Thread 24621732

Besides The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, he also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and Last Chance to See which is a nonfiction account of his expedition to Africa.

What does /lit/ think of the man?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams

>>24621732 (OP)
The radio scripts are quite good.

>>24621732 (OP)
He’s okay, but gets a lot of flak for being the progenitor of Reddit humour. I think his atheist stance is cringe, but I have to admit he’s a decent comedic writer, since he’s able to pull off the “Reddit” style better than actual Redditors.

>>24622720
Do you prefer Hitchhiker's or Dirk Gently's?

>>24623635
no

>>24622641
I can read what you're not writing, but I agree.

>>24625268
>I can read what you're not writing, but I agree.
What's that anon's subtext that you're picking up?

resentful depressed atheist cunt
good at tricking teenagers into thinking he's clever

>>24626487
>resentful
>depressed
>cunt
You realize this isn't a Richard Dawkins thread, right?

>>24626617
Say what now?

>>24621732 (OP)
overrated. people for some reason make out hitchhikers to be some epitome of science fiction when it's just surreal shit with spaceships.

>>24627478
>overrated. people for some reason make out hitchhikers to be some epitome of science fiction when it's just surreal shit with spaceships.
What do you prefer?

>>24628112
The second one.

Last Chance to See is good. Really more of a travelogue than anything else, it also covers visits to conservation efforts in Indonesia and New Zealand. It contains snide criticisms of ecotourism before such criticisms became voguish, without presuming to offer a better alternative. Depending on your attitude as a reader, that will either be refreshing or deeply frustrating.
I read the Hitchhiker’s Guide series as a kid. I’ll admit that certain parts filled my childhood brain with a profound sense of wonder, but mostly I regard it as slapstick with a sci-if veneer. Last Chance to See is for adults.

>>24629362
I also really like Last Chance. Did you ever read Salmon of Doubt? That's one I always come back to.

>>24629586
I read Salmon of Doubt only once, slightly too masturbatory for me with its reflections on the series. Maybe it’s something I should revisit.

>>24628112
without the surreal shit there's no humor, so the former. some of the philosophical concepts applied to space and that were cool I will say, but that's all it was, monty python goes to space. it would be nice if there were an author on the level of "what is his tax policies" but for this specific genre.
>inb4 andy weir cringe slop

>>24630345
Tell me about Andy Weir?

>>24621732 (OP)
The Hitchhikers books unironically turned me into an atheist at the age of 12.

>>24631595
Really?
How'd that happen?
All by themselves, or did they help while you were watching TheAmazingAtheist videos at the time?
What did it make you re-evaluate in yourself?

I turned atheist at a young age, but I wouldn't credit Douglas Adams with it, even though I was reading him at the time.

>>24630351
He sucks.

>>24631595
Yes, 12 year olds are stupid.

>>24633652
Ooh! Got me!

Piss poor writer with stupid Boomer jokes.

>>24633696
Who do you like?
Which of his jokes do you consider a "Boomer joke" since I never got that vibe.

>>24633444
You suck.

>>24629595
The essay on Tea was pretty good.

>>24630345
>an author on the level of "what is his tax policies" but for this specific genre.
Mirrlees?
>>24621732 (OP)
Funny, I like Long Dark Teatime of the Soul best. Good modern update of the gadabout bumbling British detective, but I doubt many anons are reading Psmith either

>>24635339
>I doubt many anons are reading Psmith either
Should I start reading him?

>>24635340
Psmith is a character created by Wodehouse, and a lot of Wodehouse fans don't read them or give up from repetition, but they are comfy funny precursors to the Jeeves solves it dynamic if you're in it for the journey

>>24621732 (OP)
He unironically denied that Hitchhiker was science fiction. Snobbish prick.

>>24635503
>He unironically denied that Hitchhiker was science fiction. Snobbish prick.
He's a snobbish prick if he interrupts people, correcting them on this point. If he said this once in an interview, I don't think it's a big deal.

Ridley Scott insisted that Alien isn't scifi but Horror.

>>24635585
Snobbish pricks.

>>24635960
I don't care for snobbish pricks.

I want to some slob on my prick.

>>24621732 (OP)
typical of nihilistic british midwittery.
every one of these faggots is an accidental product of David Hume & Henry VIII

>>24636071
Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman et al...
They're all the same glib cynical deconstructionist assholes.

>>24636082
I hope the loss of civilization was worth the keks

>>24636082
>>24636082
White English people are worthless. What can they do but die?

>>24631595
Same. I'm really glad for that initial push into thinking about the 'big questions' in a way, because by 20, I had my own highly nuanced religious and philosophical views. Unlike Adams, I suppose.

>>24636155
they can be improved.

>>24636164
>Same. I'm really glad for that initial push into thinking about the 'big questions' in a way, because by 20, I had my own highly nuanced religious and philosophical views. Unlike Adams, I suppose.
What are those views, if you don't mind me asking?

>>24636071
>typical of nihilistic british midwittery.
>every one of these faggots is an accidental product of David Hume & Henry VIII

>>24636819
I'm cradle Orthodox you turbofag.
The Catholic Church is a pedocratic NGO with religious aesthetics.
The Prots are a cargo cult of Christianity.
You people are lesser than.

why is his nose shaped like that

>>24637290
Big fingers

>>24637290
It's frequently clogged. His sneezing got so bad he was tempted to snort cocaine to disintegrate the cavities.

