I don’t remember the first time I read Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (probably sometime during my high school or college years), but every year that I have been teaching eighth grade I make it my mission to put this little book in the hands of just the right reader. I love it when the magic happens and I can revel with another reader at the myriad of improbable events and and snicker any mention of the number 42.
If for some reason you have version the many versions of this classic sci if comedy (Listen to the radio show! Watch the movie or televison show! Play the video game! Peruse the comics!), let me introduce you.
Poor Arthur Dent is a befuddled human who is fascinated by digital watches and worried about all the wrong things. It simply doesn’t matter is city hall is going to bulldoze your house if Vogons are waiting up above to demolish the Earth to make way for a hyperspatial express route. Fortunately, his friend Ford Prefect is not from Guilford, but is from a small planet somewhere near the vicinity of Betelgeuse. Ford also writes for the best-selling Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. When the Vogons show up, Ford is past ready to hitch a ride away from Earth, and he takes Arthur with him.
As they make their way across the universe, they escape the horrifying effects of Vogons poetry (while strapped into poetry appreciation chairs), survive being thrust into the vacuum of space (improbable to the odds of two to the power of two hundred and seventy-six thousand, seven hundred and nine to one against), are picked up by the the Heart of Gold (stolen by Ford’s cousin Zaphod Beeblebrox who just happens to be President of the Imperial Galactic Government), and visit the mythical planet of Magrathea (which designed the Earth as an experiment to discover the question to the Life, the Universe and Everything. The answer is 42.).
Believe it or not, these seemingly random and improbable events (along with many more) come together in a way that is both brilliant and hilarious. After all, I’ve never laughed at a squashed sperm whale before, but it is the characters that I love and remember the most. Arthur may be bumbling, but he manages to surprise even Ford on occasion and even says something more intelligent than “tea” every once in a while. Ford may be a suave travel writer (or at least he thinks he is), but he is a loyal friend and cousin when it counts. Zaphod may be stupid, or it may be just an act. Even he doesn’t know why he does the things he does, but a secret brain surgery has convinced him there is a method to his madness. It’s a good thing he has Trillian, a mathematician and astrophysicist, to look after him. My favorite, though, has to be Marvin, the depressed robot. You are bound to feel better about your situation after spending time with him.
Quick, grab a copy of Hitchhiker’s and a cu of tea and settle in for the ride of a lifetime. The journey can continue with the ever growing series, including The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe, and Everything, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, Mostly Harmless, and now And Another Thing written by Eoin Colfer. If all else fails, DON’T PANIC keep your towel handy.
PS -There are only 177 days left until Towel Day on May 25.
Kay Jernigan McGriff teaches 8th grade language arts in southern Indiana. When she is not pushing books on her students, she can be found swimming, running, biking, and scrapbooking. You can find her on her blog Mrs. McGriff’s Reading Blog at
http://kaymcgriff.edublogs.org
or on Twitter @kaymcgriff. Happy Reading!
Oh, Kay! I am so glad that there are a few of us who consider this series worthy. I was terribly put out at being the only person in the audience with a towel when the movie was released. I must have been in the wrong theater. Adams gave us some of the best English satire and comedy since Swift. Thank you so much for sharing him with another generation.
You are not alone, and I am working very hard to convert more fans!
So excited to see this review! If you can tell – my avatar is all dressed up for “geek pride day” last spring (May 25). I have my Star Wars gear AND my towel over my shoulder..
Even thinking about how they try to learn to fly makes me giggle. *Grins* Great retro review choice!
I’ve tried that flying, but just can’t get the hang of it. Maybe one day!
How glad I was to see this book as the topic for today’s post — I have so many happy memories of reading it. I only wish I’d first encountered it younger and not in grad school, so I’m just a *little* jealous of your eighth graders! Reading this was a great way to start the day.
I know. I was well past middle school, too.
Great to hear that someone else thinks these are wonderful for middle schoolers. I taught a self-contained classroom for a long while & used The Hitchhiker’s Guide as a read aloud several times. They were hooked! I loved hearing you talk about the characters again-had forgotten some. Thanks!
The characters make the books for me. Not all of my middle schoolers love it. Some of them want to to make logical sense, but for those who get the humor, they are hooked.
Thank you for bringing back fond memories of a cross-country drive with two teens and Hitchhiker’s Guide on tape (yes; on tape. It was awhile back.) We still threaten to strangle ourselves with our own innards whenever we have to endure something tedious. 42 forever!
I remember those books on tape. I wonder if my family will let me torture them with an audio of Hitchhiker’s on our travels over Christmas….
I wish you could have seen me cheer when I saw your email to post this, Kay. I have so many favorite books, but I just keep going back to these. I think I have book talked this series to just about every student I have ever met. And random people in the bookstore or the library if there is a copy nearby.
I don’t always remember my towel (see my dad’s earlier comment – I didn’t bring my towel to the movie when we went…wonder if I’ll ever live that one down…), but I am happy to quote this book and am delighted to find I can get a digital version (which for this title seems most appropriate) to carry with me everywhere I go.
Thank you!
I’m always excited to meet other fans. It is such a joy to put these books into the hands of the right readers.
I think I found these books in middle school, too, and I’ve been reading them ever since. I keep passing them off to my son with no luck so far. He has just become a Dr. Who fan in the last year or so, and now I think the time is right to try again!
I can’t talk my daughter into them, either, but she also doesn’t like Monty Python. Where did I go wrong? At least she reads lots of books she does like.
One of my all-time favorites!