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I am not one of those who think this is the best book ever written. It does not affect me on any deep emotional level and this kind of quirky sci-fi comedy is just not really my thing. However, that being said, Adams' has some of the best quotes EVER (not all of these are from this exact book):


"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."



"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons."



"The Guide says there is an art to flying", said Ford, "or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."



"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."



"Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?"



"The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't."

I read this book because it is my boyfriends' favorite series. I struggled with it so much. I already struggle with fantasy, and this book didn't explain what is happening thoroughly and develop the characters enough right away in the beginning. So like I said I really struggled.

However, I watched the movie and according to my boyfriend there was a lot in the movie that wasn't in the book, so I guess that didn't help.

I hated this book. It was required in one of my English Lit. classes in college. The time spent reading this book is time that I will never get back. I think this book may have shortened my life; it was such a waste of time.

What the hell did I just read?

n  Watch my video review by clicking here.n

3.5 stars rounded up for goodreads. Was fun and silly, but ultimately felt like a poor mans Discworld that I would have enjoyed far more when I was younger.

My 50th read of 2022!

I finally listened to this hilarious classic of the science fiction genre, which is narrated wonderfully by Stephen Fry, who really accentuates the quirky and witty tone of this story. It is the first time I read this, and I dived in blind, with no clue about what was going to happen, but that seems to have been the right call.

I thought the first half was brilliant. Ford Prefect is a great character, as is Arthur, and their interactions on earth are just great. It did become a bit too absurd for me in the latter third, but I was engaged from beginning to end. Definitely worth the read!

Absurdity at its finest.

Arthur Dent is having a bad day, his house is about to be levelled down because it’s in the way of the construction of a new freeway. At the local pub, he encounters his enigmatic friend Ford Prefect. Prefect, a galactic hitchhiker, is leaving the Earth, and taking Dent with him. A minor nuisance; apparently the Earth is just about to be demolished to make way for an interstellar freeway. Dent’s realization is instant, several billions of people are going to have a very bad day.

This is the most ridiculously funny book I’ve ever read. Although that may be because it was my very first of the kind. I think the hype is very well deserved, if you are into that kind of humor. I lost track of how many times it made me laugh, and I’m not really an easy person to make laugh. Outrageously silly sci-fi humor in every single chapter. An unforgettable ride through an absurdity of worlds scattered along the vast craziness of an unfathomable galaxy.

The movie (2005) is a mediocre adaptation at best; even with a stellar cast like Rockwell, Deschanel and Malkovich. It’s not nearly as funny as the book, not by a long shot, at least for me. It doesn’t make it justice and is not exactly faithful to the original work. And sadly, you just can’t bring down the magnificently complex absurdity of Douglas writing to cinematic dialog without losing much of its original magic.

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n  PERSONAL NOTEn:
[2007] [193p] [Humor] [Highly Recommendable] [Outrageously ridiculous] [Wonderfully crazy galaxy] [Never forget Marvin] [ –I really don’t think you are going to like it. –Tell us!!! – Ok… 42. ]
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★★☆☆☆ 0.5. Young Zaphod Plays It Safe [1.5]
★★★★★ 1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★☆☆☆ 2. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [2.5]
★★★☆☆ 3. Life, the Universe and Everything
★★★★☆ 4. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
★☆☆☆☆ 5. Mostly Harmless
★★★☆☆ 1-5. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  
★★★☆☆ 6. And Another Thing... [2.5]

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Absurdidad en su máxima expresión.

Arthur Dent tiene un mal día, su casa está a punto de ser derribada porque está en el camino de la construcción de una nueva carretera. En un bar local, se encuentra con su enigmático amigo Ford Prefect. Prefect, un autoestopista galáctico, está por abandonar la Tierra, y se va llevar a Dent con él. Una pequeña molestia; al parecer la Tierra está a punto de ser demolida para darle paso a una autopista intergaláctica. La realización de Dent es instantánea, varios billones de personas van a tener un muy mal día.

