Douglas Adams

While studying for the 12th standard exams at a friends house, i came across a book with a very strange name: So Long, and thanks for all the fish...
of course i had to read it... I think i laughed almost without a break, from the first sentence to the last! Douglas Adams (who wrote it) had become my new hero! :)



He died some years ago... and so, there won't be any books from him anymore, and the planet is a sadder place without him... but if anyone would like to read something uproariously funny, set in a crazy sci-fi universe not too different that our own, well actually it is a bit different, earth gets destroyed in the first few pages... then they should not look any further than the absolutely fantastic Hitch hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a trilogy in 5 parts!

It starts thus:

In the beginning the universe was created, this was widely regarded as a very bad move!



Here are some more gems:

As he rounded the corner, the first thing that hit his eyes was a coffin. The next four hundred and ninety nine things that hit his eyes were also coffins!

"you are dumb"
"no, i am not!"
"yes you are!"
"am not"
"are"
"well, i will prove to you that you are dumb... think of a number"
"ok, i did..."
"So, tell me..."
"63"
"wrong! see i told you, you were dumb!"

The above is a conversation between a depressed robot and a mattress (don't ask!)

The qui'xbsgzxs from the star qely'ghtus have fifty arms and so are the only race in the entire galaxy who managed to invent the aeresol deodarant before the wheel!

This ship is powered by the improbability drive. You choose a destination and feed it into the ship's computer, since it is extremely improbable that the ship can go there, it will!

There is a page which lists the thoughts of a whale which has suddenly materialized a few kilometers above the earth's surface as it comes crashing down onto the planet which i think was perhaps one of the funniest pages i have had the pleasure to read! :)

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a book compiled for the intrepid galactic adventurer. Description of Earth in the guide: Mostly Harmless

...

There is a lot more, but i will leave that for you to discover. He also wrote the Dirk gently and his holistic detective agency series of books which deal with Dirk Gently the detective and of course his Holistic Detective Agency



Starship Titanic was perhaps the only book that i didn't throughly enjoy...

He also wrote a superb book called last Chance to See. It's a very funny book, dealing with the very serious problem of environment degradation and the extinction of species of flora and fauna on our beautiful planet...

The Last Salmon of Doubt is an incomplete book. He died before he could finish it. For the sake of completeness of your collection, get it :) It has a few superb moments!

Finally, when you read these books you will get to know the answer to the Ultimate question about Life, the Universe and Everything!!