Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog! (Penguin Essentials, 25)

'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.'

Suffering from every malady in the book except housemaid's knee, three men and a dog decide to embark on a restful vacation along the Thames. What begins as an anticipation of peace and leisure quickly transforms into an adventure filled with:

• The joys of roughing it.
• Getting their boat stuck in locks.
• Being towed by amateurs.
• Having to eat their own cooking.
• And, of course, coping with the glorious English weather.

A humorous and light-hearted tale, this journey is anything but ordinary!