The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
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Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
all o' y'all
OK. Where do I start with this one. It's a doozy.
Let's first of all say that I think this is one of the best uses of the English language. It's right up there with, well, anything else. I mean, just read the sentences. He is a lot like Tolkien, in that he makes the words themselves the art. But where Tolkien will take English and make it into a lush, broad canvas, Mr. Adams turns English into a plaything. Let's put my last sentence another way: The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is th...more
Let's first of all say that I think this is one of the best uses of the English language. It's right up there with, well, anything else. I mean, just read the sentences. He is a lot like Tolkien, in that he makes the words themselves the art. But where Tolkien will take English and make it into a lush, broad canvas, Mr. Adams turns English into a plaything. Let's put my last sentence another way: The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is th...more
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Read in January, 1998
* Copied from an entry on my blog, Chased in a Dream.
So I thought I'd talk a bit about my favourite book of all time (so far). Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I wasn't much of a reader until I got a hold of this book. I didn't think reading could be fun at all since all I had ever read before this had been in school and school obviously sucked. But for some reason I decided to give this book a shot. I don't remember why tho...more
So I thought I'd talk a bit about my favourite book of all time (so far). Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I wasn't much of a reader until I got a hold of this book. I didn't think reading could be fun at all since all I had ever read before this had been in school and school obviously sucked. But for some reason I decided to give this book a shot. I don't remember why tho...more
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Read in August, 2001
recommends it for:
Humor readers of all stripes, sci fi readers
This is only recommended to fans of Adams or the Hitchhiker's series. I don't know why you'd buy a collection of all five books before you knew if you liked one of them. But if I was going to recommend an entire series to buy in one go, it would be this trilogy of five novels.
Unrelentingly funny, Douglas Adams had his own style. TV sitcoms try to go laugh a minute; his writing went laugh-a-page, when it was slow. Like Mark Twain he made it seem so effortless that you can read it for h...more
Unrelentingly funny, Douglas Adams had his own style. TV sitcoms try to go laugh a minute; his writing went laugh-a-page, when it was slow. Like Mark Twain he made it seem so effortless that you can read it for h...more
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Read in January, 2005
I’m reviewing these five books all together because they’re one quintology, and because my thoughts around the first extend to the other four. I read these books four or five times when I was 12 or 13 and going through a science fiction kick. Back then, I found them hysterical. When I heard they were making a movie, I was so psyched, I decided to reread the series prior to seeing the movie. You know the cliché “You can’t go home again”? Well, that’s how I feel after reading these b...more
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Read in September, 1995
recommends it for:
Anyone who doesnt take things too seriously.
I first came across this book quite by accident. I happened to over hear a friend of mine talking about how a tiny robot with a brain the size of a planet had such a depressing view of life that he managed to talk a spaceship into commiting suicide!!!
What better introduction do you need into the world of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the largest selling book in the Universe? Needless to say I was hooked and couldnt wait to borrow a copy and begin reading. And once I read it, I read i...more
What better introduction do you need into the world of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the largest selling book in the Universe? Needless to say I was hooked and couldnt wait to borrow a copy and begin reading. And once I read it, I read i...more
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Read in October, 2006
recommends it for:
people that have a sense of humor and most that don't
The Hitchhiker's Guide books are endlessly entertaining. They have just the right mix of scifi and humor to keep you reading. The journeys of Arthur Dent are at times hilarious and at others tragic (in a hilarious way). In these books we realize that the universe is a ridiculous place where time has little meaning and people think mammals are a little on the primitive side. Being from a small, unremarkable planet on the unfashionable end of the galaxy who can blame them?
The universe of t...more
The universe of t...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
really boring Brits who can't get over being really boring, or British
Why does British humor rely so much on the use of indifference? Just something I've noticed.
So the Earth is destroyed. In an indifferent manner, which makes it hi-larious. A bloke is saved and, unmoored in the Universe, is dragged through a series of droll hijinx. One formulaic hijinx after another, which are really just vehicles for terribly self-satisfied one-liners. And then the novel stops at a seemingly arbitrary point -- though I suspect it's actually the point of diminishing returns. ...more
So the Earth is destroyed. In an indifferent manner, which makes it hi-larious. A bloke is saved and, unmoored in the Universe, is dragged through a series of droll hijinx. One formulaic hijinx after another, which are really just vehicles for terribly self-satisfied one-liners. And then the novel stops at a seemingly arbitrary point -- though I suspect it's actually the point of diminishing returns. ...more
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The coolest five-book trilogy ever. Seriously some of the best and original science fiction ever written, and it just happens to be hilarious. Not too many people have the balls to write a trilogy that starts off with the absolute destruction of earth for no other reason than the fact that it was in the path of a hyperspace highway that was soon to become obsolete with the advent of the improbability drive. Speaking of which, the technology in these books is easily more imaginative than anyth...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
People who don't take things too seriously - and get British humor
I'd read the Dirk Gently books many years ago and always wanted to read the Hitchhiker books. Only recently did a five novels and one story (slightly different from the paperback version in that it also includes Young Zaphod Plays it Safe) edition come along at a discounted price I couldn't refuse, then couldn't put down, and here I am.
Reading them together as one was very enjoyable, but also pointed out what I so enjoyed in the early work that was missing in the later stories - the interac...more
Reading them together as one was very enjoyable, but also pointed out what I so enjoyed in the early work that was missing in the later stories - the interac...more
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recommends it for:
Everyone
I first picked this book off the shelf in a Borders book store in Atlanta not knowing what it was or anything about its cult-like following. It was the first book I'd ever seen bound in leather that wasn't a bible and I was intrigued. I took it home and read it cover to cover, then started at the beginning and did it again. I have always loved science fiction and Douglas Adams was the first author I read that showed me that science fiction could be more than the literary equivalent of a Hollyw...more
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Read in February, 2007
There are many editions of Hitchhiker's. I couldn't say which is best, but I liked this one a lot. It contains five books within it all in a handy paperback format. The Hitchhiker stories are pretty short by novel standards so although this edition is some 500 pages long, you'll zip through the stories very quickly.
