This is a book I’ve been meaning to read for a very long time, but have been putting off for a number of reasons: 1) It’s honestly pretty rare that I read anything published before the 80s unless it’s classic horror. 2) It’s science fiction, which is my most hit-and-miss genre. 3) I love the film adaptation, and I’m always worried, after loving a film adaptation, that the book will ruin the film for me and I won’t be able to love it anymore.

n  “Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.”n

All of that said, this is probably my fiancé’s favorite book of all time, and as his birthday is later this month, I promised to finally read it! It was a quick and fun read, but it’s a really tough book for me to rate. My feelings are so all over the place, but I ultimately decided on 3.5 stars, rounded up.

n  “If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now.”n

The single greatest thing that this book has going for it is absolutely, hands down, the humor. It’s very dry and probably would fit well into what many of us North Americans like to playfully refer to as “British humor”, but it somehow doesn’t feel dated to the 70s in any way. I laughed out loud—or smirked, at least—more times than I can count during this story, though I don’t know how much of that is in thanks to picturing the jokes being delivered by Mos Def and Martin Freeman. I’m honest enough to admit that I probably wouldn’t be rating this as highly if I didn’t enjoy the film so much, but that’s beside the point.

n   “This must be Thursday,” said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer. “I never could get the hang of Thursdays.”n

I’m not rating this book based solely on its wit and snark, though—there’s also something to say for how unique it is, how original it was for its time, and how solidly it has stood through the decades. I always say I’m not a big sci-fi fan, so I don’t really know the genre as well as many of you might, but for any book to have become this big of an international phenomenon, and then to have stayed as such for nearly 40 years as of now, is impressive and probably worthy of praise just for that.

n   “Ford… you’re turning into a penguin. Stop it.”n

Is this book perfect? I don’t know, honestly. I’m a broken record here, but with my ambivalent feelings for the genre as a whole, I’m not the best person to answer that for you. What I can say is that it’s a super fun read, and if you’ve never picked it up before, you should totally give it a try. Or watch the film. In fact, even if you have read it, you should still watch the film, because it’s amazing.

n   “So long, and thanks for all the fish!”n

---

Buddy read with Terry!

You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!

I was right to not want to read this one.

It's so stupid. This is not even close to my kind of humour. I like clever funny, not stupid funny. This is just beyond ridiculous and I mostly cringed my way through it. I don't think I cracked a smile once.

I get that this is hilarious and delightful for some people but I am not one of them.

Thank god it was mercifully short.

He really wrote an entire series of this crap?

British humour, man. I just n  don't get it.n

This was book 13 of my #Dymocks52challenge refined. You can read more here.

***

n  Originally shelved as 'never gonna happen':n

Absurdist humour is not really my thing, and I've heard enough about this one to not even be a little tempted to read it. It sounds too ridiculous for my liking. I'd rather read something with clever humour.

If you want to know the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, this is the place to go!

Douglas Adams has been writing radio scripts for the BBC in the same vein as the Monthy Python's Flying Circus, or Rowan Atkinson's sitcom Blackadder, or even Mel Brook's Spaceballs. This cult novel is no different and quite obviously a surreal parody of the space-opera science-fiction genre. It mostly juggles with logic and wordplays, like Lewis Carroll, and quite a few episodes seem to be inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

On the whole, many dialogues include hilarious schoolboy pranks and punchlines, and the plot (the zany adventures of the last surviving human and his bizarre sidekicks across the galaxy) is quite dizzying. Not much else to take away from all that though, except that the answer to said Ultimate Question is indeed probably  forty-two .

-«آرزو می کنم که ای کاش در بچگی حرف مادرم رو گوش کرده بودم.»
+«مگه مادرت چی بهت گفت؟»
- «نمیدونم. اون موقع ها به حرفش گوش ندادم.»

چند ساعته دارم فکر میکنم در مورد این کتاب چی بگم که شاهکار بودنش رو توصیف کنه ولی هیچی به ذهنم نرسید. فقد میتونم بگم بهترین و ناب ترین چرت و پرتی بود که تا به حال خونده بودم . اگر دوست دارید از این کتاب چیز خاصی یاد بگیرین بهتره اصلا سمت این کتاب نرید. یک طنز خاص خودشو داره که کمتر جایی دیدین.و اصلا سعی نکنید همه چیز رو بفهمید . فقد از خوندنش لذت ببرید.

رمان اینجوری شروع میشه که همون روزی که خانه ی آرتور به دستور شورای شهر برای احداث یک بزرگ راه بین شهری تخریب میشه. یک نژاد از آدم فضایی ها برای احداث یک بزرگ راه بین کهکشانی سیاره زمین رو نابود می کنن و...

Nothing to review here, awesome no matter how many time you read it.

What a unique book, truly one of a kind. Science fiction? Well kind of. Humor? Yes, that to. And who knows what else was going through Adams mind when he wrote this. It's almost like "stream of consciousness" science fiction/humor/satire. But whatever you call it, it was entertaining and fun to read. 4.5 stars.

Another classic. If you don't like this series, you probably put your babel fish in the wrong hole. You are the reason that human beings are only the third most intelligent species on earth behind mice and dolphins. So long, and thanks for all the fish!

I need a Babel fish and make it translate my mind.

"Whatever happened to my mind, I did it."

.
.
.

"This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time."

Story: Earth is demolished. A man is secretly taken to another planet. So enjoy I say.

