The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series

by Douglas Adams

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In a word: zany

In a sentence: Arthur Dent doesn't really understand the universe.

Synopsis: Arthur Dent is whisked away into the galaxy when Earth is destroyed to make room for an interstellar freeway. The more he sees, the less he understands.

Reactions: This series was refreshing. I try to start each new year off with a series of some kind, and I had been quite looking forward to reading the Hitchhiker's Series again for the first time since childhood. Needless to say, I giggled my way through. Most of the Series seems as though it was written as a mad-lib of the weirdest things Adams could think of laced together over the ludicrous misadventures of Arthur Dent.

Hitchhiker's is quintessential sci-fi. It seeks at every turn to flip understanding on its head, and keep its reader on its toes. More than that though, Adams not only uses technology to flip the script, but also goes out of his way to insert hilarity at every turn in his particular British way. It was nice to read something so lighthearted, a stark departure from my usual dark, introspective literature of choice.

Read if: you're interested in a lighthearted introduction to science fiction.