No-one should attempt to go through life without reading Stephen Potter. ( )

Potter is fantastic: I read this book when I was at college and never forgot it. The great illustrations and tricks are sensational. He understands all essentials in life! In addition to the fim he also acts incredibly well.

Probably the most beaten-up, food-stained book I own. ( )

A wry treatment of the subtle ways that friends and rivals deflate each other's egos in the course of daily life. This book may be available in its three various parts, or as in this edition, the entire trilogy in one volume. ( )

Lovely dry wit, but all-in-a-row it gets a bit much. Any one of the four would be great holiday reading, although you'd want a short holiday, or a copy of War and Peace for the remainder. ( )