this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2023
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The Salmon of Doubt was a collection of interviews and short stories with Douglas Adams. In it he's asked his biggest influences and he mentions Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist and writer of The Selfish Gene, which is one of the most influential books I've read in my life which I snagged after seeing that recommendation. He also listed PG Wodehouse as the funniest writer ever and I bought a huge book of collected stories off Amazon and have worked my way through them ever since.
Absolutely hilarious and, like you said, just leaves you coming away glowing.
Also got turned on to Wodehouse via Salmon. When I started into Psmith after exhausting Bertie & Jeeves, it felt really similar to going from HHGG to Dirk Gently. I often wonder how many Python-era comedy writers were weaned on P.G.