Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Radio Show) by Douglas Adams (6 points)

I am drawn to this story among other sci-fi novels, not just because of the excellent humor, but for the unconventional plot line. Earth is destroyed and there are only but 2 humans living in the galaxy. Arthur Dent is so wrapped up in how amazing Earth is, but soon finds that the galaxy only knows it as a "Mostly Harmless" planet. In the same way many humans feel strongly about how important or how amazing their country is, Arthur defends Earth even if no one cares.


Blowing up the planet in the first 5 minutes of a book is a bold step to take, most books wait until at least halfway, or have moved past the destruction of the Earth with a new hope. There is no new hope for Arthur, he is but a hitchhiker on a wild adventure tagging along a group of criminals. Most books have a pretty good reason for blowing up the Earth as well, but again, in Douglas Adam's mind, he wanted to explore the idea of the Earth being demolished for the sake of an interstellar bypass. This almost knocks us down a peg as Earth-dwellers, and reminds us we are not that important in the galaxy. I absolutely love that. It's interesting to see the human race as but an evolutionary offspring of a giant, super computer planet, holding "the ultimate question."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (6 points)

After reading Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, I described it as "the COVID-19 conspiracy theory that my grandpa sent me on crack." The shocking similarity to our current state, and the outcome of the book attributing itself to the worst parts of capitalism made it all the more hard for me to digest the novel. I personally did not enjoy it for mostly that reason, but looking at it from an objective standpoint has shown me that Oryx and Crake is a very well-written commentary on many things in our current society. Going in, I had a feeling that I would be reading something on the more literary side masked by a very specific type of genre writing; I was already familiar with Atwood's style due to having read The Handmaid's Tale. When picking a novel, I usually go for something on the more genre fiction side. I enjoy escaping into tales of possible futures, odd worlds, adventures beyond my wildest dreams; it is just that, an escape from our current lives and a form
Read more

Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (5 points)

For this week's reading, I chose to read Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane. The novel took a while for me to get hooked, as every page was a new concept out of left field. However, I enjoyed the story once it picked up, and how it played on a piece of mythology I haven't seen in a while: women in threes. In multiple types of mythologies and religions, there exists a trio of powerful women - the Moirai, the Graeae, the Norns, the three Morrígna, and many more. Some portray them all as old women, others show them as the maiden, the mother, and the crone. In Gaiman's case, he chose the latter of the two, the three appearing as the mysterious and intriguing Hempstock women. It was incredibly refreshing to have read this representation of the three women. Oftentimes, they are shown as crazy old ladies, or untouchable goddesses with perfection beyond belief. Gaiman chose to humanize them in the Ocean at the End of the Lane; he shows it through their kindness and care
Read more

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman 5 points

 I love love loved this when I was a kid and honestly I just got better reading it as an adult.  I really love this book because I have always grown up with animals and I love the concept of having an animal basically being connected with you on a whole other level.  I love my dog. And to think that I could actually communicate with him and that we could talk and go on adventures and have another level of understanding just blows my mind. Not only that but when he is young he can shape shift until he chooses a form. UGH there are not enough words to talk about how freaking cool this would be. I'm getting way to into it. Lyra is just an amazing representation how little girls should grow up to be. Strong willed, freedom seeking, and just getting down and dirty. She is an amazing friend to put herself in danger to make sure her friends are safe. I think as a kid the movie was awesome. But now that I am not I think the book just does a way better job of discussing the emotions and fee
Read more