>>24637301
Big toes?

>>24621732 (OP)
I didn’t read Dirk Gently but the show they made with Frodo was pretty damn good and I wanted more like it.

>>24637695
In the book it was a cassette Wednesday Weeks was trying to get rather than a phone or whatever it was in the show. I forget.

>>24637290
You know.

>>24622720
If Douglas Adams posted on /lit/ today, would he be "based"?

>>24621732 (OP)
I dislike him solely for creating Redditspeak which he could occasionally pull off but nobody else could

>>24630345
>level of "what is his tax policies"
You mean manchild level? Ok

>>24625271
>The radio scripts are quite good, but his novels not so much
is what that Anon was implying

>>24640093
What made the novelizations worse, in your opinion?

>>24639715
He bashes shitlibs at the end of the first book. What do you think?

I'm saddened by how everybody here seemed to just let Reddit claim DNA as their guy, and let them claim he writes in their style

>>24630345
>it would be nice if there were an author on the level of "what is his tax policies" but for this specific genre.
So basically Lem

>>24621732 (OP)
Hitchhiker's is enjoyed by the same kind of english middle class twats who think genesis is the best band of all time.

>>24640636
>I'm saddened by how everybody here seemed to just let Reddit claim DNA as their guy, and let them claim he writes in their style
How do you think Douglas Adams would react to Reddit, if he were alive to see it today?

>>24640657
>Hitchhiker's is enjoyed by the same kind of english middle class twats who think genesis is the best band of all time.
Douglas Adams thought The Beatles were the best band of all time.

>>24635503
>>24635585
Scott and Adams might have been snobs, but they were right.
Hitchhiker's Guide was a long Monty Python bit that happened to be set in space.
Alien was, yes, horror. Although - given Scott, probably accidentally - the science in there is hard. There might be FTL but the plot doesn't need it. The story could have taken place around Saturn's moons and all the beats could still have played out roughly the same.

>>24641162
>Scott and Adams might have been snobs, but they were right.
For a second I thought you were talking about Scott Adams of Dilbert.
Funny that although they're on opposite sides of the Atlantic, they're both comedy writers.

Since this is the first ever thread you've made and quite possibly the first time you've ever browsed this site, let me be the one to say: welcome to /lit/! I hope you enjoy your stay here. Like all other boards we also consist mostly of lifeless, narcissist, pedantic contrarian faggots but the discussions aren't as braindead as, say, /v/.

One thing to note for your next post, you don't actually need to type out Anonymous in the name field in order to appear anonymous. the site instead registers it as a name and so everyone knows which of the posts is yours and which isn't. What I'm trying to say is all your replies to your own posts to manufacture engagement were very apparent and it made you look like a pathetic faggot.

Anyway I haven't read The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy yet but from the excerpts I've read I think I'd enjoy it quite. a bit.

>>24621732 (OP)
I read the first two or three books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series when I was about fifteen. Back then, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I didn’t get into them. I thought the books were okay, but nothing more. Around the same time, I was also reading the Discworld novels, and I loved those. Now, as an adult, I realize the reason was the plot. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy doesn’t really have one. It’s just jokes squeezed between two covers. The Discworld books I read, on the other hand, had both jokes and a story.

(As a side note, I think the early Discworld books are the weakest of the ones I’ve read. Like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, they’re basically just a string of jokes with little plot.)

I think I’d appreciate The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy more today, since I’d be prepared for the lack of plot. But for now, I think I’ll stick with Tom Sharpe and P. G. Wodehouse.

>>24642035
Discworld gives you more to hang onto, especially once the books start focusing on actual characters and stories. It’s still funny, but it feels like it’s going somewhere.

Your comment made me think of Terry Gilliam’s stuff, like Time Bandits. It’s also full of bizarre ideas and jokes, but there’s something a little darker or sadder underneath. Kind of like Hitchhiker’s, but with more of an edge. Not a book, I know, but same vibe in a way.

>>24641891
/v/ is genuinely more intelligent than /lit/.

>>24642294
How do you figure?

>>24642305
Because /v/ doesn't need to make long-winded posts or posture about how smart they are in relation to other boards all the time.
They're significantly truer to the true nature of the site of acting like a retard having fun, rather than the neurotic, whiny mess that /lit/ is.

>>24642309
What do you think are the most and least intelligent boards on the site? Would /b/, /tv/ or /vr/ rank highly?

>>24626487
>good at tricking teenagers into thinking he's clever
That is difficult though, isn't it?

>>24621732 (OP)
>pretentious
>ugly
>incompetent.
He's the trifecta

>>24636082
What did Douglas Adams ever deconstruct?

>>24633652
Yes, stupid enough to have not been an atheist at first

>>24636071
>>24636082
>>24636085
>>24636155
The UK is 83% White while the USA is 57% White. The UK can be saved. The USA, not so much.

>>24643911
HAHAHAHAHA

>>24643911
Just in case you're serious: God.

>>24644407
You're saying the UK can be saved, but will it? This is a country where you can go to jail for carrying a kitchen knife, and when muslims rape your daughter you can go to jail for complaining about it on facebook.

The US is fucked, but you couldn't pay me to move to most Western European countries.

>>24644407
Bongs gave up their guns. They can no longer fight back against the people destroying their nation.