Douglas Adams and his books

The birthday of the brilliant Douglas Adams falls on the 11th of March in the other hemisphere, so I write this today. Those who know him better have many a kind word to say about the man. I didn't know him at all. I was just an avid reader of his works through my younger years.

So instead of saying many a kind word I will say this: He never wrote a dud so read them all. 

Hitch-Hikers Guide to the GalaxyThe Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, 1979.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, 1980.
Life, the Universe and Everything, 1982.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, 1984.
Mostly Harmless, 1992.
And Another Thing..., 2009. Finished with the help of Eoin Colfer.

Hitch-Hiker Scripts
Hitchhikers Companion Original Galaxy Radio Scripts, 1985.
The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts, 1987.

Hitch-Hikers Guide - Radio Scripts, 1985.
The Hitchhiker Radio Scripts 2, 2005.

Dirk Gently
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, 1987.
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, 1988.
The Salmon of Doubt: And Other Writings, 1995.

Novels

Starship Titanic, 1997. Collaboration with Terry Jones.

Non fiction

The Meaning of Liff, 1983. Collaboration with John Lloyd.
Last Chance to See, 1990. Collaboration with Mark Carwardine.

The Deeper Meaning of Liff: A Dictionary of Things That There Aren't Any Words for Yet, 1990. Collaboration with John Lloyd.

Douglas Adams's Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 1999.
Douglas Adams at the BBC, 2003.

Anthologies edited

The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book, 1986. Collaboration with Peter Fincham.

Series contributed to

Doctor Who, Pirate Planet Script, 1994.

Doctor Who, Eighth Doctor, Shada, 2003.

Short stories

The Total Perspective Vortex, 1980.

Young Zaphod Plays It Safe, 1986.

Tea and the imagination: a writer's guide

Studies show (I hate writing that but apparently studies show...) that tea is good for a great many things but I use it primarily to wake me up and to focus. It is my saviour on zombie mornings and my preferred method of relaxing when I've overdone the brain pan.

The reason I began with studies show was because I thought I'd say more than "I like tea" and "I'm dying for a cup of tea right now". So, tea is said to boost mental alertness, which explains things for me. It contains the amino acid L-theanine, which actively alters the attention networks of the brain,  as found by human trials begun in September 2007 (I wouldn't mind being a subject in that test). It has been proposed that theanine affects the brain's neurotransmitters, increasing alpha brain-wave activity. That apparently just means that tea makes you calmer and yet more alert.

On to caffeine. The caffeine content in a cup of green tea is generally between 15 and 50 mg. Caffeine consumption has been found to help reduce the likelihood of Parkinson's disease and provide a temporary increase in the drinker's short term memory. Of interest, caffeine consumption has been linked with the reduction in duration and severity of headaches. No wonder my zombie-mode disappears fairly quickly after drinking tea.

Personally, I find my thinking clears and I can make connections that I otherwise wouldn't. Also, if I ever stop I'd likely melt into a puddle but that is by the by. In short, I need tea to write effectively and to break through those times when the blank screen seems to be taunting me.

Don't forget to practice a little imagination and “read” your tea leaves. Even if you can’t do so using the traditional methods, you can just make it up. "I see a bird... or is it a plane. Travel in the future? Or super powers."

Just a note on tea for your benefit:

If you add citrus juice to your tea the antioxidant catechins are absorbed into the bloodstream at a greater rate, amongst other things. If you add milk on the other hand you will block the normal healthy effects of tea in protecting your cardiovascular system. Both types of tea have benefits so you could pick your benefits with your tea, mixing and matching as you please.

Now, I'm going to have that tea.