I'm a heretic without humor...

[avantman42]

I enjoyed the first three books (and the radio series, TV series and film), but didn't enjoy the fourth as much, and really didn't enjoy the fifth. He didn't want to write books 4 & 5 (especially 5 - he was basically locked in a hotel room until he finished it), and it shows.

I liked it enough to join the fan club, was on it's committee for three years (my spare bedroom was full of beeblebears and towels for two years).

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

My first language is English and I enjoy most humour and comedy (and science fiction) from all the English speaking world in books, film and TV but got the impression that the Hitchhiker's was cult rather than quality driven and likely to appeal most to geeky schoolboys (which raises the question that as I get the impression the Hitchhiker's are not much read by women, does that mean women do not appreciate humour or does my "geeky schoolboys" comment have credibility?).

When I was a member of ZZ9, there were plenty of women among the active members. From memory, I'd say it was close to a 50/50 split between male and female. That said, the vast majority of the membership wasn't very active, and I wouldn't know how the gender split was among them.

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Unless you find the punning phrase "the late Arthur Dent" side splittingly funny - amongst other equally hilarious phrases - you're not going to find this book/series very entertaining ...

It raised a smile, but I certainly wouldn't say it was "side splittingly funny".

Originally Posted by gmw

I have found it interesting to see the comparisons with Mr Bean. I rarely find Mr Bean all that funny, but loved much of HHGTTG and Monty Python. It's as though there is something almost mutually exclusive going on there.

Same here. I like a lot of Rowan Atkinson's work, but I really dislike Mr Bean.

Originally Posted by ApK

We may need to correlate this with operating system preferences.

Linux. Lubuntu on the laptop, Ubuntu on the server.

[Geralt]

You're not alone. I also planed to read first 3 books. But I managed first 2. First one was bearable and 2nd one was downright boring to me. I stopped before I suffocated on that dry humor.
Not funny at all and a drag to finish.
If I want something funny, I'll stick to Terry Pratchett. He always makes me laugh.


In my case I don't think Douglas Adams kind of humor has anything to do with Monty Python which I absolutely adore and find hilarious. I find English humor funnier than American type, including Black Adder, Mr. Been, Red Dwarf, IT Crowd, Only Fools and Horses, and lets not forget Fawlty Towers, and so many more.

These books were simply trying too much to be funny and failing miserably. Not liking them has nothing to do with not getting the British thing, and everything to do with them not being funny!

[DrNefario]

I'd have said the first two Discworld books - the ones nobody seems to like much - were kind of an attempt to do Hitchhikers in fantasy, before Pratchett developed his own voice. (Luckily enough of us did like them that there was a third one.)

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I'd have said the first two Discworld books - the ones nobody seems to like much - were kind of an attempt to do Hitchhikers in fantasy, before Pratchett developed his own voice. (Luckily enough of us did like them that there was a third one.)

I really liked the first two Discworld books, I REALLY disliked first two Hitchhiker's books.

[ST-One]

Originally Posted by Geralt

I really liked the first two Discworld books, I REALLY disliked first two Hitchhiker's books.

So far I've only ever read the first two Hitchhiker's books (somehow I've still not gotten around to read the rest of them); usually I don't re-read novels, these two books I've read quite a few times since my early teens - I still find them good and funny.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

About the OT question: Discworld. Everybody seems to like it, I never got past the second chapter of the first book...

As has been mentioned, the first two books are not indicative of anything. It truly seems as though they were written by different people altogether -- they are nothing like the later books.

Pratchett refined his writing style something like 100,000% after the first few books (and Equal Rites was not entirely better either).

I have had cause to regret this before -- I have proselytized Discworld to several people, and the only ones who didn't like it were the first couple, to whom I made the mistake of offering them the first book. Needless to say, I learned my lesson, started suggesting Thud/Going Postal/Hogfather as a good book to start with, and never again failed to convert people. (I can tell if someone might be interested in that kind of book before suggesting it, which skews the results. )

If you are willing to give Discworld a second try, I think you may be pleasantly surprised...

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Geralt

I really liked the first two Discworld books, I REALLY disliked first two Hitchhiker's books.

I liked all 4.

Some people are different.

[Yapyap]

Other than feeling meh about Hitchhiker's, I was also rather meh about the first Discworld book (but yes, I will try some more).

Speaking of Douglas Adams, I very much enjoyed the Shada book by Gareth Roberts (which draws heavily from the episode scripts and notes by Adams).

I never got into Monty Python either, but I did like Fawlty Towers. And I liked Benny Hill (but that was when I was a rather small child and way back before the ideas of social justice, cultural appropriation, racism or sexism had entered my brain; I am not at all sure I'd feel comfortable enjoying the show now or find it hilarious). Never liked Mr Bean, though.

I like Jasper Fforde well enough.

On the YA side, I love love love the humour in Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant, but couldn't stand Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz and the humour in Gina Damico's Croak also left me cold/irritated.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by tompe

Interesting. I find Mr Bean boring and love Hitchhiker.

Same here.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by ApK

No complex or obscure wordplay. Just an alien's take on language. Funny to read, like when Ford described the unpleasant feeling of being drunk. But discussing it is like dissecting a frog.

That was how I read it. But checking:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lanc...plain/A3533609

Construction
Puns are fun to create and share with loved ones, although good body armour and life insurance are advised. To illustrate their construction, here is a pun constructed especially for h2g2:

Did he mark it badly? No, it was only 'Arf a Dent.

This example demonstrates the construction of the pun rather than its quality.

Once the theme is decided, in this case the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it is simply a matter of considering the related material and finding a potential word or phrase for the pun.

The phrase 'Arthur Dent' allows two intrepretations: in addition to the literal one, altering 'Arthur' to a contraction of 'half a' results in the secondary ''Arf a Dent.'

A context then must be found for the phrase, in order to extract both meanings. In this case, the location of the pun in the h2g2 site elicits the literal meaning and the phrasing of the pun extracts the second.

To gain confidence in pun construction, try playing the punning word association game described below. With practice, finding puns will become almost automatic. However, if punning becomes compulsive it would be wise to seek help to establish whether this is Freudian in nature.

That makes me wonder what I am missing.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

About the OT question: Discworld. Everybody seems to like it, I never got past the second chapter of the first book...

The first ones are the least funny ones for me. You should probably start with one of the sub-series. I recommend the city guard books subset.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by avantman42

I liked it enough to join the fan club, was on it's committee for three years (my spare bedroom was full of beeblebears and towels for two years).

I was actually a member for many year after meeting people from ZZ9 at the Worldcon in Haag. The newsletter was fun to read.

[odiakkoh]

I like Monty Python, Hitchhiker's doesn't interest me. Though this thread has me wondering if I should give it a shot anyway.

[gmw]

The curious thing about Pratchett is that these days when I re-read them (which I do quite regularly), I don't actually do it for the humour. Sure they are often funny, but a lot of that is the result of his insights into situation and character - and this serious aspect is what keeps me coming back.

[Difflugia]

I wonder if age at first reading is a factor? I read the Hitchhiker's books when I was about ten and thought they were hilarious. I still re-read and enjoy them occasionally, but it's possible that's more nostalgia than anything.