Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. A very strange book. (1 Viewer)

[Hakoona]

usualy tis kind of reading isn't my cup of tea, but I found this book strangely luring. It's very silly and not as funny as everybody told me it was, but it does get you to thinking about allot of stuff ad it's deeper than it first apears.

Also, has anybody else noticed how similar the book is to british sitcoms? Just a strange thought I had.

Very interested in your thoughts on this book.

 

[petrel}]

Welcome to the forums hakoona. I read hitch hikers a long time ago, but whatI remember about it is the kookiness. More recently I read The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul which was amusing also; confusing, but amusing. :lol:

 

[Hakoona]

Thanks for the welcome Petrel.

The long dark teatime is on my reading list, hoping this one is a little funnier.

 

[Ralizah]

I never did like it. It tries too hard to be funny.

 

[Spudley]

usualy tis kind of reading isn't my cup of tea

So presumably it is your cup of something almost but not quite entirely unlike tea?

It's very silly and not as funny as everybody told me it was, but it does get you to thinking about allot of stuff ad it's deeper than it first apears.

Personally, I love it - it is every bit as funny as they say; I find new things that make me laugh out loud every time I read it. But it does have a lot of very dry and quirky humour, and I know a lot of people just don't get it at all, so if you have enjoyed it, then I'm pleased.

And you're right - there is a lot of hidden depth in there; once you go past the jokes and silliness, he does actually touch on some quite deep philosophical areas.

Also, has anybody else noticed how similar the book is to british sitcoms? Just a strange thought I had.

Well, it was originally a British radio sitcom, so that's understandable. They also made a TV series in the 80s, and there's a movie version in production right now which should be released next year.

 

[Hakoona]

I never did like it. It tries too hard to be funny.

I think if you read it again and work at getting past some of the silly stuff you could see what the author was trying to say.

By the way, great great great quote from RahXephon. Loved that Anime!!

 

[Hakoona]

usualy tis kind of reading isn't my cup of tea

So presumably it is your cup of something almost but not quite entirely unlike tea?

It's very silly and not as funny as everybody told me it was, but it does get you to thinking about allot of stuff ad it's deeper than it first apears.

Personally, I love it - it is every bit as funny as they say; I find new things that make me laugh out loud every time I read it. But it does have a lot of very dry and quirky humour, and I know a lot of people just don't get it at all, so if you have enjoyed it, then I'm pleased.

And you're right - there is a lot of hidden depth in there; once you go past the jokes and silliness, he does actually touch on some quite deep philosophical areas.

Also, has anybody else noticed how similar the book is to british sitcoms? Just a strange thought I had.

Well, it was originally a British radio sitcom, so that's understandable. They also made a TV series in the 80s, and there's a movie version in production right now which should be released next year.

Thanks for the informative reply. Very interesting that the sitcom was based on a show. The movie has potential to be the most annoying thing since Barny the Dinosaur.

 

[Spudley]

The movie has potential to be the most annoying thing since Barny the Dinosaur.

Hehe. Yes, you're right - it could be awful. And millions of HHGG fans around the world are praying it won't be.

Its a very similar situation to the Lord of the Rings movies when they were released -- both books have a massive base of extremely loyal fans, who will be utterly scathing of anything that isn't perfect. The movie producers are treading a very fine line; it has to appease the fans, but still be accessible to everyone else. If they pull it off, it will be a triumph. If they don't, it will be a disaster.

The biggest problem the movie producers have is that Douglas Adams died a couple of years ago, so this will be the first HHGG project that he hasn't been directly involved in. That could be used by the more obsessive fans as a way to attack it. (though the can hardly blame him for dying can they?!)

It's worth pointing out that the TV series had some very cheesy effects, but nevertheless managed to capture the essence of the book quite well, and is generally well liked by the fans.

 

[Ryushi]

They are so funny, i'm laughing just thinking about them :lol:

I could never work out how many there were in the series though, 5?

Ben M

It must be thursday, i never could get the hang of Thursdays...

 

[Kaven]

I simply adore Hitchhiker's Guide! I grew up reading them ... at every stage in my life I found something deeper and funnier to enjoy in them. I never get bored of reading them, because they seem to grow with me! Douglas Adams was a genius. Such a clever clever guy ... the plots of all his books, the Dirk Gently ones too, have this knack of being able to appear silly and chaotic on the surface, but actually when you think about it, are incredibly complex and telling.

I know his humour is not everyone's cup of tea, but like all true fanatics that's something I have great difficulty comprehending. For me they are in many ways, perfect.

It seems, that when you meet someone who understands Douglas Adams as you do, you've met someone that understands you.

 

[bobothegoat]

I recently bought the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which included the entire series. Since then it's easily become my favorite series. I loved how it made me laugh and think at the same time.

Note that my signiture has a quote from Mostly Harmless.

 

[Hot Ice]

Oooh I'm reading "The Ultamite Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
I'm on the third book I think. and I totally agree that its not as funny as I was told. But it is funny and I'm really enjoying it!
I think when some one tells you something is funny you expect it to be funnier. Maybe people should just say its a great book and not mention the funnyness. Thats my theory anyway.

 

[MA2]

Its a very similar situation to the Lord of the Rings movies when they were released -- both books have a massive base of extremely loyal fans, who will be utterly scathing of anything that isn't perfect. The movie producers are treading a very fine line; it has to appease the fans, but still be accessible to everyone else.

Except, through Hitchhiker's many incarnations (Radio, Vinyl, TV, Book...) it changed details often. None of the formats were exactly like the previous one, so they have some leniency there.

Possibly the funniest books I have ever read.

 

[Kelhanion]

Probably my favourite quote of all times is from the first book:

"The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't. "

It tells it all, now doesn't it

 

[demonic_harmonic]

I just didn't like it. It's not that I didn't understand it; it just wasn't my type of book.

 

[SacredFlame]

--

When I first got the book I thought my dad had gotten me a dictionary! I had the whole series and it was in blue binding, and he told me to read it. I was like "are you CRAZY!?" Anyways, so I read majority of "The Hitchikers Guide to the Universe" and a partial amount of "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", and I must admit I LOVED IT! I was kind of disappointed by the whole craze that some people had-though they didn't read the book. It gave the book a whole new title of Illiterate, or so my friends thought.

I thought it was hilarious. The whole part of him going into the basement with the missing step and the no lights and the cage and stuff-classic. Which, in my opinion, makes a great book. I'm really sick of all the cliche pieces out there now, and I think that T.H.G.T.T.U was VERY original. (Ooh come on!>&lt

 

[Pawn]

I loathed the TV series, loved the radio play and am almost constantly in hysterics every time I read the book.

Nice to discover you're a Hitchhiker too, Spud.

 

[Pawn]

True. I think everyone who really, really loved that book has, since reading it, been waiting for the entire world to change as a result of it. Bummer, that.

 

[Crunchy Hamster]

Although they don't come up in daily conversation, THHGTTG added a few new interesting words to my vocabulary.

Buzz
Frood
Slartibartfast
and
FOURTY TWO

The last has to be said in a deep, booming mega-computer-like voice for it to have any effect or meaning. Just thought I had to point that out...

 

[Pawn]

Sass
know, be aware of, meet, have sex with

Hoopy
really together guy

Frood
really amazingly together guy

Hence a phrase which has passed into hitch hiking slang, as in "Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is."