Hilarious and not at all dated - Rated 
First off, I would like to mention that I am not a fan of classic literature. I don't read Dickens, Bronte etc, but I hope to get over this problem one day.
The reason that I say this is to reassure people that you don't have to be a fan of classic literature to enjoy this book because it is so well written, with lovely dry, self deprecating humour. I honestly think that the first 3 pages in this are the funniest words ever penned my Man (including females!). The rest of the book isn't exactly bad either.
If you're unsure then just give it a go, you won't be disappointed. And as it's so cheap it's surely worth taking a bet on?
And it's interesting to read that the town of my birth, Reading, was always viewed as being a bit rubbish, even over 100 years ago:)
Men Behaving Badly in the 1880s - Rated
Very little of note happens in this book, yet it is utterly compelling. I was intrigued to discover that the author had originally intended to write a tourist's historical guide to a stretch of the River Thames. The meat was to be the historical significance of, say, Runnymede and Windsor, together with scenic description. A little of that remains.
At the centre are three city clerks taking afew days out from the office. The book is a celebration of friendship. The men are terrible boatmen. They upset many other river users. They exchange long winded anecdotes about previous trips of their own or of their friends. Their attempts at catering are woeful and their nights cramped and uncomfortable. The jaunt, however, leaves them, as it was designed to do, eminently refreshed and invigorated as they return to London for a night out at the theatre, wearing still their now rather rank and damp clothes.
There is slapstick, but there is also tragedy. Memorable in particular, was the floating corpse of a young woman. The narrator told of her despair at being jilted; at being left with the shame of unmarried motherhod and consequent banishment from home.
What a gem, so beautifully written - Rated
I am 50 years old and an avid reader. I added this book by chance to an existing order.
What a gem, I haven't laughed so much ever reading a book. Some of the descriptions are quite incredible, an in depth, clean, honest classic. I strongly recommend this book. Of the hundreds of books I have read this is one of the very few that I would wish to read again.
A great prescription for a happy afternoon - Rated
"I read the prescription. It ran:
"1 lb. beefsteak, with
1 pt. bitter beer
every 6 hours.
1 ten-mile walk every morning.
1 bed at 11 sharp every night.
And don't stuff up your head with things you don't understand."
I followed the directions, with the happy result - speaking for myself - that my life was preserved, and is still going on."
If you need a good laugh... - Rated
Writing a genuinely funny book really isn't easy, and the list of bona fide laugh out loud books isn't long (some ponderous intellectuals may tell you that some of the gloomiest classics are actually hilarious, but that's not what we're concerned with here). No, if we're talking about books you shouldn't read on a bus or train for fear of annoying fellow passengers with uncontrolled whoops and guffaws, then "Three Men In A Boat" is the top of the crop. It is completely hilarious, and all the more remarkable for being over a century old. It goes to show that human foibles don't change much through the centuries, and the author's wonderfully dry writing makes the comic scenes unforgettable. One of my favourites concerns a chap who goes to work in the middle of the night - even writing that now makes me smile... Happy reading, very happy.
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