Poll: Douglas Adams

[molesgallus]

Not quite Pratchett, but an amazing, entertaining, hilarious read. 'Sorry for the inconvenience'

I'd say they were at least on par. I'm a big fan of both; couldn't think of favouring one over the other. Both have different qualities and weaknesses, but both are/were brilliant.

 

[Arcanz]

god! anyone who hasn't read the salmon of doubt is yet to experience the full potential of literature

I feel like I'm saying "this!" and quoting some random person a lot lately, but.. THIS!
I just love quoting Douglas Adams, so I will do it again (A quick Google search of "Douglas Adams quotes):

"(..) Sir Isaac Newton, renowned inventor of the milled-edge coin and the catflap!"
"The what?" said Richard.
"The catflap! A device of the utmost cunning, perspicuity and invention. It is a door within a door, you see, a ..."
"Yes," said Richard, "there was also the small matter of gravity."
"Gravity," said Dirk with a slightly dismissed shrug, "yes, there was that as well, I suppose. Though that, of course, was merely a discovery. It was there to be discovered." ...
"You see?" he said dropping his cigarette butt, "They even keep it on at weekends. Someone was bound to notice sooner or later. But the catflap ... ah, there is a very different matter. Invention, pure creative invention. It is a door within a door, you see."

Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for.'

 

[molesgallus]

god! anyone who hasn't read the salmon of doubt is yet to experience the full potential of literature

I feel like I'm saying "this!" and quoting some random person a lot lately, but.. THIS!
I just love quoting Douglas Adams, so I will do it again (A quick Google search of "Douglas Adams quotes):

"(..) Sir Isaac Newton, renowned inventor of the milled-edge coin and the catflap!"
"The what?" said Richard.
"The catflap! A device of the utmost cunning, perspicuity and invention. It is a door within a door, you see, a ..."
"Yes," said Richard, "there was also the small matter of gravity."
"Gravity," said Dirk with a slightly dismissed shrug, "yes, there was that as well, I suppose. Though that, of course, was merely a discovery. It was there to be discovered." ...
"You see?" he said dropping his cigarette butt, "They even keep it on at weekends. Someone was bound to notice sooner or later. But the catflap ... ah, there is a very different matter. Invention, pure creative invention. It is a door within a door, you see."

Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for.'

Haha. You can't beat Douglas Adams quotes... I quote the second one all the time. I know it by heart, now. Man was a genius.

 

[Simriel]

Not quite Pratchett, but an amazing, entertaining, hilarious read. 'Sorry for the inconvenience'

I'd say they were at least on par. I'm a big fan of both; couldn't think of favouring one over the other. Both have different qualities and weaknesses, but both are/were brilliant.

I can only read so much Adams at a time. His books are entirely based on not making any real sense. With Pratchett, there is sense. A special internal sense that exists only for Discworld, but still sense.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

The real question here is, "What is 6*9 in base 13?"

42 ; )

 

[Outright Villainy]

Ah, I do like me some Douglas Adams alright. I haven't read those books in years actually, I should get around to it again. And of course he's infinitely quotable...

 

[manythings]

A brilliant guy, but he's no Pratchett.

My sentiments exactly. Atheism is all well and good but I don't see why a person's opinion is treated as proof of no God.

What?

My main problem with Douglas Adams is the eternal "There's no God" point throughout his work but I've always felt it is him presenting his opinion as if it is fact because he says it.

 

[Betancore]

Douglas Adams wrote some hilariously witty and observant stuff. Also he was apparently friends with some members of Pink Floyd. Which can only make him more awesome. I think he's pretty great, especially since I don't mind his political/religious views at all.

 

[DoctorWhat]

WHY, oh why does every talk of the books above all else? Plenty of people I know try to lord over me because they read the first two books before I did, and I consider myself a big Adams fan. But then I get to remind them that I listened to the radio plays, the material the first two books are BASED on, before they had even heard of Adams. I even tried to introduce them to it... Most annoying of all is when some of them refuse to believe that anything could've come before the books. "The books are always the originals," they say. "Everything else is always an adaptation." Annoys me to no end.

 

[Lizardon]

I love the guy's writing. Haven't gotten around to reading Eoin Colfers sequel to the Hitchikers trilogy (in 5 parts).
My favourite character in all of the books is the Hooloovoo. It a hyperintelligent shade of the colour blue.

EDIT

My main problem with Douglas Adams is the eternal "There's no God" point throughout his work but I've always felt it is him presenting his opinion as if it is fact because he says it.

I agree that he is presenting a biased point of view but I found some of his comments quite tongue-in-cheek and lighthearted. And it's never integral to the books, just random stuff he threw in everywhere. Like this

"Now it is such a bizarrely impossible coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof of the nonexistence of God. The argument goes something like this:
"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED."
"Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't though of that" and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."

 

[Kimdeal]

Not quite Pratchett, but an amazing, entertaining, hilarious read. 'Sorry for the inconvenience'

I'd say they were at least on par. I'm a big fan of both; couldn't think of favouring one over the other. Both have different qualities and weaknesses, but both are/were brilliant.

I can only read so much Adams at a time. His books are entirely based on not making any real sense. With Pratchett, there is sense. A special internal sense that exists only for Discworld, but still sense.

Douglas Adams' stuff can get a bit hard to follow at times, but if ever i try to read more than 1 discworld book at a time, i lose track of what im reading. They are a tad repetative, you have to admit.
Not exactly surprising, given that there is about 40 of them (not sure of exact number).

Anyway, I don't consider it necessarily a negative point that you have to take time to think about whats going on.

 

[Mumonk]

I practically have "The Guide" memorized, it was and still is genius.