Audiobook review

Panic-free listening
by Greg Beatty

Is that a Babel Fish in your ear, or are you just happy to see me?

Babel fish. Vogon poetry readings. Do you know where your towel is at? 42. If you don't know what I'm talking about, shame on you. If you do know what I'm talking about, you're smiling. In either case, you need to listen to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Douglas Adams, who, died last year at the tragically early age of 49, came up with the idea for "Hitchhiker's Guide" while backpacking through Europe. He said he was a bit drunk. and it shows. "The Hitchhiker's Guide" captures that whimsical feeling you get when you're just little bit tipsy and out of your element in a foreign land.

Adams developed the book as a radio serial for the BBC, and that shows too. Every chapter is marked by cliffhanger endings and every joke is twice as funny when you hear it out loud as when you read it yourself.

Since Adams performs it himself, the pacing is marvelous, and the entire experience nearly overwhelming. I stopped the tape more than once because I was laughing so hard. Go ahead. Try it for yourself. I'll bet you do too, even if you've heard it before.

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