Love The Restaurant at the End of the Universe? Readers share 82 books like The Restaurant at the End of the Universe...

By Douglas Adams,

Here are 82 books that The Restaurant at the End of the Universe fans have personally recommended if you like The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of All You Zombies: Five Classic Stories

Travis Stecher Author Of Dilation: A 10,000-Year Sci-Fi Epic

From my list on immersive stories centered around time travel.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a writer and musician with a background in mathematics, which is what originally led to my intrigue in cosmology. For writing speculative fiction, Iā€™ve dug into a range of topics from quantum mechanics to cognitive theory, but spacetime had the opposite causality: my interest later spawned my writing. When I first learned about special relativity, many aspects seemed counterintuitive but were mathematically sound, leading me to obsessively read books, watch videos, and perform hours of calculations to get a feel for it. And what draws my adoration most to the cosmos is the quality it shares with dinosaursā€”the more I learn, the more majestic it becomes.

Travis' book list on immersive stories centered around time travel

Travis Stecher Why did Travis love this book?

Iā€™d characterize the title story of this book as having Animal Farm energyā€”a huge idea in a short storyā€”and a prime example of why Heinleinā€™s era is called the ā€œGolden Ageā€ of science fiction. I listened to multiple sections of this story twice after realizing my bearings had been off, slowed the audio to normal speed (I typically listen at 1.25x), and even looked up diagrams online outlining the order of plot events, which exist because this story pushes time travel to its limits.

Completing the story wasnā€™t the end, either. I wanted to read the analysis, discussions, and the aforementioned diagrams. It is a masterfully written, thought-provoking tale whose big reveals and revelations were legitimately jaw-dropping at times.

By Robert A. Heinlein,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked All You Zombies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The story "All You Zombiesā€”" is the basis for PREDESTINATION from Sony Pictures, just released in the US on January 9, 2015, starring Ethan Hawke, directed and written by the Spierig Brothers.

Robert A. Heinlein's brilliance and diverse talents are on display in this collection of five short stories that range from mind-twisters ("All You Zombiesā€”"), paranoia and surprise ("Theyā€”"), hilarious engineering conundrums ("ā€”And They Built a Crooked House"), fantasies ("Our Fair City), and the beautiful, heart-breaking "The Man Who Travelled in Elephants".

"Not only America's premier writer of speculative fiction, but the greatest writer of such fiction in theā€¦


Book cover of The Time Machine

Robert J. Pajer Author Of A Handful of Dust

From my list on various modes of time travel.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a young boy, Iā€™ve been fascinated with the concept of time. Iā€™ve spent hours studying the physics of time as a hobby, and to this day, as an adult, that fascination continues. Whenever the topic of time arises in conversation, I will be the first to contribute my understanding of this mystery that has baffled humankind since the beginning of...well, time.

Robert's book list on various modes of time travel

Robert J. Pajer Why did Robert love this book?

I loved this book because itā€™s the granddaddy of time travel stories that use a machine method of transportation to the past or future. The protagonist creates a machine capable of moving through time without actually moving through space.

I easily suspended my 21st-century pragmatic understanding of time travel and was immersed in Wells's plot for a world of the future, one with a socialist propensity. For a book that would be considered a Novella, this has a ā€˜big storyā€™ feelingā€”for me anyway.

By H.G. Wells,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked The Time Machine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

A brilliant scientist constructs a machine, which, with the pull of a lever, propels him to the year AD 802,701.

Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of The Time Machine features an introduction by Dr Mark Bould.

The Time Traveller finds himself in a verdant, seemingly idyllic landscape where he is greeted by the diminutive Eloi people. The Eloi are beautiful but weak and indolent, and the explorer is perplexed byā€¦


Book cover of The Science of Doctor Who: The Scientific Facts Behind the Time Warps and Space Travels of the Doctor

Colin Stuart Author Of Time: 10 Things You Should Know

From my list on time travel from an expert on time.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m an award-winning astronomy author, writer, and speaker who has talked to over half a million people about the universe, including schools, the public, and businesses. My eighteen books have sold more than 350,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into 21 languages. Iā€™ve written over 200 popular science articles for publications including The Guardian, New Scientist, The Wall Street Journal, and European Space Agency. In recognition of my efforts to popularise astronomy, the asteroid (15347) Colinstuart is named after me. I also won The Margaret Mallett Award for Childrenā€™s Non-Fiction in 2020, was a runner-up in the European Astronomy Journalism Prize and am a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Colin's book list on time travel from an expert on time

Colin Stuart Why did Colin love this book?

