book. This was a very interesting and fun way to get the point across.

This was ok, some jokes were funnier than others. Maybe it was a bit intense for a 1-2 sitting read and be more enjoyable in bite size snippets

Pros: The cover and title of this book caught my attention as soon as I saw it on NetGalley--I knew this was a book I had to read. I treasure opportunities to laugh . . . especially if there is subversion and/or feminism involved. This is a book I want to share with my friends--I they will feel just as "seen" as I did when reading. This is both comforting and frustrating--we share a common experience, but that experience, unfortunately, is living with the patriarchy.

Cons: The patriarchy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.