I effing love Douglas Adams. Last Chance to See is probably my favourite (the description of the kakapo! love! and oh god the stuff about the dolphins still haunts me) but Hitchhiker's was the original. I read the books before I heard the radio show (or saw the TV show, which I actually really enjoyed despite being deeeeeeeply flawed) and I will always remember getting to the bit about the ships hanging in the air in much the same way that bricks don't and just mentally going "wow". It just seemed so EFFORTLESS, and weirdly perfect in its simplicity and cracktasticness. Man being the THIRD most intelligent species on the planet and only later finding out what the other one is! I giggle like an idiot the whole way through. And I like the last two but yeah they aren't quite as wonderful.
I do, however, like the Dirk Gently books - they are very different, and I took a re-read to really get used to them, but once I was used to them not being Hitchhiker's I enjoyed a lot. It was the bit about Bach (I won't spoil for anyone who's not read!) that made me love them though. I didn't even laugh, because it was clearly not supposed to be funny, but I just stopped for a second and went "Oh." very quietly to myself in perfect satisfaction.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-08-16 09:09 pm (UTC)I do, however, like the Dirk Gently books - they are very different, and I took a re-read to really get used to them, but once I was used to them not being Hitchhiker's I enjoyed a lot. It was the bit about Bach (I won't spoil for anyone who's not read!) that made me love them though. I didn't even laugh, because it was clearly not supposed to be funny, but I just stopped for a second and went "Oh." very quietly to myself in perfect satisfaction.