It's filled with weirdos because most of them are beings from somewhere else (to keep it subtle or to make it worse) and the story is chaotic and funny as heck.

But really though, reading this series talking about demolishing the Earth during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic did made me question my choice of books.

(And every book I pick up these days are either too depressing or stressed the heck out of me. I question my choices. Yes, I do that a lot these days.)

I was going crazy trying to calm down and understand what was going on in the first few chapters. But then chapter 6 started and there's no going back. Of course, we gotta read the first 5 chapters to get this feeling.

I love this chapter! Funny yet the discussion going on in there. Fun! Faith vs Man.

My favourite character would be Ford. He would be someone I would want to punch in the face but cannot survive without.

Arthur. Oh Arthur. You remind me of us humans that I keep getting all the second-hand embarassment whenever you appear.

Trillian. The way her character is reminds me of some of the most calmest yet intriguing people. I like how her vibes scream sarcasm towards Gaphod, the semi-cousin of Ford.

And what the hell is wrong with Grunthos (yes, that's a real fictional character's name... Real and fictional.) Torture yourself with the poems by Poet Master Grunthos. (My Favourite Bathtime Gurgles....yes, get the hint.) The horror! I cried laughing there!

And you will meet a few more characters. Almost philosophical ones I would say.

Marvin, you will be remembered.

The more pages you turn, the more you will enjoy the story. There's nothing normal here. Because, of course, it didn't happen on our planet. Let your imagination have its exercise and be tickled with an imaginary world somewhere out there.

The entire read reminds me so much of the nerds Sheldon Cooper, Lennerd, Howard and Raj. Like they have written a story together finally!

(The irony though that the book series happened years before the show.)

Another story there, Magrathea. It could happen. Myth?

Love the space time I had with the first book!

Parts like this out of nowhere got me laughing out loud
("Ah...! What's happening?it thought.

Er, excuse me, who am I?

Hello?

Why am I here? What's my purpose in life?

What do you mean by who am I?")

Of course, it's not always about the human and humanlike beings here.
I just wish no fictional animal was harmed in the story.

The end of chapter 21 made me quite emotional. I wish I never have to say such lines. Ever.

And (bam!) the chapters that followed this until the end made this read a perfect read for me. I am telling you this is the kind of book the more pages you read the more you get invested.

I kept telling myself "this is so chaotic", "do I need to be worried about how worried I am now while reading this crazy story?" and "I want to go there". Actually the whole story felt rather claustrophobic too.

I really love the last few chapters more. It's everything you need to think about you, the world you live in and what might be actually happening as opposed to what we are made to believe all our lives.

And human, be very scared of mice. (Now I know why we go crazy sht seeing mice!)

"Resistance is useless."

I honestly fail to understand the appeal of this book. Can't bear to listen to it any more...

Wow! I cannot articulate just how much I loved this book!

“Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.”

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is my first Douglas Adams novel, and it is going directly to my favorites shelf. The humor is wonderfully dry and the writing oh so clever. This is the kind of novel that will stick with me forever; the kind that I will read over and over.

I can't wait to jump into The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

“So long, and thanks for all the fish.”

4.5/5

DON’T PANIC

Always great to have a good tidbit of life advice thrown into a book.

well I see why this series has such a following. Wow I can’t wait to read the rest of it. It’s always fun to read a book that you can tell an author had fun writing. Each scene just brought so much joy to my life.

Something crazy would happen then the digital guide would bring it all together and fill me in on why a species acts a certain way. It was a really great way to fit exposition into a story while still pushing the plot forward because I was learning about the universe along with Arthur and as he read the guide I got to read it too.

Though I loved all the characters (particularly interactions between Ford and Zaphod) I have to tip my hat to Marvin. His ability to bring a room down in mere seconds is hilarious. He had the ability to make a ship commit suicide.

Anyway, I’m excited to read the remaining books and until then at least I can rest easy knowing the meaning of life is 42.

یک ۵ ستاره‌ی واقعی.

طنز قوی‌ش رو خیلی دوست داشتم. جنسی از بی‌در و پیکری ای که بهش می‌گن ادبیات پست‌مدرنیستی. شلوغی و قاطی‌پاتی بودن‌اش، اتفاقات‌اش و روابط علی معلولی‌ش، شخصیت‌پردازی و گیردادن‌هاش، همه و همه طوری بود که می‌خواستم من هم همینطوری بنویسم. عده‌ای نویسنده هستند که آرزو می‌کنم من هم می‌تونستم مثل اونا بنویسم و داگلاس آدامز شد یکی از همین نویسنده‌ها.

قصه خیلی خوب جلو می‌رفت و اتفاقات خیییلی بالای مرز تخیل‌ام حرکت می‌کرد. طوری که نمی‌شد حدس زد. تئوری‌هاش و بینش‌اش به هستی و جهان. دیدگاه جدیدی که بهت می‌داد. و وقتی یکم مکث می‌کردی، عمقی که توی نوشته‌ها می‌دیدی.
شاید این کتاب باعث شد بیشتر بخندم و بیشتر به سخره بگیرم چیزهایی که دور و برم هست و مهم می‌پندارم. یادآوری‌ای بر کوچیک بودن و ناچیز بودن و هیچ نبودن‌مون. خیلی وقتا نیاز به اینجور تلنگر‌هایی داریم. هی بهمون یادآوری بشه که هیچی نیستیم.

به‌زودی بپرم برای قسمت بعدی، یعنی رستورانِ آخر دنیا!