From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)

Douglas Adams

Start date: August 1, 2014

Finish date: August 29, 2014

Discussion: Book Discussions

Why we're reading this: Group Classic Novel Discussion August 2014
#2 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) http://…more
[close] Group Classic Novel Discussion August 2014
#2 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/1390858...
#6 on Locus Magazines Best SciFi novels of the 20th century http://www.locusmag.com/2012/AllCentu...

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 250 topics — 8,801 comments total

Book Discussions

"Cyteen" by C.J. Cherryh
By deleted member · 48 posts · 103 views

last updated May 24, 2025 11:25PM

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
By deleted member · 46 posts · 150 views

last updated Mar 28, 2025 02:28PM

showing 8 of 8 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Aug 19, 2008 Michael rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read, science-fiction, favorites, read-in-2021, summer-reading-2021

How does one review The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy without the review being a long series of witty or hilarious (or both) quotes from the book?

This is a seminal book in the sci-fi genre, if only because it's so darn well known and because a lot of "funny" sci-fi writers since that time have tried to do what Douglas Adams makes look so effortless -- be devastatingly funny.

Like many, I've experienced multiple versions of Adams' famous story -- radio show, TV show, movie, video-game, novel. T How does one review The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy without the review being a long series of witty or hilarious (or both) quotes from the book?

This is a seminal book in the sci-fi genre, if only because it's so darn well known and because a lot of "funny" sci-fi writers since that time have tried to do what Douglas Adams makes look so effortless -- be devastatingly funny.

Like many, I've experienced multiple versions of Adams' famous story -- radio show, TV show, movie, video-game, novel. The interesting thing is that while Adams starts from the same point, he often diverges wildly in where the story goes along the way. Yes, he will still hit some of the same notes and build to the same jokes, but he doesn't always follow the same path to get there. It's why I can enjoy the movie without being mad that they changed things -- Adams never told this story the same way twice, so why should the movie be bound to tell it religiously tied to the book?

The first entry in the series is a light, fun read that often gets brought up as a good starting point for sci-fi/fantasy book groups to start out reading. I feel like this is a mistake because, again, you just end up quoting favorite passages to each other.

That said, this time around I was struck by just how masterfully funny Adams is -- and how observant. His pointing out the absurdity of things (say, for example, our fascination with digital watches (ask your parents, kids!)) is nicely done. The asides for entries from the guides are well observed and help fill in gaps (it's almost like having a companion ask the Doctor for an explanation...and since Adams worked as script editor for Doctor Who, it's easy to draw this comparison). The plot, such as it is, moves along from funny showcase to funny showcase.

Look, if you haven't read this yet, you probably should. And if you haven't read it in a while, it's a fun book that will distract you from how cruddy the world can be sometimes. That alone puts it on my list of favorite books of all time -- even if I think the radio version is just a bit funnier. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review