Three Men In a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)

As I sit here, typing away, I've just finished reading the last novel I will manage to read in 2019 - Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome. With only one day remaining in this year, it is unlikely that I can finish reading another before January 1st.

I discovered this gem recently while going over an online list of what someone believes to be the 100 best novels written in English. I was looking for something to read when I came upon the list. There, at number 25 was this wonderful little book.

Naturally, I didn't expect that I would have read every novel on the list, but I thought that I would have heard of either every novel, or at least the author. In this case, I was surprised that a novel I had never heard of, by a writer I didn't know, would be at number 25 on the list.

After reading a positive review and the wikipedia article on the book, I found an ebook copy and set it aside to read at first opportunity.

The novel is surprisingly funny for something written in 1889, and I'm hardly the first to say "how undated it appears to modern readers – the jokes have been praised as fresh and witty".

Although I loved the book, I don't know if I'd put it on a list of the 100 best novels written in English. The Maltese Falcon - which I also enjoyed, made the list as well. It's another book which, while I enjoyed reading it, I feel doesn't belong on such a list.

Obviously, someone else does, so what do I know?