If you were asked to name your favorite book what would your answer be? I find that usually if you ask somebody this question, people fall into two categories. Some struggle to pick a single book. It is natural, after all, there is a huge field of writers, styles and genres, and so many good books to choose from... To others, the task comes easy. I belong to the second group. Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) from J.K.Jerome is my indisputable number one and the sequel, Three Men on the Bummel is a close second.
Those are the two books I can read over and over again and each time I enjoy every page. Written in a good-natured tone they are easy to read, uncomplicated, funny with a few serious parts. The author is often digressing from the subject and the characters are just like the real people, far from perfect, suffering from the same weaknesses we all suffer from: laziness, vanity, schadenfreude. The books are about travelling and friendship, witty and filled with good advice that is valid even now, more than 100 years after the books were first published:
“Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need - a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.”So, what is your favorite book?
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