The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Extremely funny . . . inspired lunacy . . . [and] over much too soon.”—The Washington Post Book World
SOON TO BE A HULU SERIES • Now celebrating the pivotal 42nd anniversary of the original radio show on which the book was based.
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
Seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together, this dynamic pair began a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox—the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan), Zaphod’s girlfriend, whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he’s bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? For all the answers, stick your thumb to the stars!
Praise for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
“A whimsical oddyssey . . . Characters frolic through the galaxy with infectious joy.”—Publishers Weekly
“Irresistable!”—The Boston Globe
- Pages
- 233
- First published
- 1986
- Language
- English
- Edition
- ISBN
- 9781760987121
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Shelved by 9 Litcadians
Reviews
Finished February 28, 2024
- adventurousfunnylightheartedMedium-paced
Started September 23, 2026 · Finished September 23, 2026
Finished October 21, 2014
2014 ✔ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (kindle own w/ iTunes audio) 5★♥♥ I've seen the movie quite a few times and have enjoyed it. It has a lot of actors that I really liked. And I tried reading the book a few times last year. I found it funny, but very slow. So this time I read it along with the audiobook read by Stephen Fry. I guess I needed that little help because I don't often read science fiction books about space travel, aliens, and so on. I like the movies, but reading them isn't as often. Stephen Fry did a really great job on the audiobook reading. I felt that the beginning skipped around in a way that made it slow. I did not like Zaphod Beeblebrox at first (I liked him in the movie, well only because of Sam Rockwell). After first meeting Zaphod, the story picked up. There was some science talk that I wasn't interested in. So it was good that I was also listening to the audiobook in order to push past that. And there is eventually a much quicker, simpler meaning told after the science talk. Arthur Dent and Marvin are still my favorites. And even with Stephen Fry's audio, I still imagined them as Martin Freeman and Alan Rickman. And I thought the book was a bit more funny than the movie was. I loved the ending, small spoiler - which was a little different than the movie's ending. So a slight surprise. And really hilarious./spoiler. I have both the Ultimate Hitchhiker's hardcover book (collection of 5 books). And the first book in kindle format with a question/ answer bit with the cast from the movie. And then the appendix. The interviews were nice, but really long. Had to be about 20 questions for the casts. It was just something nice to read once. I don't think I'll be reading the Q&A for the movie again. I would watch the movie again. And I am looking forward to reading the second book. With the audio of course. Hitchhiker's Guide: "“Space,” it says, “is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist, but that’s just peanuts to space. Listen . . .” and so on."
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