I was wondering if anyone has read the series of books by Douglas Adams that started with "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"? The series includes "Restaurant at the End of the Universe", "Life, the Universe and everything", "So long, and thanks for all the Fish" and finally "Mostly Harmless". Adams calls this his trilogy, which shows you that he has a very unique sense of humor. Adams died in 2001 at the age of 49. If you haven't tried one of his books please start with Hitchhiker. One warning, leave all reality in another room when you open one of his books. Adams can make you believe that the population of the Universe is zero and that the earth was built by mice. He also tells you why life is so much nicer if you remember to take a towel with you. Trust me as long as you keep your tongue firmly in your cheek you will thoroughly enjoy Hitchhiker and the others. If you have read these books please let me know what you thought.
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (Hover)
A friend of mine suggested several years ago that I give "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" a try, I did and instantly got hooked. I've just recently reread all 5 of them and they get better every time. Douglas Adams' humor is priceless! The only thing I didn't like that much about the series is the ending of "Mostly Harmless". But I would still recommend the series to anyone that likes a good laugh!
They are currently producing a new movie based on the book, based on a script by Douglas Adams himself, if I recall correctly.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books are fantastic! I thought the writing was pretty good myself, I especially liked what Douglas Adams did with the english language, twisting the common usage of words and so forth. I also read "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" and "The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul" Which were both also very enjoyable.
Yes, I am very fond of saying that I've read the "trilogy in all five parts." (the fifth book is called "Young Zaphod Plays it Safe." This is my second favorite trilogy and I have read over them many times so I can tell you alot of trivia (as long as the trivia is in the books themselves and not from external sources.) One of my favorite parts was being educated upon the art of flying (being able to throw yourself at the ground and miss.) I would have to disagree with Smudge about the quality of writing, I thought the books were well written, and despite the wild things happening everything made sense and wrapped up nicely (which is important to me.) I highly recommend these books, but to get the most out of them they require more than one reading.
-Unferth
I love the hitchhikers books, I periodically re read them and they still make me laugh! I didn't really like mostly harmless, the ending to me seemed a bit of a betrayel to the rest of the books! however the fact that in the books gods last message to his creation is "sorry for all the inconvenience" is pure genius! I was so sad when Douglas adams died especially as one of my other comedy heroes spike milligan died the same year! I wasn't that fussed on the film adaptation, but for anyone who thought it was awful... try watching the t.v series!
I enjoyed Adam's works, and his postmodern humor. I found some of his nonfiction works interesting, such as this book he's written about animal preservation and the first autobiographical half of "The Salmon of Doubt". He writes a bit like David Foster Wallace, another author I like.