The hopeful readers group discussion

It's time for a re-read! This time in audio. I'll be listening to Stephen Fry read this little gem (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), while Heike has the print version.

Who wants to join us? :)

I think I'm ready to start on Saturday, that ok for you?

I'll set the alarm! ;)
I am wondering if you are in an advantage or disadvantage with the audio version. I am fairly new to audio books, but I found that I listen to books that I would have abandoned in print or kindle. I am more patient ;)

I don't know. I watched the movie first. Then listened to the audio. Then got the complete Hitchhiker's omnibus… I

For me, it always depends on the narrator. I have very few people I actually love listening to, but Stephen Fry is one of them. He could make anything interesting :D

Andrea wrote: "For me, it always depends on the narrator. I have very few people I actually love listening to, but Stephen Fry is one of them. He could make anything interesting :D"

Now I get the connection (Jeeves/Stephen Fry) and wished I had the audio version rather than the book.
I don't watch TV and very few movies (got sick and tired of the American way to spike TV shows with very annoying commercials), thus I am such an ignorant when it comes to actors and Co.

However, I am looking forward to start on the Hitchhiker. I also have So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish on my shelf, but I am not sure if that needs to be read after #2 and #3.

Edited: on closer look I have the omnibus as kindle version. Too many books, too little time ...

I am at it ... getting some laughs. And, with my critical brain, have some thoughts about the yellow fish ...

I'll start this evening!

I love the slow realization of there's a bulldozer outside. Could be me in the morning before coffee 🤣🤣🤣

I got to chapter 4. I still love this weird little book🤣 and I forgot how much fun it was to listen to Stephen Fry read it. His voice for Arthur is so perfectly whiny and sarcastic 😄

Several chapters in I am second guessing if I read this book, ever, or only saw it on my ex-boyfriends bookshelf, because I remember the ex-boyfriend only marginal better than the book. However much sense that makes.

To say this clearly first off: I thoroughly (!) enjoy this book. We should have invited the Stardust readers as this book, too, is full with absurdity. Interestingly it does not annoy me here (except chapter 9 about the infinity drive - that was too much for me) but keeps me laughing and definitely on my toes.

Now my critical brain ... the fish. The Babel (Babble?) fish feeds from brain-thingies from other people and shits into the brain of the carrier with the translation. Awesome. But how would it be explained when the speech comes over the speaker, with no brain to feed on anywhere close by?
And where, to begin with, did Ford get this fish from anyway? There was nothing said about a fish in his satchel, was there?
I would not ponder on this if the author would not have made such a point of explaining what's in the satchel and what the fish exactly does ;)

I was, too, surprised how easy minded Arthur took his presence on a spaceship.

But again: I get a laugh on almost every page, these kids are hilarious! *lol*

I do envy you for the Stephen Fry version, though!

It definitely is a nice, refreshing change.

Ah yes. The fish. I think it translates what you hear, and it doesn't matter if that's over a speaker? But, now what I wonder, how did the people of Earth understand the Vogons when they made their little announcement? They had no fish. Can Vogons speak English when they choose to?

Yep, the boys are adorable. I don't know if I'd find Arthur as adorable without either Stephen Fry's voice or picturing him as Martin Freeman.

Andrea wrote: "Yep, the boys are adorable. I don't know if I'd find Arthur as adorable without either Stephen Fry's voice or picturing him as Martin Freeman."

Oh hell, you watched a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie too? Do I have to order another DVD?

Andrea wrote: "It definitely is a nice, refreshing change.

Ah yes. The fish. I think it translates what you hear, and it doesn't matter if that's over a speaker? But, now what I wonder, how did the people of Ea..."
Oh no, it eats brain waves, Douglas specifically explains that (as so many other things *lol*)! I give him the benefit of a doubt about the Vogons (are they Vegans?) speaking to earth, because he did not explain at that point how or how not an translation would be done. Since the poor Chinese don't speak English, either ... ;)
What makes one wonder in which language the whale was thinking? ;)

Heike wrote: "h hell, you watched a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie too? Do I have to order another DVD? ..."

