Recommendations based on Mostly Harmlessby Douglas Adams

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

    by Douglas Adams
    A comedic tale of a man's journey through the universe, encountering aliens and coming to terms with his own identity.

    While hitchhiking through the galaxy, Arthur Dent is dropped off on a planet in a rainstorm. He appears to be in England on Earth, even though he saw the planet destroyed by the Vogons . He has been ... (Wikipedia)

  2. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

    by Douglas Adams
    Quirky sci-fi adventure following a group of time travelers seeking to save the future.

    Arthur Dent , Ford Prefect , Trillian , and Zaphod Beeblebrox leave the planet Magrathea on the Heart of Gold . A Vogon ship attacks them, and Arthur's attempt to have the ship's computer make him a ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Life, the Universe and Everything

    by Douglas Adams
    An intergalactic quest to find the answer to the ultimate question of life.

    After being stranded on pre-historic Earth after the events in, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, , Arthur Dent is met by his old friend Ford Prefect , who drags him into a space-time eddy , ... (Wikipedia)

  4. And Another Thing...

    by Eoin Colfer
    A continuation of Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series, following the misadventures of Arthur Dent and his companions.

    And Another Thing... starts where, Mostly Harmless, ends, with Arthur Dent , Ford Prefect , Trillian , and Arthur and Trillian's daughter Random standing inside Club Beta, while the Earth is about to ... (Wikipedia)

  5. Cat's Cradle

    by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
    A satirical exploration of human folly, exposing the dangers of unchecked science and technology.

    Told with deadpan humour and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut's cult tale of global destruction preys on our deepest fears of witnessing Armageddon and, worse still, surviving it ... Dr Felix Hoenikker, ... (Goodreads)

  6. Heart of Darkness

    by Joseph Conrad
    A journey into the depths of the human psyche, exploring the darkness of colonialism.

    Aboard the Nellie , anchored in the River Thames near Gravesend , Charles Marlow tells his fellow sailors how he became captain of a river steamboat for an ivory trading company. As a child, Marlow ... (Wikipedia)

  7. The Trial

    by Franz Kafka
    A man is arrested and put on trial for a crime that remains unclear throughout the novel.

    On the morning of his thirtieth birthday, Josef K., the chief cashier of a bank, is unexpectedly arrested by two unidentified agents from an unspecified agency for an unspecified crime. Josef is not ... (Wikipedia)

  8. 2001: A Space Odyssey

    by Arthur C. Clarke
    An interstellar journey of exploration, confronting humanity's place in the universe.

    A mysterious alien civilization uses a tool with the appearance of a large crystalline monolith to investigate worlds across the galaxy and, if possible, to encourage the development of intelligent ... (Wikipedia)

  9. The Day of the Triffids

    by John Wyndham
    A post-apocalyptic world overrun by carnivorous plants, exploring themes of survival and morality.

    In 1951 John Wyndham published his novel The Day of the Triffids to moderate acclaim. Fifty-two years later, this horrifying story is a science fiction classic, touted by The Times (London) as having ... (Goodreads)

  10. Cryptonomicon

    by Neal Stephenson
    A thrilling journey through the past and present, combining tech, history and adventure.

    The action takes place in two periods—World War II and the late 1990s, during the Internet boom and Asian financial crisis . In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse, a young United States Navy code ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Solaris

    by Stanisław Lem
    A psychological exploration of a distant planet, uncovering the truth behind its strange and mysterious phenomena.

    Solaris chronicles the ultimate futility of attempted communications with the extraterrestrial life inhabiting a distant alien planet named Solaris. The planet is almost completely covered with an ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Quicksilver

    by Neal Stephenson
    Epic fantasy adventure set in a world of magic, politics and alchemy.

    The first book is a series of flashbacks from 1713 to the earlier life of Daniel Waterhouse. It begins as Enoch Root arrives in Boston in October 1713 to deliver a letter to Daniel containing a ... (Wikipedia)

  13. High Fidelity

    by Nick Hornby
    A man reflects on his past relationships while trying to understand the nature of love.

    Rob Fleming is a 35-year-old man who owns a record shop in London called Championship Vinyl. His lawyer girlfriend, Laura, has just left him and now he's going through a crisis. At his record shop, ... (Wikipedia)

  14. I, Robot

    by Isaac Asimov
    A collection of science fiction stories exploring the relationship between humans and robots.

    Isaac Asimov's I, Robot launches readers on an adventure into a not-so-distant future where man and machine , struggle to redefinelife, love, and consciousness—and where the stakes are nothing less ... (Goodreads)

  15. Jonathan Livingston Seagull

    by Richard Bach
    An exploration of self-expression and personal growth as a seagull learns to defy the boundaries of his flock.

