Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, published in 1886, is a collection of humorous essays by Jerome K. Jerome. It was the author's second published book and it helped establish him as a leading English humorist. While widely considered one of Jerome's better works, and in spite of using the same style as Three Men in a Boat, it was never as popular as the latter. The book was out of print for many years, but a paperback edition became available in 2002. A second "Idle Thoughts" book, The Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, was published in 1898.
自弗兰西斯·培根的散文随笔风行于世以后，英伦的文人哲士就雅好起散文随笔来。杰罗姆比培根晚生三百多年，无论思维方式，还是行文风格，自然跟培根不一样。杰罗姆走的是疏散、幽默的一路。他在艺术上是个多面手，也是个多产作家，文章幽默、睿智，写作手法不拘一格，遣辞造句不避俚俗。如书中这些篇目：《谈虚荣心和虚荣》、《谈出人头地》、《谈抑郁》、《谈记忆》......也有些显然是培根思所未思的话题，如《谈配制和使用爱情催化剂》、《谈被奴役的快乐与好处》、《谈牵线木偶的葬礼上进行的演奏》等，这些话题一看就令人发噱。以中国现代作家比之，杰罗姆可说兼有林语堂、梁实秋的闲适与鲁迅的幽默讽刺。