Immerse In The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy (Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, #1) Originated By Douglas Adams Provided As PDF
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 itStats but the next, I would be bored and wanted to rate it.
I decided on.stars.
This book is described as scifi 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
All in all, I have very mixed feelings, I loved the idea and the humor, I also loved the scifi aspect but when all of that was combined it was not all that great
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Bottom Line:
.
Stars: Weird, but funny
Age Recommendation:Slight cursing, violence
For fans of:th Wave, Furiously Happy
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Plot:/
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Update: it did but what the heck was that ending! RTC
this has better live up to the hype
sitelinkGoodreads sitelinkBlog sitelinkPinterest sitelinkLinkedIn sitelinkYouTube sitelinkInstagram 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 scifi 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 muchthe wheel, New York, wars and so onwhilst 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 manfor 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.
"
“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, ”
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 SciFi 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 SciFi 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.
“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, ”
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.
“For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so muchthe wheel, New York, wars and so onwhilst 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 manfor precisely the same reasons.
”
If you haven't read this book yet, perhaps because you are afraid of the SciFi 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 mingbogglingly 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! 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! This book was more Sylvie and Bruno and less Alice in Wonderland.
I didn't know what to make of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I didn't know when to laugh and what was serious,
The treatment given to this story is phantasmagorical, The gags and mini episodic adventures are absurd, pertinently so, The fate of the planet Magrathea is a dream for communists,
I tried to get it, you know, But I don't get most of British humour, I don't get most of Monty Python's Flying Circus, and I don't get Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh, But what my rating ofshow is that I recognise a master of the word when his pen is being wielded.
Such daring too. I loved that part. “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is, I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.
”
Another great reread of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Always entertaining and so absurdly profound!
Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an entertaining romp through the galaxy.
It's a book I've read several times first in high school however, after reading Kurt Vonnegut's most overtly science fiction novel, The Sirens of Titan, it almost felt like a fresh experience.
Of course, Vonnegut and Adams are very different writers, Still, the influence of Vonnegut is evident in Adams' seminal novel of nerd culture, The absurdity of the human condition explored in Sirens something which Vonnegut refuses to take seriously but can't treat as a punchline either gets a funny and entertaining twist in Adams' work.
While I view Sirens as a better novel, it took Adams to turn that absurdity into such an entertaining adventure.
Summary
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Along with his friend, Arthur Dent escapes from Earth before it was demolished and goes for a hilarious yet intriguing trip through the galaxy.
Some fascinating facts related to this this book
I thought that this was a book mainly for the younger audience, and I wouldn't enjoy it.
Then I accidentally came across an interview of Elon Musk where he discussed his HitchhikersGuideinspired Design Philosophy and told that it was this book that inspired him to make SpaceX.
That, at last, convinced me to read this book, And it was an absolute joy to read,
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Why are so many people obsessed with this book How did it influence Elon Musks design philosophy
For knowing more about it.
I am sharing the excerpts from Elon Musk's interview here,
Science Fiction to Reality
Here Elon beautifully lays out the philosophical points from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which have shaped the way he thinks through tough
engineering challenges.
Elon Musks HitchhikersGuideinspired Design Philosophy "Question everything, including the question",
As Hitchhikers Guide teaches us, if you are given access to the Universes most powerful supercomputera system that can answer any question you throw at itdont waste its time with a question you havent properly thought through.
The same goes for a beautiful human brain,
When approaching any challenge, first ask yourself, “Am I asking the right question” Alternatively, “Am I being asked the right question”
.
“Take ages to form your question, ”
The climax of the first book in the series focuses on relaying this lesson to its readers: If you dont understand the question in the first place, you wont understand the answer it produces.
. “Question your constraints. ”
The world of rocket science comes with a load of constraints: Time, physical, budgetary, the list goes on.
But, Elon warns, “Dont design to your constraints without calling into question those constraints, ”
. “Dont optimize a thing that shouldnt exist, ”
We all find ourselves in the midst of a task that suddenly seems silly, “Why am I doing this” We are creatures of habit, and we are great at following orders, But, sometimes, we forget that orders come from creatures of habit, And, sometimes, habits must be broken in the name of efficiency and progress, SpaceXs extremely fastpaced innovation makes it clear that they are great at putting this lesson into practice,
. “The product errors reflect organizational errors, ”
To be a great leader, you have to understand the trickledown effect of your organizational errors, They will flow all the way down the chain, injecting themselves right into your products and services,
That goes for any level of organization, all the way up to whole societies, Starting on page, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy does a wonderful job poking fun at the absurdity of errorfilled bureaucratic processes that trickle all the way down from a government body, forming persistent issues in the daily lives of its citizens.
My favourite lines from this book
“Time is an illusion.
Lunchtime doubly so. ”
"For a moment, nothing happened, Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen, ”
“Dont panic, ”
Verdict
/This is one of the best Science Fiction classics out there that can make us laugh and think at the same time.
What can I say I wish I had been in the movie, although it was bad and I guess I should be happy about NOT being in it.
The universe is a joke,
Even before I was shown the meaning of life in a dream atthen promptly forgot it because I thought I smelled pancakes, I knew this to be trueand yet, I have always felt a need to search for the truth, that nebulous, illtreated creature.
Adams has always been, to me, to be a welcome companion in that journey,
Between the search for meaning and the recognition that it's all a joke in poor taste lies Douglas Adams, and, luckily for us, he doesn't seem to mind if you lie there with him.
He's a tall guy, but he'll make room,
For all his crazed unpredictability, Adams is a powerful rationalist, His humor comes from his attempts to really think through all the things we take for granted, It turns out it takes little more than a moment's questioning to burst our preconceptions at the seams, yet rarely does this stop us from treating the most ludicrous things as if they were perfectly reasonable.
It is no surprise that famed atheist Richard Dawkins found a friend and ally in Adams, What is surprising is that people often fail to see the rather consistent and reasonable philosophy laid out by Adams' quips and absurdities.
His approach is much more personable and less embittered than Dawkins', which is why I think of Adams as a better face for rational materialism which is a polite was of saying 'atheism'.
Reading his books, it's not hard to see that Dawkins is tired of arguing with uninformed idiots who can't even recognize when a point has actually been made.
Adams' humanism, however, stretched much further than the contention between those who believe, and those who don't,
We see it from his protagonists, who are not elitist intellectualsthey're not even especially brightbut damn it, they're trying.
By showing a universe that makes no sense and having his characters constantly question it, Adams is subtly hinting that this is the natural human state, and the fact that we laugh and sympathize shows that it must be true.
It's all a joke, it's all ridiculous, The absurdists might find this depressing, but they're just a bunch of narcissists, anyhow, Demanding the world make sense and give you purpose is rather self centered when it already contains toasted paninis, attractive people in bathing suits, and Euler's Identity.
I say let's sit down at the bar with the rabbi, the priest, and the frog and try to get a song going.
Or at least recognize that it's okay to laugh at ourselves now and again, It's not the end of the world,
It's just is a joke, but some of us are in on it, .