Well. It wasn't the best. But kinda fun. I haven't watched it in ages, so I don't know how it holds up. It does have a pretty awesome cast. Martin Freeman is Arthur, Sam Rockwell is Zaphod, Helen Mirren Deep Thought, Alan Rickman (the depressed robot; adorable!), Bill Nighy was in there. Oh and Stephen Fry narrates the movie as well. So. I did hate Zoey Deschanel as Trillian, but she just always annoys me.

This Stardust reader is stalking the BR. I have the Audible Version with Stephen Fry but have not been able to listen and focus. So I will stalk this BR and live vicariously through you all.

Yes! Another movie you must order.

My Favorite Scene not sure if it is in the book.

(view spoiler)[
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxo3J... (hide spoiler)]

I finished chapter 12. I still love the hilarious antics :D The improbability computer is a bit annoying, but that might be Stephen Fry's super-cheerful voice. Reminds me a bit of Dolores Umbridge, somehow :D:D:D

And Gio, I honestly don't remember if it is in the book. I might need to rewatch this movie, too :D

Gio wrote: "This Stardust reader is stalking the BR. I have the Audible Version with Stephen Fry but have not been able to listen and focus. So I will stalk this BR and live vicariously through you all."

Stalk away! Even so your excuse not to participate is somewhat sad :(
Interestingly I understand the "not focus" thing, though. I find myself lost when I pick up the book again - usually I find the place where I left a page within seconds. Yesterday I was even paging back because I thought I might set my bookmark wrong. This might be a book one needs to read twice or more to understand all the nuances?!

Gio wrote: "My Favorite Scene not sure if it is in the book."

Not in the first, it's not. The video clip has bad audible, at least on my computer, and after seeing this I think I'll rather pass on buying the DVD. I am not much of a "Dumb and Dumber" fan :D

Andrea wrote: "I finished chapter 12. I still love the hilarious antics :D The improbability computer is a bit annoying, but that might be Stephen Fry's super-cheerful voice. Reminds me a bit of Dolores Umbridge,..."

... whoever Dolores Umbridge is ... *lol*

I was not a friend of chapter 9 that was too chaotic and absurd for my taste, while the computer did not stick out to me - which might indeed has a lot to do with how the narrator characterizes one with his voice.

I have come to an end but will wait with notes until you caught up.

For now I am missing something important.
:
:
:
Oh!
:
:
I need to drink my coffee.

In case you think I lost it - you'll understand soon ;)

Evil witch from Harry Potter. She's always dressed in pink and has this disgusting cheery, menacing voice. She's the worst :D It might be because I also listen to Stephen Fry read the Harry Potter books and the voices for her and the computer are similar…

Also Harry Potter books are not too fresh in my mind anymore ... I always envy people that can remember names of protagonists in books forever! :)

Did you finish the Hitchhiker?
I have to admit that I was disappointed with the ending. It was no cliff hanger, but it wasn't really and end, either. There was no plot, really.

No, not really. My grandmother died on Monday, so I haven't really felt like reading. I'm trying to continue this one and am reading some Jeeves to keep my mind of things. But. Yeah. I find it hard to concentrate on anything at the moment

Andrea wrote: "No, not really. My grandmother died on Monday, so I haven't really felt like reading. I'm trying to continue this one and am reading some Jeeves to keep my mind of things. But. Yeah. I find it hard..."

So sorry! 😢 Maybe streaming fun movies will keep your mind better off than concentrating on a book.

Andrea wrote: "No, not really. My grandmother died on Monday, so I haven't really felt like reading. I'm trying to continue this one and am reading some Jeeves to keep my mind of things. But. Yeah. I find it hard..."

Oh NO!

Andrea, so very sorry.

Thanks, you two. I'm trying to keep occupied, and my dog is a very welcome distraction. But with only working a few hours every other day I'm finding it hard to concentrate.
I found a new TV show on Netflix by Mindy Kaling about an Indian girl in California who just lost her dad and is not doing so well with the grieving. I really enjoyed that one. But it was only a handful of episodes, which I binged. So. Now I'm trying to find something else to distract me.

