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

Good book for when you are sick in bed, or on a subway commute. Douglas Adams has a fine, Monty Pythonesque sense of humor. Its over fast, but apparently there is another one if you are interested. Spoiler alert: I would like to share a point where I did not LOL, but did in fact laugh out loud so hard that the subsequent coughing fit cured me of my bronchitis, viz. Question: How many roads must a man walk down? Indeed.

I mean, it's funny. Kind of like Fear and Loathing, minus the drugs.

This is the year of my 42 and got a hankering for a re-read!!

I'd heard of this book but never read it until now. I didn't really know what to expect, and I ended up quite enjoying this book. The writing is funny and clever, the story easy to follow yet engaging. This book is clearly a part of a series, so the resolution at the end of the story wasn't quite what I usually like at the end of a book. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an entertaining, quick read, one that I'd feel comfortable recommending.

Right, so my introduction to this book started thusly: Awesome Friend: Have you read Hitchhiker's Guide the Galaxy? Me: Uh, no. Awesome Friend: YOU MUST READ IT. IT'S HILARIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL AND SO CLEVER. Me: Why? Awesome Friend: It's just... satire, and wit, and there's a manically depressed robot, and you need a towel to travel around the galaxy with, because it's useful for all kinds of things, and there's this dude named Arthur who lays down in front of a bulldozer crew who wants to destroy his house, but it ultimately doesn't matter because the earth is about to implode. So, I read the book. At times, it amused me. At times, I wasn't sure if there was an actual plot (in retrospect, laughs aside, I don't think there really is). At times, it caused me to almost bust a gut laughing. At times, it tickled my fancy and kicked my cat and curdled my milk, and in the end, I'm really not sure what I think about it, because a couple of chapters from the end I stupidly watched the movie and spent the entire rest of this (first in a series) book going, "Huh... that wasn't on screen." Still, the last few paragraphs were hilarious. Even if I did read the robot's dialogue in Alan Rickman's voice. (Thanks, movie!)

Let me start off by stating that I listened to the book when I was incredibly sick and may or may not have drifted off to sleep a time or two due to the illness, not the book, but didn't care enough (again due to the illness and not the book) to go back and figure out what I missed. Here's why: I think this book must be more enjoyable in print form. It gets rave ratings from all my friends except for the one friend who I know listens to books like me. She didn't like it and I thought she would. Then, as I was listening, I kept thinking how annoying it was to listen to all of the syllables in each ridiculous name and it kept distracting from the story. It was overkill. It was highly annoying and it made the story tedious. I don't think that would matter at all in print form and I think that might be where the difference in opinion lies. It made listening to it unenjoyable and I was happy when it ended but I do see why people liked it and think I would have too if I had read it which I might do in the future.

Just as hilarious, thought-provoking and charming as the first time I read it years ago!

DID NOT READ. I only read the first four chapters. I can't get through it....I know so many people who LOVE this book...and so many who hate it. I am the latter...maybe not hate, more...dislike. After much discussion with my Sci-Fi friends...it was decided that those who read this in middle school LOVED this book. Those who did not try to read it until later...was greatly disappointed. Sci-Fi...not my thing.

Absurdly hilarious.

Silly but enjoyable