Young Adult Book Club discussion

1. What did you enjoy about the book? What made you laugh?

2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been described as a parody of government, politics, and big business. How does it parody these institutions?

3. The two most famous icons from the series are the towel and the phrase, "don't panic". Any comments about this?

4. The Hitchhiker series has permeated our popular culture. Some refer to its impact as "hitchhiker-mania," a phenomenon that has spun off a movie, TV series, and merchandise. There are frequent references in rock, video games, websites, and even an online translation service called Babel Fish! What is it about the series that inspires this kind of following?

Zaphod Beeblebrox was my favorite character. He was so perfectly arrogant he made the story so much fun.

I think the book parodies government by making fun of beuracracy. The decision to make Earth a super highway just echoed with clumsy governement intrusion.

Everyone needs a towel! Don't panic is such a useful thing to think when everything is going wrong. It doesn't help but if only it could!

I think it is quirky and funny so its created a niche sci-fi/humor genre. The book pokes fun at so many things that it appeals to sarcastic and cynical viewpoints so modern media pulls from it to ascribe to these references in a subtle way.

1. I enjoyed how the things that sound absurd and unheard of to any person were stated in such a matter-of-fact way. Also, it was interesting to keep in mind while reading, that this was published in 1979, well before a lot of technology that we now have existed and it was fascinating to see the technology that the aliens had.

2. There seemed to be a lot of making fun of the president, because the president of the entire galaxy wasn't supposed to have any power and they were just expected to do a bad job.

3. It is important to remember that in chaotic times, things can go better if you don't panic. Also, the book states how towels have many uses and a person can look like they have their life together if they know where their towel is. If people see that you can't take care of yourself, they won't want to be a part of your falling apart life and they might refrain from giving you any help or advice.

4. While I haven't read the other books (but I am planning on it!), I think this series is not like anything else that most people have read. They are intrigued by the idea of it, it makes them laugh and the book must have taken a lot of thought and work to put together, which I value and respect in a book.

Kenna wrote: "1. I enjoyed how the things that sound absurd and unheard of to any person were stated in such a matter-of-fact way. Also, it was interesting to keep in mind while reading, that this was published ..."

Wow! I did not realize the book was written in 1979. That is quite impressive.
Kenna I would suggest Christopher Moore and the book Fluke as he also has a very quirky writing style that presents things in a marvelous fresh way!