The full title of the book, catalogued under ‘Humor’ is of course, ‘Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)’. What started out as a serious travel guide evolved into something to read and laugh. This boating holiday upriver on the Thames is a respite from being overworked, a phenomenon many in the 21st century can easily identify with. Humor in this comic novel arises from the narrator’s digression from a description of the boating trip and the towns and buildings they pass to a commentary on things--bagpipes and barometers--that they three men and their dog encounter.