TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2024
7PM to 8PM
Open to all. Hosted online using Zoom Meetings.
TICKETS: Free, booking required.
ACCESSIBILITY: Live subtitles are available using Zoom's Live Transcript function.
The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
It’s a bad day for Arthur Dent; his house is being demolished, followed quickly by planet Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Just in time, his best friend reveals he’s an alien and both are saved by hitching a ride on a spaceship. Through a series of intergalactic misadventures and encounters with extraordinary alien life, Arthur finds himself on a quest to find the meaning of life… and a decent cup of tea.
The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is the first in a five-book series that has sold over 15 million copies, and Douglas Adam’s absurd humour and biting satire has helped cement it as one of the best loved sci-fi novels of all time. We'll be joined by special guest, bestselling science fiction writer Dr Una McCormack.
To aide the conversation, we have prepared three 'thinking points' to consider when reading The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy:
1. Douglas Adams manages to depict a huge amount of destruction and upheaval in a funny and casual way. How does Hitch-hiker’s Guide manage to stay optimistic, and what do you think the novel says about humanity?
2. Who is the novel’s most important character?
3. What might Douglas Adams’ message be about science in this novel?
The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is available in paperback, hardback, audio and ebook formats, borrowable from public libraries or to purchase. To see what printed and digital copies are available from Cambridge University Libraries (borrowable by University staff and students), search iDiscover.
About The Really Popular Book Club
The Really Popular Book Club is Cambridge University Libraries' book group. Everyone is welcome to come and discuss a really popular book with the group, library staff, and an expert on the novel. Hosted on Zoom, the book club is completely free and open to everyone, people attend from all over the world. The Really Popular Book Club celebrates the huge range of books at Cambridge University Library. We have more than 8 million books and as a legal deposit library we keep a copy of every book published in the UK, and have done since 1710.
If you haven't attended one of our book club events before, you can find more information at www.lib.cam.ac.uk/bookclub.