- The Richest Children’s Book Prizeis not as financially driven as it sounds. In fact, it’s awarded to a body of work that “upholds the highest artistic quality and evokes the deeply humanistic spirit that Astrid Lindgren treasured”. Find out who wins in 2009.

- Read a neat interview with Eragon’s author – Christopher Paolini .

Book: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Author: Douglas Adams

Genre: Sci Fi

Julia Rating: 9 (for humor)

Comments:
Douglas Adams introduces Dirk Gently – a private detective who does his work “holistically” (meaning he believes that if one thing happens in his life, he’s bound to have other things happen which have something to do with that thing). This makes for huge bills – since everything he does is supposed to have something to do with solving the problem of his client.

Dirk finds himself at St. Cedd’s College with an old Professor, who insisted on being called Reg, and a wayward horse. He is flung in an adventure through time (Hitchhiker’s Guidestyle), opening up a portal to… somewhere else and letting a thing called The Electric Monk through. Apparently, The Electric Monk’s chief function is to believe people and tell them that he does believe them. This, of course, can create some inconsistencies in his belief system and therefor causes issues with earthlings.

This book has my favorite description EVER. When describing Reg, Douglas Adams says: “The other was small, roundish, and moved with an ungainly restlessness, like a number of elderly squirrels trying to escape from a sack.”

Douglas Adams always takes me on a wild journey through very improbable territory and I find his books fun – though sometimes it’s honestly very hard to remember what they are really about. He is always very funny and have an offbeat sense of humor – so if you like any of his work, you’ll like this book.