Notable: The fun in dysfunctional

Wives, white guys, babies — no one is spared parody in these new humor books.

The Perfect Baby Handbook: A Guide for Excessively Motivated Parents (Dale Hrabi) is an archly hilarious mockery of those rapidly reproducing parenting guides, with chapters on "331 flawless baby names" and how to deal with your infant's figure flaws.

Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife (Fireside) by Nava Atlas is a satirical cookbook by a real cookbook author, featuring "recipes" like Old Boyfriend Buffet, Mother-in-Law Fruitcake and Unfaithful Meatballs.

The White Guy: A Field Guide (Douglas & McIntyre) by Stephen Hunt takes a mock-anthropological approach to white guy history, cuisine, mating habits and the 10 whitest guys on TV, from Archie Bunker to Simon Cowell.

Colette Bancroft, Times book editor