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THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
Douglas Adams

Introduction and first thoughts

Thanks Suzanne and Chris for your help in getting this discussion set up and the threads posted. I have agreed to act as Discussion Leader for this discussion so welcome to all.

I see the discussion is scheduled for Oct/Nov so wondering what the will of the people is on kick off date, given that Oct 1 is still nearly two weeks away? I know in practice that these dates on BT often are 'flexibly' acknowledged, not rigidly. But I do want to let people know that I am away next week so if we are to start the discussion immediately, I am available for just a couple days and then gone till Sept 30.

I am thinking that we could focus on opening comments and intro in this thread for the time being and then launch into the chapters on Oct 1, but if folks want to proceed post haste to the chapters then that is fine with me and I will catch up later.

I'd like to wait until Oct. because of the other reading I'm doing right now.

I was doing a little digging to see what I could find about Douglas Adams, there is quite a lot actually. One interesting fact is that there is a red towel hanging on the side of a street somewhere in Innsbruck, Austria with the words "Don't Panic" emblazoned on the towel in white. Apparently, it commemorates the spot where Adams thought up the Hitchhikers Guide idea. I'd be curious to know if anyone out there has seen this towel? Maybe even a photo you could share?

Douglas Adams lived to be only 49 but he was known for many things … radio producer, radical atheist, environmentalist, humourist and author. He was not always successful, at least not enough to support himself, and worked at various odd jobs including hospital porter and chicken shed cleaner. He also wrote a couple things for Monty Python, which probably didn't pay much either.

This youtube video is his last speaking engagement just days before he died of a heart attack. It’s an hour and 27 minutes long so it might be a bit much to watch the whole thing (I suspect even Adams might think so), but perhaps watching some of it could provide an impression of who Adams was and perhaps some insight into the thinking behind the Hitchhikers Guide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZG8HBuDjgc

I had read about his Monty Python connection and I am finding it helpful, while reading Hitchiker, to think in the actual cadence of a Python character. It seems to help me work through the unnaturalness of the story.

Yes, I agree Linda, really good observation. In some ways you can hear echoes of Monty Python in his writing.

giselle:

In some ways you can hear echoes of Monty Python in his writing.

Life is Pythonesque, especially in Rickmansworth.

I admit that I don't typically read a lot of science fiction and really dislike Monty Python. I'm hoping I will enjoy Adams though as when shopping for the book, I could buy the first one for $15 or all five for $18, so I opted for all five.

I've started reading though find it to be an easy read and enjoyable.

'Mostly Harmless' is my favourite of the Hitchhikers series by far.

Thanks for that Penny, I also downloaded all 5 books on my kindle so I'll read Mostly Harmless after I'm done with HHG.