Andrea wrote: "Thanks, you two. I'm trying to keep occupied, and my dog is a very welcome distraction. But with only working a few hours every other day I'm finding it hard to concentrate.
I found a new TV show ..."

What genres do you like? I have watched a lot of TV. LOL

I'll honestly watch anything. I'm watching a new Dracula version written by Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat (they wrote the BBC Sherlock together) and it's really gross.
My problem is that the only way I can watch stuff in English is buy DVDs or watch Netflix (I have a really bad WIFI connection and sometimes the picture is just pixels...), but German Netflix doesn't let you watch everything. They occasionally take things off, have only old seasons, or (in a very weird case) the middle seasons of a TV show (but not the older or current seasons).
I'm really open to any genre, I'm just not a fan of anything too soapy or melodramatic.

Andrea wrote: "I'll honestly watch anything. I'm watching a new Dracula version written by Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat (they wrote the BBC Sherlock together), and it's gross.
My problem is that the only..."

My Netflix favorites not in any order.

The Good Place
Tales of the City (The old and the new)
Altered Carbon
Secret City
Gilmore Girls (Might be soapy but it is funny)
Narcos
Derry Girls
Dead To Me (Dark humor *Might be soapy)
The Witcher
Sex Education
Peaky Blinders
Agents Of Sheild (Joss Whedon)
Penny Dreadful
Supernatural
Roman Empire
Weeds
Stranger Things
Merlin
Dear White People
Into The Badlands
Breaking Bad
Bodyguard
Jessica Jones (David Tennent is the creepiest villain ever)
Sense 8

I tend to give TV Series 3 episodes. If it does not hold my attention, then I am out.

The Stranger (Our Fav Richard Armitage)
I haven't watched it yet. I heard it was good.

Altered Carbon - Loved Season 1, but hate the new Kovac in season 2 (his weird over-enunciation and strange pauses are annoying me ^^, so I'm gonna stop there
Dead To Me LOVED IT!!!! Shame they (view spoiler)[killed off James Marsden, though :D (hide spoiler)]
The Witcher - Tried it, but it didn't hold my interest. Despite Henry Cavill and his batman voice. Lol.
Gilmore Girls - HATE it. Loathe it. Abhor it! :D
Peaky Blinders - Tried it, but I've been stuck somewhere in Season 3 for months and can't be bothered to continue. I loved the first season, though. But then it just sort of. I don't know. Maybe it was just the novelty :D
Agents Of Sheild - I watched one episode when it came out, and didn't really care. These days, I don't even know which streaming platform has it...
Penny Dreadful - LOVED it!
Supernatural - not on Netflix anymore, so I had to buy the DVDs. but everything after season 12 is still too expensive. I just finished season 11. I think I'm gonna hate that British Men of Letters woman :D
Breaking Bad - HATED it. I watched the first season and UGH :D
Bodyguard - watched it, liked it. I mean. It has Richard Madden. So. :D
Jessica Jones - I've been trying since it was released, because of David Tennent (agreed, awesome villain. But I hate how pathetic they made Killgrave. Why can't he just be evil cause he enjoys it? I don't need to know about his mommy issues…) but I still haven't finished season 1, mostly because I don't like Jessica or the actress playing her, and find it boring as hell. I tried only watching scenes with David, but... I think I have 3 episodes left of season 1? I don't even remember…
Dear White People - watched one episode, didn't find it interesting enough to continue
Narcos - tried it, not for me
Stranger Things - tried, didn't get it :D

The Good Place - not on Netflix
Weeds - not on Netflix
Into The Badlands - not on Netflix

