Why read Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)?

Book cover of Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)

Book description

Three Men in a Boat, published in 1889, became an instant success and has never been out of print. In its first twenty years alone, the book sold over a million copies worldwide. It has been adapted to films, TV, and radio shows, stage plays, and a musical, and influenced…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Christopher Shevlin

Author

I read this during a period of temping when I was at university, and it was like an enchanted escape capsule from my job.

It was written in the late nineteenth century, but it doesn’t have the kind of starchy, pious formality of a lot of writing from that time. It feels very free and very modern, rooted in the details of everyday life that probably stay quite constant throughout history – like cheeky kids, the failure of all forms of waterproofing, and how annoying our friends are when we’re confined with them for any length of time.

It’s based…

From Christopher's list on The best books to make you laugh and feel better.