Hitchhiker's, volume 1.

Earth is destroyed to make way for a bypass. Fortunately for Arthur Dent, his friend Ford Prefect turns out to be an alien and manages to escape, with Arthur.

The plot is not bad, but it's the writing that is fantastic:

Vogon ships "hung in the sky in exactly the way bricks don't".

The Hooloovoo is a super-intelligent shade of the colour blue.

The old man who said nothing was true but was later found to be lying.

"After a second or so, nothing continued to happen".

"This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays" (borrowing from Truman Capote's "Breakfast at Tiffany's).

"Bits of it were dullish grey. Bits of it were dullish brown. The rest of it was rather less interesting". "An acute attack of no curiosity".

"Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea".

"It's unpleasantly like being drunk. What's so bad about being drunk? Try asking a glass of water."

God refuses to prove he exists because proof denies faith and without faith he is nothing. But the Babel fish is a dead giveaway - so God disappeared in a puff of logic.

Infinite improbability drive.


Brief summary and favourite quotes from the other four of the five books, as follows:

Restaurant at the End of Universe (vol 2): http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Life, the Universe and Everything (vol 3):
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish (vol 4): http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Mostly Harmless (vol 5): http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

And Another Thing...( vol 6), by Eoin Colfer : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Adams' thoughts on the Babel Fish are cited by linguist David Crystal in Language Death

I can't remember laughing at a book so much!

Loved, loved, loved(!!) everything about it.

The delivery by Stephen Fry is outstanding also.

Hugely recommend! There aren't enough superlatives to throw at this!

Don’t panic.

This is a wholly remarkable book.

For those of you who have NOT read Douglas Adams’ classic, drop what you’re doing right this very instant and go get a book. You can buy a copy at the bookstore, download it from Kindle, or check it out at the library.

No, seriously, literally stop what you’re doing and go get a copy and do nothing for the next three to four hours as you read this brilliant and hilarious book. Go ahead, leave work, duck out of school, cancel that appointment and just read and enjoy. Tell them Dr. Johnny Fever has prescribed this and it is necessary for your health.

Go on, it’s OK, we’ll wait for you.

(background music plays softly)

OK! You’re back! It was AMAZING! RIGHT?

Douglas Adams’ takeoff from this great start is something to read. SF? Sure. Fantasy? Probably. Adams humorous writing and good as pizza dialogue makes this GREAT. I’d call this a lovingly fun satire of 60s era weird SF, with some fun science of his own, but all tongue in cheek and entertaining.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

بازخوانی چهارم هم تمام شد. هرچقدر از عشقم نسبت بهش بگم کم گفتم،
حتی بیشتر از سری‌های قبلی ازش لذت بردم و دوستش داشتم

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.

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.

[polldaddy poll=9729544]
[polldaddy poll=9719251]

To look on the bright side, at least it's over.

n  n    “You know," said Arthur, "it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young."
"Why, what did she tell you?"
"I don't know, I didn't listen.” n  n

Did this make you laugh already? Fine, because the rest of Douglas Adams' famous novel includes many more of those humorous elements.

I have a very difficult personal history with Sci-Fi novels; some of them I could appreciate but not enjoy; some I could appreciate but got bored with them very quickly; but The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was the first Sci-Fi novel which ever made me simultaneously appreciate, enjoy and even love the book. Love is a strong word, but if a book is filled with sentences like “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't” or “Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job” or “My capacity for happiness you could fit into a matchbox without taking out the matches first”, then I simply can't help but fall in love with it.

n  n    “So this is it," said Arthur, "We are going to die."
"Yes," said Ford, "except... no! Wait a minute!" He suddenly lunged across the chamber at something behind Arthur's line of vision. "What's this switch?" he cried.
"What? Where?" cried Arthur, twisting round.
"No, I was only fooling," said Ford, "we are going to die after all.”n  n

I could go on and quote the entire book now, that's how much fun it was reading this and that's how quotable the book is. But Douglas Adams didn't only attempt (and succeed) to write this groundbreaking approach to the science fiction genre, he was also able to make you think a lot about several important questions: What is the meaning of life? Why do we live? Why do we die? What is the meaning of the Universe? Adams intentionally answers these questions in rather absurd ways, mainly because it is impossible to find ultimate answers and definitions for these topics. But those are all questions everyone has already asked themselves, and Adams isn't afraid to tackle them in a way that the reader can't help but laugh about it.

