The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Title:  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Author:  Douglas Adams

Publication Information:  Crown. 1979 (original). 224 pages.

ISBN:  1400052920 / 978-1400052929

Book Source:  I read this book as this month's selection for my local book club.

Opening Sentence:  "The house stood on a slight rise just on the edge of the village."

Favorite Quote:  "Look ... would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?"

The answer is 42. The problem is no one remembers what the question is.

The story goes as follows. Ford Prefect is an alien on Earth. He was traveling the galaxy as a researcher to update the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Arthur Dent is an "Earthman" with no concept of space travel or aliens. Shortly before Earth is destroyed to build a space expressway, Ford escapes the planet with Arthur Dent in tow. Adventures upon adventures follow - including a stolen space ship, the most intelligent species on Earth, mind experiments, and the President of the Galaxy with two heads and three arms. The expression "out of the frying pan into the fire" comes to mind to describe the situations Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent get themselves into.

This story, in all its variations, has a fascinating history. The story began as a radio comedy series on BBC Radio in 1978. The tale goes that the idea for the series came to Douglas Adams as he lay at night in a field staring up at the sky and thinking that someone should write a guide for the galaxy. Whether or not that's true, that is the tale now told of how it all began.

Since that time, the story has been adapted and expanded upon in many ways:

• This book, which is part of a "trilogy in five books (yes, five) all written by Douglas Adams
• A sixth book written by Eoin Colfer
• Stage shows (several adaptations)
• TV series
• Computer game
• Comic book adaptation by DC comics
• Movie
• Radio broadcasts of extensions of the story.

Interestingly, Douglas Noel Adams (making his initial DNA!) was first and foremost a script writer. In addition to the Hitchhiker's Guide, his credits include episodes of Monty Python and Doctor Who. He is, in fact, recognized in the UK Radio Academy's Hall of Fame. He did not consider himself a novelist, and his biographers note that he found writing to be an arduous task. Yet, he penned five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide. These can now be found in one compiled edition with the title The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams unfortunately died in 2001 at the young age of 49.

How to really describe this book? It is a book about nothing and yet everything. Completely over-the-top absurd and at time laugh out loud funny. However, as the book itself says, "It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem." So, underlying the absurd plot are hints of seriousness and of Adams' views as an atheist, an environmental activist, and a proponent of technology.

However, mostly, the absurdity and humor win out. This book is definitely a reminder not to take oneself too seriously. In our house, we had a lengthy discussion comparing the characters to the characters of Winnie the Pooh. Ridiculous, right? However, think about it. Arthur Dent looks for his tea, no matter what the situation and always seems confused - Winnie the Pooh. Zaphod Beeblebrox bounces around from thing to thing, not always stopping to think why - Tigger. Marvin the Paranoid Android is forever depressed - Eyeore. Trillian keeps a lookout for everyone - Kanga. Ford Prefect keeps on updating the Hitchhiker's Guide - Rabbit. A ridiculous but very engaging discussion for a ridiculous and fun book.

At its end, this book is a difficult one to describe; it simply must be experienced. I am glad that I now better understand the phenomenon, and I now better understand why the answer is 42. I am not sure I will follow Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent on their adventures beyond this first part, but I am glad I was introduced to them. Happy hitchhiking and don't forget your towel!

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

With Open Hands

Title:  With Open Hands

Author:  Henri J. M. Nouwen

Publication Information:  Ave Maria Press. 1972 (first edition). 125 pages.

ISBN:  1594710643 / 978-1594710643

Book Source:  I read this book based on the recommendation of a friend who was kind enough to lend me her copy.

Favorite Quote:  "Ultimately, I believe what is most personal is most universal."

Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen was a Dutch-born Catholic priest who wrote over 40 books on leading a spiritual life. He was ordained at the age of 25 and then complemented his religious training with training in psychology. He went on to teach at the University of Notre Dame and the divinity schools at Yale and Harvard. He culminated his career working with a Canadian community to support those with intellectual disabilities. He died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 64. Even today, his work is widely used by Catholic and Protestant clergy.

With Open Hands was Henri Nouwen's first published book on prayers. It was originally published in Dutch in 1971 and translated into English in 1972. It begins with the image of clenched fist; goes through the ideas of prayer with silence, acceptance, hope, compassion, and criticism; and ends with the image of open hands. The central concept is that through prayers and the ideas of silence, acceptance, hope, compassion, and criticism, an individual progresses from fear and clenched fists to the hope and faith of open hands:

• Silence both from the distractions in our world and from the thoughts and emotions within our own hearts and minds.
• Acceptance of our own vulnerabilities and of all others leaving no room for prejudice.
• Hope in someone and something no matter what as different from a wish for a specific something or someone.
• Compassion for ourselves and for others as we realize that we are not alone and that we are all the same.
• Prophetic criticism as we venture into the unknown and become open to new answers.

The best way to describe this book is that it is a framework. It is a framework to show the necessity of prayer in our lives and to show the characteristics by which we should approach prayer. As such, it presents a broad, general paradigm. The ideas are presented in short reflective writings, most of which bear reading more than once. In that respect, the structure of the book is similar to books of devotionals or daily readings.

The book, however, does not go beyond the framework. The metaphor of the clenched fists and open hands repeats throughout; the image anchors the book. That image will stay with me for a long time.  The text, however, is very general and gets more and more so towards the end of the book. The book presents no guidelines for application and no other stories to ground it. If you are looking for a how to guide, this is not it. It is a gentle reminder and a gentle nudge towards a set of guidelines for living.

The book is, of course, based in Christian theology. However, it provides no Biblical references - actually no references to religious texts at all. The idea of prayer as living open to what comes your way is spiritual in nature and can be applied across different religious lines. The belief in the need for prayers and in living open to life is one shared by many, many traditions around the world. The value of the book lies in what an individual can use and apply in his or her own life. As with other books in this genre, take what works for you and leave the rest. Take the framework and look for more details elsewhere.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.