Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

By: Douglas Adams Format:  Physical Book

Completed: 12/17/2023

What's it about:  A man (Arthur Dent) has a very bad day which includes his planet being destroyed, being taken into space by his friend Ford Prefect, nearly dying at the hands of Vogons, then discovering his planet was ran by mice as an experiment this whole time.

Main Takeaway: Douglas Adams was a wildly creative writer. It's generally just a fun ride, and allows you to think a bit about what else may be going on in the universe. Sure, we only know about Earth right now, but maybe someday we will be able to find out what's beyond out solar system. The truth is probably even stranger than Adam's could imagine, which I think is part of the ride. It also makes you think about things in a bit more of a cosmic scale. When Arthur asks Ford what the Hitchhiker's Guide says about Earth, Ford replies that it's a "short entry".

When Arthur looks it up, all he find is it saying "Earth: Harmless." When he protests in shock, Ford explains there are a lot of planets, races of species, and galaxies and not all of them could have long entries. I guess that is a good reminder, we may not be the center of the galaxy, Earth many not be the most important planet in the galaxy, and our own individual lives are most certainly the most important thing in existence. It just feels that way. In consilation, Ford tells Arthur he was able to expand the entry a bit. "What does it says now", he asks? "Mostly Harmless."