I'm a sucker for time travel stories and they don't come much more bountiful than in the long-running TV show Doctor Who. I love it, particularly the juxtaposition between the ancient Gallifreyan's boundless enthusiasm and deep emotional trauma from seeing everyone he (and now she) loves come and go over time. Over the last 60 years, the show has tackled pretty much every paradox and possibility. Brake's book weaves the physics behind the TARDIS into backstage insights into the show.

By Mark Brake,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Science of Doctor Who as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Geek out over the TARDIS, aliens, alternate timelines, parallel worlds, and all your favorite characters from the Doctor Who Universe!

Doctor Who arrived with the Space Age, when the Doctor first began exploring the universe in a time-traveling spaceship. Over half a century since, the Doctor has gone global. Millions of people across this planet enjoy Doctor Who in worldwide simulcast and cinema extravaganzas. Doctor Who has infused our minds and our language and made it much richer.

What a fantastic world we inhabit through the Doctor. The program boils over withballsy women, bisexual companions, scientific passion, and a billionā€¦


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Book cover of The Festival of Sin: and other tales of fantasy

The Festival of Sin by J.M. Unrue,

The Festival of Sin is a three-story light sci-fi arc about a young boy rescued in 6000 BCE and taken to the home planet of the Hudra. Parts two and three are exploratory excursions. It's a fish-out-of-water series. More than fish-out-of-water. Fish-on-another-planet.

Plus, there are two fantasy stories dealing withā€¦

Book cover of The Order of Time

Isabel Hoving Author Of The Dream Merchant

From my list on showing that our world is a wildly different place.

Why am I passionate about this?

My favorite books all show me that reality is much, much richer and stranger than it seems. And that is exactly what makes me write myself. Already as a child, I wanted the world to be different. I longed for the other, richer realities that were, I felt, just around the corner. So I started to travel, to Senegal and beyond, and learn about other peopleā€™s life experiences. When I became a researcher of world literature, it truly came home to me how one-sided my view of the world was. Ouch. Fortunately, there is a wealth of stories out there to tell us about everything we have been blind to. 

Isabel's book list on showing that our world is a wildly different place

Isabel Hoving Why did Isabel love this book?

Carlos Rovelliā€™s The Order of Time is not at all a fantasy bookā€”it is scienceā€”but nevertheless the most inspiring, life changing fantasy Iā€™ve ever read. If I look around me with scientist Rovelliā€™s eyes, I too see that ā€œthe world is made up of networks of kisses, not of stones.ā€ Beautiful, weird, and scientifically accurate. True fantasy! 

By Carlo Rovelli,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Order of Time as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

One of TIME's Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade

'Captivating, fascinating, profoundly beautiful. . . Rovelli is a wonderfully humane, gentle and witty guide for he is as much philosopher and poet as he is a scientist' John Banville

'We are time. We are this space, this clearing opened by the traces of memory inside the connections between our neurons. We are memory. We are nostalgia. We are longing for a future that will not come'

Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us. Philosophers, artists and poets have long exploredā€¦


Book cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Jeremy S. Pratte Author Of FIVE

From my list on science fiction that makes you think and laugh.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always been a creative, imaginative person, and I love creating exciting, fantastical worlds, either through my fine art or the stories I write. As such, I am always intrigued by creations by others that depict all the interesting possibilities of reality. I consume and create fantasy and science fiction tales, which take up the majority of my readings and viewings. But I also love comedy! I love to think and laugh, and when I come across a story that makes me do both, thatā€™s a beautiful double whammy! And I particularly love sci-fi because it isnā€™t just about escapism, but this genre leads to real-world scientific advancements.

Jeremy's book list on science fiction that makes you think and laugh

Jeremy S. Pratte Why did Jeremy love this book?

I love this book because it combines two of my favorite literary subjects: science fiction and humor. Not only is it funny, but it's absurd at times, and absurdity is one of my favorite types of humor. But never fear; the silliness doesn't take over; there's an important story told in this book, and the comedy is just the icing on this sci-fi cake.

When mild-mannered Arthur Dent is rescued from Earth as it's about to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, both he and his rescuer, Ford Prefect, a traveling researcher for the titular Guide, embark on an adventure across space and time. Along with making you laugh, the book also makes you think about all the insane possibilities of existence. 

By Douglas Adams,

Why should I read it?

42 authors picked The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This box set contains all five parts of the' trilogy of five' so you can listen to the complete tales of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Bebblebrox and Marvin the Paranoid Android! Travel through space, time and parallel universes with the only guide you'll ever need, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Read by Stephen Fry, actor, director, author and popular audiobook reader, and Martin Freeman, who played Arthur Dent in film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He is well known as Tim in The Office.

