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Not having read The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, I wasn't expecting to be particularly interested in this posthumous collection of Adams's writings. How wrong can you be? I was immediately bowled over by his extraordinary mind, quirky ideas and stunning prose.

He muses on everything from his Essex schooldays (the agony of being a very tall boy in short trousers) to why dogs ignore one on walks. Here, too, are ten chapters of his longtime work in progress, the new Dirk Gently novel.