Este es el libro más ridículamente gracioso que leí jamás. Aunque eso es tal vez porque fue el primero que leí de su especie. Creo que su fama está muy bien merecida, si te atrae ése tipo de humor. Perdí la cuenta de cuántas veces me hizo reir, y no soy una persona realmente fácil de hacer reir. Atrozmente tonto humor de ciencia ficción en cada capítulo. Un inolvidable paseo a través de una absurdidad de mundos esparcidos a lo largo de la vasta locura de una insondable galaxia.

La película (2005) es una mediocre adaptación cuando mucho; incluso con un elenco estrella como Rockwell, Deschanel y Malkovich. No es ni de cerca tan graciosa como el libro, ni por asomo, al menos para mí. No le hace justicia y no es exactamente fiel a la obra original. Y tristemente, no podés traer la magníficamente compleja absurdidad de la escritura de Douglas a diálogo cinematográfico sin perder mucha de su magia original.

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n  NOTA PERSONALn:
[2007] [193p] [Humor] [Altamente Recomendable] [Atrozmente ridículo] [Maravillosamente alocada galaxia] [Nunca olvidar Marvin] [ –Realmente no creo que les vaya a gustar. –Dínoslo!!! – Ok… 42. ]
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From what I can tell, I'm not in the majority when it comes to rating The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I'm giving it a 3, which means I still liked it... but unfortunately, I wasn't as fond of the humor as most people are.

This was a book club selection from about 6 or 7 years ago. We agreed to read just the first one in the series. And it was the first science-fiction novel we took on. I was excited. Several had already read it but wanted to again.

I'm generally a fan of crazy humor. I love Spaceballs, the movie. I kinda liken it to that, but for some reason, this wasn't as funny as I felt everyone said it was. Tons of laughs. Many great lines. The characters were memorable. I'm pretty sure there are a few movie or cartoon adaptions of it.

And I honestly would recommend that everyone read it -- even non SF fans. There are parts you will totally enjoy. But it's hard to get into for a non-SF reader right from the beginning. My first reactions were "Oh that's not possible..." But then I realized I wasn't reading a typical novel, so I suspended the lil' bit o' grouch in me... and I was able to enjoy it.



Very imaginative. Lots of cool commentary on life as other people would see it. A fair approach for someone new to the universe, so to speak.

I may go back and read it now that I'm older and have read a few other SF and fantasy books. I'm curious... what's the huge appeal for others about this book?



n  n    About Men  n
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by.

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Probably should have smoked something before and/or during the reading of this.

Awarding one star for each of the following:

Digital Watches
Babel Fish
Marvin

What a weird little book.

Something I'll do, almost immediately after finishing a book, is Google the heck out of the genre it belongs to. For example, after finishing Furiously Happy, I wanted to find a book that would make me laugh as much as it did. When in doubt, turn to Google. I have googled "most funny books" , "funny fiction books" and " comedy books". Each time, this was one of the top results. And since, I got Audible for Christmas, I thought I would give it a try. (But also because Google is shoving it down my throat.)

I'm still not totally sure how I feel about it. I keet waffling. One chapter, I'd be laughing and thinking I would definitely rate it 5 Stats but the next, I would be bored and wanted to rate it 3. (I decided on 3.5 stars).

This book is described as sci-fi AND comedy. A very very weird combo. I like both of those genres separately but together they were just weird. I love chocolate and I love grilled cheese but would I put them together? Heck, no. (Well, I might but I've been known to have weird food combos. Cheese and chocolate. Eggs and syrup. Apple's and chips.)

Aside from the genres, the plot was very creative. They story open a with the end. The end of earth. Two aliens and two aliens the travel the Universe and hilarity ensues. That's all fine and good but then the book just ended. I can only describe at as like when your walking and reading and you run into a wall and your nose gets all scraped up. (Not that that's happened to me or anything

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

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Buddy read with Terry!

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