20 of the Strangest Books Ever Written

1. Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini

When it comes to strange books, Codex Seraphinianus is right up there with the kookiest. Written in a language nobody understands and featuring weird images that make little sense, it’s the definition of a strange book. Italian artist Luigi Serafini spent several years writing the book, coming up with the language, and hand drawing and coloring all the images. 

Published as a scientific work of fact in 1981, nobody has been able to decipher Serafini’s language – which consists of about two dozen characters – or understand what many of the drawings represent. A truly bizarre book. 

2. A History of Thimbles by Edwin Holmes

Ever wondered about the history of thimbles? Me neither, but there is a book that goes into depth about how this sewing instrument came about.

While there isn’t a lot of information about the book itself, besides the fact it is 253 pages and contains over 40 color and black and white images, the Amazon reviews are all quite positive, recommending this book to anyone with a passing interest in thimbles. 

3. The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies, and Blunders on Maps by Edward Brook-Hitching

Imagine if the world wasn’t as it appears. That’s what The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies, and Blunders on Maps proposes. Map collector and author Edward Brooke-Hitching brings together some of the earliest maps drawn that show what people thought the world looked like before it was fully mapped by explorers. 

It’s a world where mythical civilizations live, monstrous sea creatures roam the seas, and the world as we know it is a very different place. The book has colorful and detailed maps with text explaining all the weird and wonderful characteristics of this make-believe world. 

4. Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal

As far as the story goes, there isn’t anything strange about Bohumil Hrabal’s Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age. One of the Czech writer’s most loved works is about a man looking back on his life, particularly his relationships with women. What makes it worthy of a place on this list is that the entire text is written as one long sentence. There are no full stops, just one long line of prose that goes on for 160 pages. 

5. How To Live With an Idiot: Clueless Creatures and the People Who Love Them by John Hoover

Everyone has to deal with idiots at some stage in their lives, so John Hoover thought he’d make things easier by writing a book on how to deal with slower people. While it does come across as a joke book, Hoover actually makes some interesting points and alludes to the fact that sometimes it’s not the other people who are idiots, but actually ourselves. 

It won’t change your life, nor did it ever become one of the New York Times’ critically acclaimed bestsellers, but How To Live With an Idiot: Clueless Creatures and the People Who Love Them will give you a few laughs, which is all you need sometimes. 

6. The Book of Soyga by John Dee

An advisor to Elizabeth I, John Dee was a mathematician, astronomer, alchemist, and believer in the supernatural who owned one of the only copies of The Book of Soyga. The enormous book contains several manuscripts and over 40,000 letters written in a weird alphabet and arranged in no particular order.

As Dee worked tirelessly to translate the book, he realized it was full of incarnations and spells. As the story goes, he contacted the Archangel Uriel for help. Uriel informed Dee the book was given to Adam in the Garden of Eden but he had no authority to translate it. 

Dee never managed to finish translating the book, and after his death in the 16th century, The Book of Soyga was lost for around 500 years. Two copies suddenly appeared in the British Library and the Bodleian Library in 1994 where they remain today, still awaiting someone to transcribe what is written in the many pages of this ancient text. 

7. How To Sharpen Pencils by David Rees

As the title suggests, How To Sharpen Pencils: A Practical & Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening for Writers, Artists, Contractors, Flange Turners, Anglesmiths, & Civil Servants, is a book all about how to sharpen pencils. Who knew there was an art to getting the tip of your lead pencil perfect? 

One of the oddest books on this list has great reviews on Amazon, with even the legendary writer Neil Gaiman a big fan: “Truly, my life before I was presented with correctly sharpened pencils by an artisan was a dull and ill-sharpened void. Learn from my mistakes.”

8. Life: A User's Manuel by Georges Perec

French writer Georges Perec’s 1978 novel, Life: A User’s Manuel, is hailed as the author’s greatest work. Set in an apartment block mere moments after the death of one of the residents, it contains hundreds of different stories set before, during, and after the death.

There’s a lot going on and surprisingly few life lessons, with the book a literary curiosity that at the very least makes for a compelling read. 

9. Do It Yourself Coffins for Pets and People by Dale Power

Want to save some money on funeral costs? Why not build your own coffin? Dale Power gives you all the tips of the trade to carve your very own coffin (or one for your favorite pet) in this very weird book. Not only will you learn how to build a coffin, but also how to decorate it and make it unique so that it reflects you or your pet’s personality. 

10. What Not To Wear on a Horse by Ginny Oakley and Stephanie Soskin

This book makes sure you are wearing all the right gear next time you go horse riding. Ginny Oakley and Stephanie Soskin outline the dos and don’ts of horse attire for men, women, and children. A must for anyone who rides horses on the regular or wants to look like they are a member of an elite country club. 

11. The Ripley Scroll: A Facsimile of the Pursuit for the Phliosopher's Stone by George Ripley

Believed to have been written by Sir George Ripley during the 15th century, The Ripley Scroll, also known as Ripley’s Scroll, is a collection of scrolls of various lengths and designs that depict the journey that must be undertaken to find the fabled Philosopher’s Stone.

