Poor little bloggie. I have neglected you shamefully for over a week. I'll repent and do better, I promise.
I have read this book probably...oh, I don't know, forty or fifty times? Either my father or my older brother introduced me to it, and I loved it from the beginning. Though it's the first book of the series, it wasn't the first one I read-something that happens to me a lot-and I had read the fourth book a dozen times before I got to the first one. Which may possibly account for missing some references the first time around ("almost two thousand years after a guy had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change", for instance).
Unlike "Catch Me If You Can", the movie version of this book is NOT faithful to the source material, at least not the way I pictured it. Which is of course the problem with turning a book into a movie: you're never going to please all the people. I long ago came to terms with movies and books being separate genres and needing different story-telling methods, but...I am not a fan of this movie, is what I'm saying. (The other night at dinner, the Ninja and the Domestic Goddess pointed out that I frequently use thirty words when four will do, to which I respond...better get used to it.)
Anyway, this book has been many many things to me over the course of my life, not least of which the inspiration for my phone's name, Marvin. (It's an Android phone. Trust me, it's hysterical.) The edition I have now was given to me by a casual acquaintance; it was, I think, my twentieth birthday, and my best friend was taking me out to dinner. When I got to her house, a friend of hers was there and asked to take us both out. So we went to a Japanese place (my first time with Japanese food) and then he insisted on buying me a birthday present. I demurred, and he said he'd just start buying things unless I picked something out. I finally chose the "Les Miserables" soundtrack, and as we were headed for the checkout, I spotted this volume, which he grabbed from me and purchased as well. A very sweet gesture, especially for a guy whose name I no longer remember.
Yeah, you probably didn't need to know any of that. Again, I say unto you, get used to it! I love this book; always have, always will.
Author: Douglas Adams
Potentially objectionable content: Some language, flippancy about religion and politics
No comments:
Post a Comment