The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Some quotes from the five-part trilogy:

"Zaphod did not want to tangle with them and, deciding that just as discretion was the better part of valor, so was cowardice the better part of discretion, he valiantly hid himself in the closet."--Life, the Universe and Everything

"I know that astrology isn't a science.... It's just an arbitrary set of rules like chess or tennis or--what that strange thing you British play?"
"Er, cricket? Self-loathing?"
"Parliamentary democracy."--Mostly Harmless

"There were several of them, in fact, and all of them seemed to be more heavily armed and armored than you normally expected corporate executives to be, even in today's rough-and-tumble business world."--Mostly Harmless

"It was as dark and silent as a tomb. No. That was a ridiculous thing to think. He'd been to some great parties in tombs."--Mostly Harmless

"She hit me on the head with the rock again."
"I think I can confirm that that was my daughter."
"Sweet kid."
"You have to get to know her."
"She eases up, does she?"
"No, but you get a better sense of when to duck."--Mostly Harmless

"You don't understand hwo important this is."
"What? You mean my daughter out there all alone in the Galaxy? You think I don't..."
"Can we feel sorry for the Galaxy later?--Mostly Harmless

"Everything went swimmingly smoothly for me from then on, up to the very moment that I came up against the totty with the rock, then, bang, I'm history. I'm out of the loop."
"Are you referring to my daughter?"
"As politely as I can."--Mostly Harmless

"Old Thrashbarg had said on one occasion that sometimes if you received an answer, the question might be taken away."--Mostly Harmless

So on the whole the books were...all right. I mean the story was interesting enough, but really, if I were beta-reading it as an editor, or just a fanficer, I'd be screaming about continuity and leaving the reader more confused than is acceptable in today's literary marketplace. Adams had some interesting theories about, pardon the pun, life, the universe and everything, but he could have been a little bit more coherent in getting them across. If someone were to ask me, I'd say read the first two and just ignore the other three because they're not that spectacular.

I get to pick another book from my personal library. Yay, new books!