Although the original scrolls are no more, 23 copies survived, with this book featuring copies of all of them and explaining what they mean. There are some remarkable images and intriguing stories that make this book a strange but fascinating read. 

12. Henry Danger by Klause Biesenbach

The title of this book is the name of a man who worked as a janitor for 40 years before passing in 1974. While going through his stuff, his landlord found a book Henry Danger had been working on. The Story of the Vivian Girls in what is known as The Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnean War storm, caused by the Child Slave Rebellion is one of the most unusual and obscure books ever written.

Just like its ultra-long title, the book contains 15 volumes totaling over 15,000 words. There are also over 300 watercolors that make up the 15 volumes, all painted by Danger, with the book depicting a fantasy world where an evil army has ruled for centuries, enslaving mankind. The evil regime is eventually overthrown by the seven beautiful Vivian sisters, but not before much heartache and bloodshed. 

While there is no actual reproduction of the original manuscript, this book by Klause Biesenbach features many of his drawings and contains essays by people who have read the book discussing their thoughts on Danger’s work. It even includes his biography, A History of My Life, giving even more content to Danger’s strange ways. 

13. Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright

This 50,000-word odyssey makes the list of the strangest books due to the author writing the book without using any words that contain the letter “e.” Why is anyone’s guess, but besides this anomaly, Gadsby is a pretty straightforward novel about a man named John Gadsby who returns to his hometown and starts a youth group. It is an interesting read as Wright has to be inventive with the words he uses considering his lack of the letter “e.”

14. Popol Vuh by Dennis Tedlock

The original Popol Vuh is an ancient book compiled over many centuries by various people that details the Mayan civilization. The story goes that a Dominican priest named Francisco Ximenez journeyed into the heartland of the Mayan civilization and began to transcribe the ancient people’s history. 

It’s kinda like the Mayan version of the Bible that has been rewritten and passed on over the generations. Dennis Ernest Tedlock, a former McNulty Professor of English and Research Professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, managed to get his hands on a copy of the Popol Vuh, transcribed it, and released it as a book for all to read.

His version includes a lot of new information in the way of hieroglyphs and illustrations and is recommended for anyone with an interest in Mayan culture. 

15. Alphabetical Africa by Walter Abish

If you think a book without words containing the letter “e” is strange, then Alphabetical Africa will really do a number on you. The first chapter only uses words that begin with the letter “a.” The second chapter uses only words beginning with “a” and “b.” The third chapter uses only words that begin with “a,” “b,” and “c.” You get the picture.

The script flips after the 26th chapter that adds the letter “z,” with the book going in reverse order with the 27th chapter omitting words that start with “z.” This is followed by the next chapter not using words that begin with “z” and “y” and so forth. 

The novel itself is a bit out there and includes invading ants, a transvestite named Queen Quat of Tanzania, and a pair of murderous jewel thieves. Linguists will be all over this one. 

16. The Voynich Manuscript

Literary curiosities like The Voynich Manuscript have baffled scholars for centuries. Named after Polish book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased the manuscript in 1912, this 208-page document is believed to have been written sometime in the 15th century. The problem is it’s written in some kind of language or code that nobody has been able to crack. 

This version of the manuscript contains high-resolution photos of each page of the original document, along with strange images that make no sense. 

17. How It Is by Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett wrote some pretty unconventional books during his lifetime, but How It Is takes the cake for absurdity. Split into three parts, the first finds a man crawling through the mud who meets another man, with the two continuing their journey through the mud together. The second section details the other man disappearing, with the third focusing on the man once again making his way through the mud solo.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense, and while there are many different interpretations of what it all means, this writer has absolutely no clue what is going on. 

18. Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Acclaimed American writer Kurt Vonnegut wrote several critically praised books during his 84 years on the planet. Often surreal, satirical, and humorous, Galápagos is probably the strangest novel he wrote, and that’s saying something. 

A group of humans is shipwrecked on an island in the Galápagos. Something happens and they become the last humans alive, slowly evolving into wild hairy creatures that look like sea lions. The story is also narrated by a ghost, so yeah, it’s a bit strange. Certainly not for everyone, Galápagos will no doubt impress fans of Vonnegut. 

19. Who Cares About Elderly People? by Pam Adams

Who Cares About Elderly People? is meant to be a book aimed at young people so they can learn that older people aren’t as useless as they seem. But reading it the advice comes across as bizarre and offensive and isn’t really great for anyone. 

20. How Green Were the Nazis? by Franz-Josef Bruggemeier

Apparently, the Nazis were eco-friendly according to this wild book entitled; How Green Were the Nazis?: Nature, Environment, and Nation in the Third Reich. If you can just look past the killing of over six million people by Hitler and his cronies, maybe you can see the good the Third Reich did. An absolutely bonkers book that somehow has a 4.2 rating on Amazon.