The story caters to geeks and those in tune with satirical comedy. If you love British Comedy, than you will love these books. The plot is hard to describe and I'm not entire...more
The story caters to geeks and those in tune with satirical comedy. If you love British Comedy, than you will love these books. The plot is hard to describe and I'm not entire...more
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recommended to Joni by:
my dad.
recommends it for: everyone!!!
recommends it for: everyone!!!
To say this book is hilarious would be ridiculously understating. To say it is plotless would be about right, but with the type of situations the characters get into, all plot, logic, reason and good sense is thrown out of the window, stamped on, shredded and thrown to the wind. And that's the way we like it, because it works.
Imagine Arthur Dent; Mr Ordinary. You'd pass by him in the street and not think twice. Adams has made him so typical he's practially a cliche. But then he's pulled out ...more
Imagine Arthur Dent; Mr Ordinary. You'd pass by him in the street and not think twice. Adams has made him so typical he's practially a cliche. But then he's pulled out ...more
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Read in January, 1997
I use this as a placeholder for all five Hitchhiker books, even though the first one will probably always be my favorite.
It's hard to explain why this book is so great. I assume at this point it has become such a "cult" classic that doctoral theses are composed about it. The simple fact, though, is that I started reading, laughed very hard reading the first page, and didn't stop until I was finished. I guess I laughed at both the humor and the amazing (for lack of a better word) IDEA...more
It's hard to explain why this book is so great. I assume at this point it has become such a "cult" classic that doctoral theses are composed about it. The simple fact, though, is that I started reading, laughed very hard reading the first page, and didn't stop until I was finished. I guess I laughed at both the humor and the amazing (for lack of a better word) IDEA...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who enjoys british comedy
It's the best five part trilogy you're ever going to read!
I had tried on several different occasions to read this book and every attempt had failed more spectacularly than the last, excluding the one time I was able to make it all the way through. Douglas Adams is truely one of a kind and now I see what a great loss his death is. His style will never be repeated, possibly duplicated but just like the nutrimatic drink system it will be almost entirely nothing like his style at all. I under...more
I had tried on several different occasions to read this book and every attempt had failed more spectacularly than the last, excluding the one time I was able to make it all the way through. Douglas Adams is truely one of a kind and now I see what a great loss his death is. His style will never be repeated, possibly duplicated but just like the nutrimatic drink system it will be almost entirely nothing like his style at all. I under...more
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Read in January, 2004
recommended to M. A. by:
I can't even remember.recommends it for: everyone with a sense of humor
There is only one thing I can say about this book that can convey my utter delight and attachment to it. I take this book with me to the dentist. To me, there is nothing more terrifying and uncomfortable than the fifteen minutes sitting in the waiting room of the dentist's office. The strange smells, the high-pitched screams of the drills nearby, the knowledge that soon I will be in pain, it's enough to overwhelm one's reason. I take The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide with me, because no...more
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I remember when I first saw this edition. I was in high school and I walked into the local Waldenbooks. They had a display of leather bound editions of classics of Western Literature. War and Peace, Tom Sawyer, A Tale of Two Cities, etc.. I browsed the display, and I stopped at one book. A leather bound edition of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker books. This was before Mostly Harmless was released, I think this leather bound edition was later re-released with Mostly Harmless in it. Anyways... s...more
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Ein Abenteuer, dass jeden Kinofilm verblassen lässt..: Ich hatte schon oft von diesem Buch gehört, und auf Internet -Seiten gelesen, und um meine Allgemeinbildung aufzupolieren, hab ichs mir bestellt... Das Buch hat mich vom ersten Moment an gefesselt. Die Abenteuer von Ford Prefekt und Arthur Dent sind voll von Überraschungen und Anspielungen auf Gott und die Welt.. Mich fasziniert am meisten folgende Aussage im Buch: "God says: I refuse to prove my existence! For prove denies faith, an...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
People who like science fiction and quantum physics
Well technically I didn't read this, but I listened to the audiobook series. I listened to all of them in about a week and a half at this braindead job I've been working. I'd read the last book about 8 years ago (which almost seems appropriate considering the time-space-probability issues that plague the characters in Douglas Adams' universe.
First things first. Douglas Adams is an incredible writer. I was really drawn into the characters and the "whole sort of general mish mash"...more
First things first. Douglas Adams is an incredible writer. I was really drawn into the characters and the "whole sort of general mish mash"...more
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recommends it for:
Fans of humorous satire and Sci-fi
I'm still working on it. Finished Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I found it funny and thought provoking, though the thoughts it provoked were slightly less relevent now than they were just 10 years ago. My biggest thought while reading it is why SO MANY of its fans had a big problem with the U.S.A made movie from a few years ago. Ok it had a happy ending, but its movies..unless they are a horror movie they will more often then not, have a happy ending. Anyways, this isn't goodflicks, its...more
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Read in January, 1999
recommends it for:
sci-fi fans, terry pratchett fans
Other folks can give you better summaries, or ideas of why you might want to read these. My recommendation is to pick up the first one. If you don't like, if you can't read it through, then don't worry about picking up the rest of them. If you enjoy it and find yourself laughing out loud (and I hope you do), go ahead and keep up with the series. It's a quick fun read, really.
For me, The first of the five books will, I think, always be my favorite. The books that followed never seemed qu...more
For me, The first of the five books will, I think, always be my favorite. The books that followed never seemed qu...more
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