From the bookshelf: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Originally this was a BBC radio series that evolved into a book, and then eventually into a whole "trilogy" in five parts. Published in 1981, it is a book that I have read and enjoyed several times over the years. (In both book and audio form.)

Certain to give you a laugh, there are some profound tidbits to be found here as well, including the answer to "Life, the universe and everything"!

Publisher's summary:
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
from amazon.com, click here: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy