I’ve been reading fiction for most of my life.  The first books that I read and fell in love with were fiction novels, but only one was science fiction.  Well, OK, it was a trilogy… in 5 parts, with comedy on top of it.

Fans of the series probably already know what it is just by that description: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

A wholly remarkable series of books by an immensely talented writer, Douglas Adams, it tells the story of Arthur Philip Dent, a hapless man in search of a good cup of tea who is saved from the end of the world by a buddy of his named Ford Prefect, who turns out to be an alien who knows how to hitch rides on spaceships.

This story of the end of the world and the happy go lucky days that follow, follows these two guys (along with Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, Marvin the Paranoid Android, and a bazillion other characters) around as they crash around the universe, looking for fun, large quantities of alcohol, and the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything.

OK, they don’t search for that, but they seem to have a good time not searching for it. 

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Reading this book was a great experience.  I learned that I needed to know where my towel was, that 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything, that sticking a babel fish in your ear is the best way to know any language, and that Belgium is the worst curse word ever created.

There are so many little things to love about the stories, like the character Hotblack Desiato, the rock star who decides to spend the year dead, for “Tax reasons”, or the dog, whose name is all you need to know: Bozo Know Nothing, the Non Wonder Dog. Or the fact that, by the end of the series, Marvin the Paranoid Android is 37 times older than the Universe itself. Or the Mattresses.  There is a planet named Sqornshellas Zeta where mattresses live. They are all named Zem and they flollop, and glurry.

No I won’t tell you what that means. 

I’d tell you more of the story, but where’s the fun in that?  Mr. Adams is nothing short of masterful in his writing, and creating of this funny, silly, vibrant universe for his characters to live and play in. These are great books.