The Stack: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
A week ago, I posted about the ever growing stack of novels on my bedside table.
It occurred to me that my opinions on these novels make for excellent blog fodder, and so I offer you a quick review of the most recently finished work from what I’ve termed The Stack.
People who know me really well should appreciate the huge leap it took on my part to approach reading a novel that might be categorized as science fiction. I chose Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy because, frankly, I found the movie slightly amusing and thought the novel was probably a good read. I was right. Sort of.
Completion of the novel solidly proves that (1) the movie was actually really awful and (2) this is a perfect example of why watching a movie is never a viable substitute for reading a book.
Unless we’re talking about Twilight.
The late Douglas Adams was a hilarious writer, injecting dry wit and a sense of irony that is both ordinary and brilliant into a great premise.
After the Earth is destroyed by a bureaucratic alien race called the Vogons to make way for a hyperspatial freeway, Arthur Dent, our anti-hero, is saved by his friend Ford Prefect, an incognito visitor from another planet.
Ford, who also happens to be a contributing writer to The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Arthur subsequently fall in with a cast of quirky characters, including a hilariously depressed robot. I mean, really, why would someone create a robot personality that was depressed? Little things like this is what makes the book really enjoyable. I particularly respect how this work pokes fun at its own genre in a pretty obvious way and doesn’t in any way, remotely, not at all, never ever takes itself seriously.
I purchased the Complete Hitchiker’s Guide which includes all four of Adams’s novels, but I only finished the first. Mostly because I have a whole bunch of other books I want to read first. I’m definitely going to come back to it, though, so I highly recommend it if you’re in the mood for something light, clever and generally funny.
Next in “The Stack”? Stephen King’s On Writing. Yes, I am aware of how trite that is. Thanks.
I’m about two thirds the way through. So far, so brilliant.
From On Writing (p. 127):
I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing. If one is writing for one’s own pleasure, that fear may be mild — timidity is the word I’ve used here. If, however, one is working under deadlines… that fear may be intense. Dumbo got airborne with the helo of a magic feather; you may feel the urge to grasp a passive verb or one of those nasty adverbs for the same reason. Just remember before you do that Dumbo didn’t need the feather, the magic was in him.
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One of my favorite novels of all time. I’ve read “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” more times that I can count. The two times I’ve met Douglas Adams were definitely highlights in my life. Glad you enjoyed it!
And if you want to see an entirely different side of Douglas Adams, you need to read “Last Chance to See”… which is a humorous (yet very sad) journey to see some of the most endangered animals on earth while they’re still alive. Absolutely captivating read.
@Dave2, Ok- I’ll check it ou, and, wow, you got to meet him? How cool is that… see, you live my alternate reality dream life.
Another great book on, um, the genre of horror (not specifically writing) is Danse Macabre. I just like saying it. Danse Macabre.
“Talent is a dull knife that will cut nothing unless it is wielded with great force.” – STEPHEN KING, Danse Macabre
@B.E. Earl, I love that word… macaaabreh…
Looking forward to hearing what you think of my recommends if you decide to do them.
@RW, I did decide to read a few, they’re on my list. My list, however, has about 60 book. Yours are around the number 30 mark. That’s not a statement of priority, of course, and only reflects the order in which the suggestion was received.
@Faiqa, lol…
“On Writing.” I may have read that. Does it contain the line that goes something like “He waited on ‘x’ like a man might wait for a ham sandwich.”
It was a phrase someone used in a book that SK uses as an example of bad writing.
@delmer, Yes, that’s the one! It was a turkey sandwich, though.
Forty-two.
@Finn, How many roads must a man travel down?
“Unless we’re talking about Twilight.”
Damn, I love you.
i surprised myself by loving the twilight series. can we still be friends?
I only recently read all four Hitchhiker books, one after the other. It’s really like one book broken into four parts, each of which are fairly short. I think one of the best parts is how easily you can feel the author’s enjoyment.
You should now own this towel…
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/8e20/
I love Adams, of course. Classics. If you want more laugh-out-loud funny, go for “Youth in Revolt” by C.D. Payne. Seriously funny, smart-yet-juvenile romp that I call “Ferris Bueller on steroids.”
Its not a commonly discussed fact, but the first Hitchhiker’s Guide is a not-very-well-disguised plagiarism of a novel called “Venus on the Half Shell” which was written by Philip Jose Farmer under the pseudonym Kilgore Trout, published in 1975. (Kilgore Trout is a character created by Kurt Vonnegut in several of his novels, nice send-up from Mr. Farmer). Mr. Adams appeared on BBC radio with his HHGTTG show in 1978. I highly recommend you try to get your hands on a copy of Venus on the Half Shell now that you’re reading HHGTTG. If Adams wasn’t borrowing heavily from Farmer’s plotline it would be highly coincidental. That said, I enjoyed the Hitchhiker’s Guide series very much.
I’m still a “Dune” girl myself. Future-humanity, thinking machines, religious jihad, palace intrigue, and a Messiah. Frank Herbert was a friggin’ genius.
In my humble opinion.
Wait. Are you saying that the Twilight movie is better than the book? Read it again. Please. I beg you. Those movies are terrible.
Not that the books are much better.