The universe is a joke, but only some of us are in on it.

Even before I was shown the meaning of life in a dream at 17, I knew this to be true. And yet, I have always felt a need to search for the truth, that nebulous, ill-treated creature. Adams has always felt, to me, to be a common partner in that journey.

Between the search for truth, and the recognition that it's all a joke in poor taste lies Douglas Adams, and, luckily for us, he doesn't seem to mind if you lie there with him. He's a tall guy, but he'll make room.

For all his crazed unpredictability, Adams is a powerful rationalist. His humor comes from his attempts to really think through all the things we take for granted. All it takes is a moment's questioning to burst the seam of our preconceptions, yet we all, every day, treat the most ludicrous things as if they are perfectly natural.

It is no surprise that famed atheist Richard Dawkins found a friend and ally in Adams. What is surprising is that people often fail to see the rather consistent and reasonable philosophy laid out by Adams' jokes. He is much more personable than Dawkins was, and hence a better face for rational materialism, or atheism.

We can all see pretty quickly that Dawkins is tired of arguing with uninformed idiots who can't recognize when he's made a point. Adams' humanism, however, stretched much further.

We see it from his protagonists, who are not elitist intellectuals, they're not even that bright, but damn it, they're trying. By showing a universe that makes no sense and having his characters constantly question it, Adams is subtly hinting that this is how the real universe works.

It's all a joke, it's all ridiculous. The absurdists might find this depressing, but to hell with them. I say let's sit down at the bar with the rabbi, the priest, and the frog and try to get a song going. Or at least recognize that it's okay to laugh at ourselves now and again. It's not the end of the world. ( )

This last year I turned 42. I had been anticipating this age for decades. I just knew this would be a good year, filled with exciting adventures and new ideas. One of the things I knew I had to do was buy The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story…by Douglas Adams. I had read some of his works separately and loved the BBC show I had seen in the early 80’s, but I had never read all his works back to back.

The year is all but over and I have been a bit underwhelmed. It was an OK year, but nothing outstanding. I expected more, somehow, something big. About the most exciting thing that happened all year was reading Adams books. Then it hit me. This was a perfectly normal, unobtrusive year and Adams would have loved it. I looked above my head at this realization, half expecting a neon sign to be there requesting my forgiveness for the inconvenience.

Adam’s addresses the stresses and frustration of life in a comical and far fetched way and yet the questions he poses are familiar to all of us. Why are we here? Who is in charge? And, How does the government really work? In the end I have came to the same conclusion as Arthur Dent, “I knew there was something fundamentally wrong with this universe.” As for Adams books, well let’s just say there is something fundamentally right about them. ( )

What can you say about this wonderful quirky classic series that hasn't already been said? When the original radio show was being broadcast on the C.BC., I was perilously close to being late to work every morning because I had to stay and listen.

I lose respect for anyone who doesn't love this book. That said, a person could (should?) easily forget about 40% of it. ( )

Yes, this is, indeed, the finest book ever written. Oddly accurate, pee your pants funny, devestatingly witty.

All I need is the air that I breath and to read you. ( )