    The book tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is bored with daily squabbles over food. Seized by a passion for flight, he pushes himself and learns everything he can about ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

    by Philip K. Dick
    A dystopian sci-fi narrative about a bounty hunter hunting rogue androids.

    It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment–find them and then..."retire" them. ... (Goodreads)

  17. Green Mars

    by Kim Stanley Robinson
    Colonization of Mars, as humans seek to terraform and inhabit the red planet.

    Red Mars starts in 2026 with the first colonial voyage to Mars aboard the Ares , the largest interplanetary spacecraft ever built and home to a crew who are to be the first hundred Martian colonists. ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Murder Is Easy

    by Agatha Christie
    Amateur sleuth investigates a series of suspicious deaths in a small village.

    Upon his return to England after his overseas job in the police, Luke Fitzwilliam shares a London-bound train carriage with Lavinia Pinkerton. She talks with him about her reason to travel to ... (Wikipedia)

  19. The Gods of Gotham

    by Lyndsay Faye
    A police officer investigates the crime-ridden streets of 1840s New York City.

    1845. New York City forms its first police force. The great potato famine hits Ireland. These two seemingly disparate events will change New York City. Forever. Timothy Wilde tends bar near the ... (Goodreads)

  20. Blue Mars

    by Kim Stanley Robinson
    The final book in the Mars Trilogy, following the terraforming and colonization of Mars. The story explores the political, social, and environmental consequences of human expansion into space.

    Red Mars starts in 2026 with the first colonial voyage to Mars aboard the Ares , the largest interplanetary spacecraft ever built and home to a crew who are to be the first hundred Martian colonists. ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Snow Crash

    by Neal Stephenson
    A hacker's quest in a futuristic America dealing with a mysterious computer virus.

    Hiro Protagonist is a hacker and pizza delivery driver for the Mafia. He meets Y.T. (short for Yours Truly), a young skateboard Kourier ( courier ) who refers to herself in the third person , during ... (Wikipedia)

  22. A Scanner Darkly

    by Philip K. Dick
    A dystopian tale of surveillance and paranoia in a world of drug addiction.

    The protagonist is Bob Arctor, member of a household of drug users, who is also living a double life as an undercover police agent assigned to spy on Arctor's household. Arctor shields his identity ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

    by Grant Naylor
    Two hapless space-faring technicians get into all sorts of trouble as they travel the galaxy repairing and causing damage to spaceships.

    The book begins in 2180. Commercialism is still rife, and most of Earth 's natural resources have been depleted. Most of the solid planets and moons in the solar system have been colonised. Having ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Tale of the Unknown Island

    by José Saramago
    A tale of a nameless man's journey to an unknown island in search of a better life.

    A man requests the king of his country to give him a boat so he can go in search for "the unknown island". The king questions him about the existence of such an island and tries to convince the man ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Three Men in a Boat

    by Jerome K. Jerome
    Three friends and a dog embark on a whimsical boat journey down the Thames, encountering unexpected adventures and mishaps.

    A comic masterpiece that has never been out of print since it was first published in 1889, Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat includes an introduction and notes by Jeremy Lewis in Penguin ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Name of the Rose

    by Umberto Eco
    A Franciscan friar investigates a series of murders in a medieval monastery, uncovering a sinister plot.

    In 1327, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk , a Benedictine novice travelling under his protection, arrive at a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy to attend a theological ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Mort

    by Terry Pratchett
    A Discworld fantasy novel about a young man's journey to save a princess from a magical kingdom.

    As a teenager, Mort has a personality and temperament that makes him unsuited to the family farming business. Mort's father Lezek takes him to a local hiring fair in the hope that Mort will land an ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales

    by H.P. Lovecraft
    Collection of bizarre horror stories exploring the cosmic unknown.

    Originally written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and 1930s, H. P. Lovecraft's astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction, and cosmology that are as powerful today as they were ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly

    by Luis Sepúlveda
    A charming story of a seagull and a cat who teach each other lessons of determination and resilience.

    A cat. A seagull. An impossible task. A worldwide bestseller and the subject of a feature film, THE STORY OF A SEAGULL... is finally out in paperback! Her wings burdened by an oil slick, a seagull ... (Goodreads)

  30. Virtual Light

    by William Gibson
    Cyberpunk thriller, exploring the effects of technology on future societies.

    The plot centers around Chevette Washington, a young bicycle messenger who lives in the ad hoc , off-the-grid community that has grown on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the aftermath of a ... (Wikipedia)