Sex Education - watched the trailer, not for me

Tales of the City (The old and the new) - that looks interesting
Secret City - what's this about, the synopsis isn't really clear…
Derry Girls - looks weird, but I'll check it out
Roman Empire - uh, Sean Bean. Let me guess, he dies? :D oh, and also, did you watch The Medicis? Richard Madden and Dustin Hoffman... And I think Sean Bean joins in season 2
Merlin - mh. I don't know..
Sense 8 - I don't know…
The Stranger - not a Harlan Coben fan, but oh well. The things we watch for him :D speaking of, have you watched Berlin Station??? I haven't but. It has him, so we know I'm gonna watch it eventually :D

You guys are killing me! The only series of your lists I knew (and that only by name) was Breaking Bad *lol*
So I guess I can not impress anybody with
House
Monk
NCIS
The Mentalist
Psych
Big Bang Theorie
*whisper* Golden Girls
... ? ;)

Yes, you can :D I love all of those :D Especially Psych. I miss Shawnie. And Lassie. Lassie had a big-ish role on Supernatural for a while, he was evil, and it was glorious :D He had so much fun!

And, if it helps:
Friends
Ally McBeal
Columbo (remember him? ^^)

And something ONLY you might remember because it was such a success over here:
Die 2 (The Persuaders) with Tony Curtis and Roger Moore :D:D:D

Speaking of the book, I got to chapter 23. I still like it! The problem with loving Stephen Fry's voice is that sometimes I have to rewind because I didn't listen to the words or nodded off because it's so calm and comforting :D

Fun fact, there's a Supernatural episode where the door to/from heaven is numbered, wait for it... 42 ^^

So, I finished it. Yay. I'm glad that I still love this weird little book. I might need to buy the hardcover with the nice "don't panic" cover that has all the books in one volume :D Cause I don't remember the others…

Andrea wrote: "Altered Carbon - Loved Season 1, but hate the new Kovac in season 2 (his weird over-enunciation and strange pauses are annoying me ^^, so I'm going to stop there
Dead To Me LOVED IT!!!! Shame they [s..."

Secret City is about a Journalist who uncovers a government conspiracy. Anna Torv is one of my favorite actresses.

Sense 8 is a love it or hate it. It is not for everyone.

Yes, I watched Medici but was very frustrated with how inaccurate the historical events are, but I would watch Richard Madden watch paint dry. LOL

No, I haven't watch Berlin Station but will put it on the watchlist. Thanks for the reminder.

Looks like we are at about 50% agreeable on TV. =))

Heike wrote: "You guys are killing me! The only series of your lists I knew (and that only by name) was Breaking Bad *lol*
So I guess I can not impress anybody with
House
Monk
NCIS
The Mentalist
Psych
Big Bang T..."

I love every one of yours accept for Monk. Could never get into that one.

I have watched House, Psych and The Mentalist through twice. Love, Love, Love them so much.

We should start a TV Show Discussion In its own thread.

Andrea wrote: "Fun fact, there's a Supernatural episode where the door to/from heaven is numbered, wait for it... 42 ^^"

Cool! I will have to rewatch that one.

Gio wrote: "We should start a TV Show Discussion In its own thread. .."

Here you are: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

So, to round the Hitchhiker up ...
As I said - I got some good laughs out of it and loved the dry humor (especially the robot Marvin boring the enemy to death *lol*), but would have to reduce my 5 star rating down to 4 stars because I was readily distracted by another book instead of continuing with The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. A 5 star book I do not want to end, ever, and if there is a next book available I will grab it.
Never the less - a classic!
There is the mention of a computer named "Googleplex Star Thinker". With this book being published in 1979, way before the internet became public, and the search-engine name "google" a made-up word, I am wondering how these two might be related?

Heike wrote: "So, to round the Hitchhiker up ...
As I said - I got some good laughs out of it and loved the dry humor (especially the robot Marvin boring the enemy to death *lol*), but would have to reduce my 5..."

Heike if you love the Robot. You should watch the movie. He is hilarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVdZd...

Interesting, I didn't even think about the computer name :D But given how this book is like nerd heaven, I'd say there could be a chance :D

And I second Gio, Alan Rickman as Marvin is ADORABLE.