Three Men in a Boat
by Jerome Klapka Jérôme · first published 1889
73% recommend27% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Genuinely laugh-out-loud Victorian comic novel about a boating trip on the Thames, praised for humor that still feels fresh; suits readers wanting a light, funny evening read, even one to read aloud to kids.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Three feckless young men take a rowing holiday on the Thames river in 1888. Referenced by [Robert A. Heinlein][1] in [Have Spacesuit Will Travel][2] as Kip's father's favorite book. Inspired [To Say Nothing of the Dog][3] by [Connie Willis][4]. [1]: https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL28641A/Robert_A._Heinlein [2]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL59727W/Have_Space_Suit_Will_Travel [3]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14858398W/To_Say_Nothing_of_the_Dog_or_how_we_found_the_bishop's_bird_stump_at_last#about/about [4]: https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL20934A/Connie_Willis
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Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome (1889, London). http://www.gutenberg.org/files/308/308-h/308-h.htm The first half of the opening chapter is the best intro to any work of comic fiction I've read. At face value…
on “Ask HN: What are some great books that are relatively unknown in the US?” ↗…no further than P G Wodehouse: there are many fine books to read by this author, such as the excellent Right Ho, Jeeves, Service With a Smile, or Galahad at Blandings. You couldn't go very wrong with Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome, or Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith. - If you want something that is easy to read, but still profound, try Ernest Hemingway. I recommend A Farewell to Arms, or The…
on “Ask HN: I don't read fiction, how much am I missing out on?” ↗…19. Advanced Calculus: A Differential Forms Approach (Harold M. Edwards) - the best math book I've read so far! For me it was eye-opening in a fundamental way. Edwards is truly a gifted teacher. 20. Three men in a boat (Jerome K. Jerome) - enjoyable and amusing 21. Getting to yes (Roger Fisher, William Ury) - negotiation book, nicely written and structured 22. Without a word (Zhang Jie) - historical novel by one of…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome I consider this timeless humour, because it gets me to laugh out loud in public. People get startled by this. Also, I read episodes from the book to my 7 year old, who loves it.…
on “Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?” ↗Thanks. I have read Three Men in a Boat and I enjoyed it. I started reading Tristram Shandy a long time ago but couldn’t get into it; I should give it another try. Speaking of unread books, this year I compiled a list of fifty nineteenth century…
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗I just started Idle thoughts of an idle fellow by Jerome K Jerome [1] as I quite enjoyed his other book, Three men in a boat to say nothing of the dog. Some quotes: > What readers ask nowadays in a book is that it should improve, instruct, and elevate. This book wouldn't elevate a cow. > It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗OT, but for a hilarious account of travelling on the UK's canals read "Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K. Jerome. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/308
on “China has built the world’s largest bullet-train network” ↗Run, don't walk :-) to download "Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K. Jerome. It's hilarious, ignore the overly serious cover image: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/jerome-k-jerome/three-men-...
on “Standard Ebooks: Free and liberated ebooks, carefully produced” ↗…get both forms of sport out of the same machine. This is impossible; no machine will stand the double strain. " Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men On A Bummel, 1914[1] (The very-much underrated sequel to Three Men in a Boat -- probably because of the title! -- in which the three men take a trip across Germany on 1 bike and 1 tandem). [1]https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2183/2183-h/2183-h.htm
on “In Praise of Mediocrity” ↗Another one greatly impressed me was Three Men in A Boat by Jerome. How he squeezed out stomack-aching laughter out of real events, which every one of us face vexatious,at various times
on “Ask HN: What book have you re-read 3x or more?” ↗Great quote, thank you. I enjoyed Three Men in a Boat, but never read this one. It may be time to revisit Jerome.
on “The Four Hobbies, and Apparent Expertise” ↗Have you read 'Three Men in a Boat' by Jerome K Jerome? It's a classic. I love how fresh and contemporary it still is. Perpetually re-readable as well. There is a follow-up book that's great too.
on “Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?” ↗JK Jerome is the author that has made me laugh the loudest and most times. Try the novel "Three Men in a Boat". It's extremely funny. I loved Candide, and will try the other one.
on “Can reading make you happier? (2015)” ↗Indeed. In the same vein, Jerome K. Jerome's "Three Men in a Boat" has made me laugh out loud more than a century after it was originally written. That said, Shakespeare's humor, as an example, lands more flat with me. English idioms and grammar have changed quite…
on “Uncovered Euripides fragments are 'kind of a big deal'” ↗"Best" is always too hard - here are a handful that I love. Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susannah Clarke The Crow Road - Iain Banks Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson Black Holes & Time Warps - Kip Thorne The Inventions of Daedalus - David E H Jones The Cuckoo's Egg - Cliff Stoll I hope one…
on “Ask HN: What are the best books you've ever read?” ↗