The set also includes a bonus DVD Life, the Universe andā€¦


Book cover of The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

Jeremy S. Pratte Author Of FIVE

From my list on science fiction that makes you think and laugh.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always been a creative, imaginative person, and I love creating exciting, fantastical worlds, either through my fine art or the stories I write. As such, I am always intrigued by creations by others that depict all the interesting possibilities of reality. I consume and create fantasy and science fiction tales, which take up the majority of my readings and viewings. But I also love comedy! I love to think and laugh, and when I come across a story that makes me do both, thatā€™s a beautiful double whammy! And I particularly love sci-fi because it isnā€™t just about escapism, but this genre leads to real-world scientific advancements.

Jeremy's book list on science fiction that makes you think and laugh

Jeremy S. Pratte Why did Jeremy love this book?

Who doesnā€™t love a good cyberpunk novel? Well, I love them! And this is a good one! It depicts a dark and gritty 21st century sci-fi future, which is fine, but now that we are actually in the 21st century and approaching some of the technology featured in the book, it makes it now all the more interesting.

With nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and an interactive book for learning (which now weā€™d just call a tablet like an iPad), it really makes you wonder if we are actually heading for the world of the book. 

By Neal Stephenson,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Diamond Age as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

CULT AUTHOR NEAL STEPHENSON'S UNSTOPPABLE SCI-FI CLASSIC

The future is small. The future is nano . . .

And who could be smaller or more insignificant than poor Little Nell - an orphan girl alone and adrift in a world of Confucian Law, Neo-Victorian values and warring nanotechnology?

Well, not quite alone. Because Nell has a friend, of sorts. A guide, a teacher, an armed and unarmed combat instructor, a book and a computer: the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is all these and much much more. It is illicit, magical, dangerous.

And it isn't Nell's. It was stolen. And nowā€¦


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Book cover of The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel

The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel by Nicholas Ponticello,

Vanderough University prepares its graduates for life on Mars. Herbert Hoover Palminteri enrolls at VU with the hope of joining the Martian colony in 2044 as a member of its esteemed engineer corps. But then Herbert is tapped to join a notorious secret society: the Order of the Scepter andā€¦

Book cover of Timeline

Jeremy S. Pratte Author Of FIVE

From my list on science fiction that makes you think and laugh.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always been a creative, imaginative person, and I love creating exciting, fantastical worlds, either through my fine art or the stories I write. As such, I am always intrigued by creations by others that depict all the interesting possibilities of reality. I consume and create fantasy and science fiction tales, which take up the majority of my readings and viewings. But I also love comedy! I love to think and laugh, and when I come across a story that makes me do both, thatā€™s a beautiful double whammy! And I particularly love sci-fi because it isnā€™t just about escapism, but this genre leads to real-world scientific advancements.

Jeremy's book list on science fiction that makes you think and laugh

Jeremy S. Pratte Why did Jeremy love this book?

I love this book because out of all the time travel tales Iā€™ve watched and read, this one seemed the most plausible. I mean the method of time travel that was used, if time travel to the past is ever possible, the method they use in the book would probably be the means to do it.

So it made me think about that, but it also enlightened me about other aspects of time travel back to the medieval period in England that Iā€™d never considered before: like for instance, the English they spoke would be mostly indecipherable, and youā€™d need a translating device (which, sadly the movie version didnā€™t address). So, it had me thinking a lot about language and how itā€™s evolved over time.

By Michael Crichton,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Timeline as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this thriller from the author of Jurassic Park, Sphere, and Congo, a group of young scientists travel back in time to medieval France on a daring rescue mission that becomes a struggle to stay alive.
 
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
 
ā€œCompulsive reading . . . brilliantly imagined.ā€ā€”Los Angeles Times
 
In an Arizona desert, a man wanders in a daze, speaking words that make no sense. Within twenty-four hours he is dead, his body swiftly cremated by his only known associates. Halfway around the world, archaeologists make a shocking discovery at a medieval site. Suddenly they are swept off toā€¦


Book cover of Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

Jamie Brindle Author Of The Princess In The Tower

From my list on fantasy that is silly but solid at the same time.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love fantasy, particularly comic fantasy. But there's an art to making something that is mind-meltingly silly feel real and meaningful, at the same time. To make it feel solid. If something is too chaotic, too randomly silly, then the narrative integrity disintegrates. You're left feeling, ā€˜yes, I know that the troll has now mysteriously turned into a chicken; but really, whatā€™s the point?ā€™ On the other hand, if the story isnā€™t silly enoughā€¦well, then it becomes straight fantasy, which is wonderful when itā€™s done well, but can feel mundane and derivative when it is not. I've deliberately limited this list to include only two Discworld books. To include any more would seem, wellā€”silly.