n  n    “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.”n  n

If you haven't read this book yet, perhaps because you are afraid of the Sci-Fi genre (which I was as well, until I started my adventures with Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Marvin and all the others in this book): then don't hesitate to read it. But don't be mistaken, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is (probably) not the best book you will ever find, it is (probably) not going to make you cry because of its emotional intensity, it is (probably) not going to keep you on the edge of your seat due to its ming-bogglingly suspenseful plot. Adams' book is rather an episodic account of several random adventures in the cosmic space, and for me it was mostly Adams' writing style which it was impossible to resist. He lures his readers into the story and before you even realize it, you are probably already laughing.

And don't forget to bring your towel!

All time classic I've read the whole series of 5 books at least twice. The adventures of Arthur Dent leaving earth and travelling the universe are brilliantly conceived and so human. Adams was a great science fiction writer and died too young.

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.

Read for the Second Time on March 18, 2012

Rating: 3 stars! (After 3 years, I still liked it!)

Six hundred books... 3 years... in between. Me not being really a sci-fi fan. But, yes...I still liked this book!

Resistance is useless! says the outer space alien who first apprehended Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect. I might as well not resist. My group here in Goodreads, Filipinos, love this book as they voted it as one of their 100 Favorite Books.

I appreciate the creativity and imagination of Douglas Adams for thinking that Earth is actually a big computer that is designed to give the Ultimate Question to the Ultimate Answer divulged in the book: "42." There are also references to Christianity like in the introduction where "the man nailed unto a cross" and Deep Thought mimicking St. John the Baptist preparing the way to the "greater one" (Earth symbolizing Jesus Christ). Who says that sci-fi cannot be appropriate as a Lenten Read?

My favorite character in this book is that soldier who does not know why he is doing his job and why is he shouting "Resistance is useless!" I also do not know why I reread this book and why I have this strong urge of knowing the Ultimate Question so I have to read the 4 other books in this "trilogy."

Resistance is useless!


Read for the First Time on June 15, 2009

Rating: 3 stars! (I liked it!). Review below:

This is a fascinating sci-fi novel. In 1979, it started as a radio program, became a TV series and a stage play. The author died in 2001 and as a tribute to him, the movie was shown in 2005. I am not a big fan of science fictions in book forms but I grew up liking Darna, Zimatar, Magnun, Lastikman, Panday, atbp as komiks (there was no electricity in the province so we did not have access to television) and AM radio were the handiest forms of entertainment when I was growing up in the province. So, reading this book brought me back to those days when I was tremendously hooked in sci-fi believing that there could really be a stone that when you swallow, you can become a superhero without choking or needing a doctor to operate your colon later.

I picked up this book two years ago after receiving an email from a British colleague in the UK. He was saying goodbye and his last sentence was “So long and thanks for all the fish!” I wrote him back asking what it meant and he explained that it was from this book. I postponed reading this after finishing less than 5 pages of the book as I found British humor not really funny. There was the transcript of interviews for the movie casts and screenwriter at the end of this edition and one of them said that his daughter literally fell off her chair laughing while reading the novel. Maybe I am already old and obviously not a Briton but I finished this book in less than 48 hours and was able to sleep well (without nightmares unlike when I was reading the holocaust novels). Although I felt happy and light so I am not that old yet I guess.

The fish BTW is said to be contradicting the existence of God. As you have to put this fish – a Babel fish – for you to understand any language. I found it funny (which was not in the first 5 pages) and not sacrilegious as the Mary Magdalene being Jesus’ wife brouhaha that made the Catholic Church call for boycott during the promotion of The Vinci Code movie in 2005. I fish swimming inside your ear!

There are other funny and witty ideas in the book like the Earth as a big computer designed to answer The Ultimate Question on Life, Universe and Everything with the Ultimate Answer as 42. I have already lined up the 2nd (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe) and 3rd (Life, Universe and Everything) books in my bookshelf as a To Reads later this year. I wish to complete by getting the last two (So Long and Thanks for All The Fish and Almost Harmless) as I would like to see how Douglas (May God bless his witty and talented soul) tied up 42 with the existential questions!

Roses are red
Violets are blue
the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything
is 42