This week, I’m reading the second in the Hitchhiker’s trilogy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I’m just going to take a brief moment to say that reading this book is making me dumber. Granted, I have been called a book snob, and a movie snob, and probably other kinds of snobs, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a little intelligence in my media. (ie Gwen Stefani’s “Holla Back Girl” should be sent to solitary confinement.)
I just finished G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare. Although this book was also a fantasy/adventure novel with less than 150 easy pages. However, I got the impression from the writing that Chesterton had read a book before. In comparison, Douglas Adams’ books are mind-numbing and surprisingly repetitive. (I don’t think I can stand to read the phrase “large, friendly letters on the cover” one more time.) Maybe I’m old-school, but I don’t think that one writing a novel should ever use copy and paste. Additionally, I may be overreacting just a bit to Adams’ attempts to use mathematics and logic within the context of his [science] fiction.
Anyhow, since I don’t like quitting, (and this book is hardly a challenge) I’m going to try to finish this book as quickly as possible so I can move on to something with a little more substance. This is in no way a indictment of the movie. The screen adaptation of the book/series deviates considerable from the original novel and either because of or in spite of this turns out to be mostly enjoyable. It probably helps if you’re a fan of British comedy and/or science fiction, though. Still, I could have done without the theme song: probably worse than Stefani’s song.
May 7, 2005
Reading for Enrichment
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If you’re looking for something that’s intellectually profound without being obnoxiously pretentious, I highly recommend ‘Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead’. It’s a screen-play of sorts, and I guess technically you COULD just watch the movie, but what would be the fun in that? I also recommend you read (or re-read, as the case may be) ‘Hamlet’ before taking on this endeavor, as it’s sure to enrich the experience greatly. Oh, and ‘The Seven Daughters of Eve’ is a great read, too. Can’t say it enough.
Comment by Kelly — May 7, 2005 @ 7:48 pm
you poor misguided soul. douglas adams is literary genius; it is the way he openly mocks the outlandish situations his characters find themselves in, the witty repartie the likes of which have not been seen since the days of oscar wilde and jane austen, and his pure easy narrative style. i will not allow you to call his books “mind-numbing” though i will grant you it helps if you appreciate british comedy.
PS. the hitchhikers guide was originally written as a radio show.
PPS. i liked the dolphin song.
Comment by margaret — May 9, 2005 @ 12:11 am
I ain’t ya holla back gurl! I ain’t ya holla back gurl!
Comment by Emmy T — May 13, 2005 @ 3:43 pm
yeah, i definitely did NOT mean to post that 7 times. feel free to delete/edit with “Praise the Lord”s and such 🙂
Comment by Emmy T — May 13, 2005 @ 3:44 pm
Nice job, Em.
Comment by bdparker — May 13, 2005 @ 3:56 pm
Honey, you were dumb from the start.You wanna read a book that makes you feel dumb, try the time machine.
Comment by Jade — August 16, 2005 @ 9:28 pm