Jamie's book list on fantasy that is silly but solid at the same time

Jamie Brindle Why did Jamie love this book?

I first read this when I was a teenager because I loved the TV show. But though the book has a lot of cleverly mad humour, there is more of a melancholy undercurrent here. The science fiction ideas are creatively insane, but they are always brought down to Earth by the palpably flawed characters, which give the whole book a reality it would otherwise lack. This elevates it from whimsical science fantasy to something solid and substantial. For smegā€™s sake, give it a read!

By Grant Naylor,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Red Dwarf as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Awakening from a drunken spree in a London pub to find himself on one of Saturn's moons, Lister joins the Space Corps and boards the Red Dwarf, determined to return to Earth


Book cover of Men at Arms

Jamie Brindle Author Of The Princess In The Tower

From my list on fantasy that is silly but solid at the same time.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love fantasy, particularly comic fantasy. But there's an art to making something that is mind-meltingly silly feel real and meaningful, at the same time. To make it feel solid. If something is too chaotic, too randomly silly, then the narrative integrity disintegrates. You're left feeling, ā€˜yes, I know that the troll has now mysteriously turned into a chicken; but really, whatā€™s the point?ā€™ On the other hand, if the story isnā€™t silly enoughā€¦well, then it becomes straight fantasy, which is wonderful when itā€™s done well, but can feel mundane and derivative when it is not. I've deliberately limited this list to include only two Discworld books. To include any more would seem, wellā€”silly.

Jamie's book list on fantasy that is silly but solid at the same time

Jamie Brindle Why did Jamie love this book?

This is the second book in the Guards sequence, but itā€™s easy enough to start here. This detective story set in the sprawling, smelly metropolis of Ankh-Morpork, featuring dwarves, werewolves, and (occasionally) humans, is a laugh-out-loud and anarchic book, managing to be hugely joyous and page-turningly compelling at the same time. Insanely silly and utterly real, with characters so solid you can see (or in some cases, smell) them long after you turn the last page.

By Terry Pratchett,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Men at Arms as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There's evil in the air and murder afoot. The City Watch needs all the help it can get, as Captain Vimes is about to hang up his badge. From the author of "Small Gods" and "Lords and Ladies", this book is part of the "Discworld" humorous fantasy series.


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Book cover of Oops (They Woke the Gods)

Oops (They Woke the Gods) by Biff Mitchell,

Roman mythology stampedes into the present as the Gods of Elysium wake up after two thousand years sleeping from a spell gone wrong. Hell breaks loose on Earth as demons from Hades wreck havoc in a war against the mortals that threatens to start a war between the Gods themselves.ā€¦

Book cover of Fortunately, the Milk

Callie C. Miller Author Of The Hunt for the Hollower

From my list on whimsical fantasy romps for middle grade and YA.

Why am I passionate about this?

After a lifetime of reading fantasy, I have a career professionally writing fantasy! Whether itā€™s for animation, video games, or childrenā€™s books, crafting adventures in worlds of whimsy and wonder is a treat. Writing has sharpened my senses to recognize and appreciate well-crafted stories in all their forms, and the books on this list are some of the very finest romps.

Callie's book list on whimsical fantasy romps for middle grade and YA

Callie C. Miller Why did Callie love this book?

Silliness is one of my favorite things, and it doesnā€™t get much sillier than when a run-of-the-mill trip to buy milk turns into a madcap adventure.

There are dinosaurs! And pirates! And aliens! This book is a delightful escape, and Skottie Youngā€™s illustration perfectly capture the romp of it all.

By Neil Gaiman, Skottie Young (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Fortunately, the Milk as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

From multi-award-winning Neil Gaiman comes a spectacularly silly, mind-bendingly clever, brilliantly bonkers adventure - with lip-smackingly gorgeous illustrations by Chris Riddell. Mum's away. Dad's in charge. There's no milk. So Dad saves the day by going to buy some. Really, that's all that happens. Very boring. YAAAAAAAAAWN. There are absolutely none of the following inside: GLOBBY GREEN ALIENS! INTERGALACTIC POLICE! PIRATES! And most definitely NOT a time-travelling hot-air balloon piloted by the brilliant Professor Steg ... Don't miss this gloriously entertaining novel about time-travel, dinosaurs, milk and dads.


Book cover of All You Zombies: Five Classic Stories
Book cover of The Time Machine
Book cover of The Science of Doctor Who: The Scientific Facts Behind the Time Warps and Space Travels of the Doctor

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