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I hear you; Douglas Adams (like Monty Python) isn't for everyone. But, before you give up on his works forever, I highly recommend listening to* just the first

I hear you; Douglas Adams (like Monty Python) isn't for everyone. But, before you give up on his works forever, I highly recommend listening to* just the first chapter of his last book -- The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. It's possibly the funniest thing I've ever listened to, and I say that as someone who read but never went bonkers over his paperbacks as a young reader. *"listen" vs read, bc he narrates the audiobook himself, and it's pitch-perfect. Also, Audible lets me give away one free audiobook to any non-subscriber, so if you're willing to provide a non-audible-associated email address I'd be happy to send it to you gratis.

marzell 7y ago
I find this whole scenario kinda interesting - I don't expect to be able to explain why anything from Douglas Adams should appeal to someone... they can only read it and see if it clicks for them. It definitely clicks for me. On the other hand, I feel that Terry Pratchet has a similar sense of humor. However, I got all the way through The Colour Of Magic, giving it an honest shot, and deciding that it just wasn't for me. I find his humor to miss the mark, and be more obnoxious than funny. I can't quite put my finger on why I have such a polar reaction to two authors with a seemingly similar sense of humor. I guess maybe I find Pratchett to be more self-indulgent (not that Adams isn't!) while Adams adds a lot of witty perspective and his observations within his sci-fi universe are always actually observations about our universe.
- jfengel 7y ago
  The Colour of Magic is probably not the best place to start. He hadn't yet hit whatever it is that makes Discworld click for people. There is considerable debate about the best order in which to read Discworld[1]. I know a lot of people who recommend Guards! Guards! as a good place to start, as being good in itself and the beginning of a very popular story arc. (Discworld has a number of running plots, which sometimes interact but can be read independently.) So if you didn't care for Colour of Magic, it might be worth the effort to pick up one of the later books, after he'd worked out his style and worldbuilding. There's still no guarantee it'll work for you, but you won't really know if you start at the chronological beginning. I'll note that I myself am agnostic on where to start. I like Pratchett (enough to have read all of Discworld) but do not love his work the way many people do. [1] https://www.discworldemporium.com/content/6-discworld-reading-order https://www.discworldemporium.com/content/6-discworld-readin...
- salgernon 7y ago
  I had the same problem with CoM (many do!) but "Guards! Guards!" opened it up for me, and "Small Gods" really opened the flodogates for me. Later I've obsessively listened to the audiobooks, particularly those narrated by Nigel Planer. His Cheerfulness Fairy ("Hogfather") has become a staple in our family to "chase those blues away.."
- kwhitefoot 7y ago
  The Colour of Magic is an early parody of the fantasy genre and isn't really all that representative of his later work. Pterry got better as he wrote more. Try some of the other books.
dylan-m 7y ago
In the same way, I'd also recommend Last Chance To See for a slightly different flavour of Douglas Adams. His whimsical style is remarkably well-suited to a non-fiction nature and travel book. I can't say I completely get his science fiction books, but I felt the constraints of a non-fiction book gave me a new appreciation for his sense of humour and his way of balancing that with thoughtful, meaningful exposition. It's one of my favourite books :) He gave a great talk about it, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZG8HBuDjgc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZG8HBuDjgc
mclightning 7y ago
I actually love Monty Python. It may be that I expect a different story-telling in a SciFi setting. I will give that a try thank you for genuine suggestions!

marzell 7y ago

I find this whole scenario kinda interesting - I don't expect to be able to explain why anything from Douglas Adams should appeal to someone... they can only read it and see if it clicks for them. It definitely clicks for me. On the other hand, I feel that Terry Pratchet has a similar sense of humor. However, I got all the way through The Colour Of Magic, giving it an honest shot, and deciding that it just wasn't for me. I find his humor to miss the mark, and be more obnoxious than funny. I can't quite put my finger on why I have such a polar reaction to two authors with a seemingly similar sense of humor. I guess maybe I find Pratchett to be more self-indulgent (not that Adams isn't!) while Adams adds a lot of witty perspective and his observations within his sci-fi universe are always actually observations about our universe.

jfengel 7y ago
The Colour of Magic is probably not the best place to start. He hadn't yet hit whatever it is that makes Discworld click for people. There is considerable debate about the best order in which to read Discworld[1]. I know a lot of people who recommend Guards! Guards! as a good place to start, as being good in itself and the beginning of a very popular story arc. (Discworld has a number of running plots, which sometimes interact but can be read independently.) So if you didn't care for Colour of Magic, it might be worth the effort to pick up one of the later books, after he'd worked out his style and worldbuilding. There's still no guarantee it'll work for you, but you won't really know if you start at the chronological beginning. I'll note that I myself am agnostic on where to start. I like Pratchett (enough to have read all of Discworld) but do not love his work the way many people do. [1] https://www.discworldemporium.com/content/6-discworld-reading-order https://www.discworldemporium.com/content/6-discworld-readin...
salgernon 7y ago
I had the same problem with CoM (many do!) but "Guards! Guards!" opened it up for me, and "Small Gods" really opened the flodogates for me. Later I've obsessively listened to the audiobooks, particularly those narrated by Nigel Planer. His Cheerfulness Fairy ("Hogfather") has become a staple in our family to "chase those blues away.."
kwhitefoot 7y ago
The Colour of Magic is an early parody of the fantasy genre and isn't really all that representative of his later work. Pterry got better as he wrote more. Try some of the other books.

dylan-m 7y ago

In the same way, I'd also recommend Last Chance To See for a slightly different flavour of Douglas Adams. His whimsical style is remarkably well-suited to a non-fiction nature and travel book. I can't say I completely get his science fiction books, but I felt the constraints of a non-fiction book gave me a new appreciation for his sense of humour and his way of balancing that with thoughtful, meaningful exposition. It's one of my favourite books :) He gave a great talk about it, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZG8HBuDjgc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZG8HBuDjgc

mclightning 7y ago

I actually love Monty Python. It may be that I expect a different story-telling in a SciFi setting. I will give that a try thank you for genuine suggestions!