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Reading Order

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Books in Order

All five of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide books in publication order.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy began as a BBC radio comedy and became Douglas Adams's series of comic science fiction novels, later collected as "a trilogy in five parts."

Adams wrote five novels. The books are short and fast, and each one runs straight on from the last.

5 books by Douglas Adams, in publication order.

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The books in order

  1. 1

    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979)

    Arthur Dent is rescued from Earth's demolition by his friend Ford Prefect, who turns out to be from another planet.

    Jim's review

  2. 2

    The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980)

    The second book.

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  3. 3

    Life, the Universe and Everything (1982)

    The third book.

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  4. 4

    So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984)

    The fourth book.

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  5. 5

    Mostly Harmless (1992)

    The fifth book.

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Best Reading Order

Read all five in publication order. The first two are the most famous and are often sold together, but the story continues through all five.

A sixth book, And Another Thing..., was written by Eoin Colfer in 2009 with the approval of Adams's estate. It is an optional extra.

Looking for something similar once you've finished? Browse the read-alike lists or the other series guides.