Book 32 of 52: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams

Yes, it's a series.  I'm counting it as one book.

If you haven't heard of this famous series by Douglas Adams, you're missing out on a massive trove of English comedy mixed with science fiction.  "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a series that spans five novels, a couple of short stories, and even has a movie about it!

The story's pretty easy.  An Englishman is rescued from the Earth by his best friend, who turns out to be a stranded alien, just before the Earth is destroyed to make way for a new interstellar bypass.  Englishman (whose name is Arthur Dent) and friend (Ford Prefect) go on adventures, steal spaceships, meet interesting aliens, have dinner at the end of the universe, and end up searching for the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Well, not quite.  The Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42.

But what's the question?

Ah, there's the question.

I've read this book many times before, and I love it.  So much of the humor is just so odd, so irreverent, that you have no idea where it comes from and you have to just stop to laugh.  It's the ultimate British humor story - just set in space.

Time to read: A couple days or so.