On the 11th of May, 2001, the English Language lost one of its cleverest and most entertaining writers: Douglas Adams."We have normality ... I repeat we have normality ... anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem."
While The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy books were not his only works, they were his most famous creations. We have all five parts of the trilogy available for loan (including first editions of the trilogy back when it only had three parts).
You may not be aware that The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy was originally a radio series, which was later adapted for the books (and the TV series, stage shows and movie).
The second half of the radio series contains material which was never adapted for any other format, including a statue held in the air by the power of art, a planet in which humans evolved into birds to escape shoe salesmen, and a cloning machine can never be switched off - producing an ever-increasing number of clones.
Science fiction fans, and fans of radio drama, may be interested to know that we have a copy of the scripts for the radio series.
The radio scripts are worth reading for the clever and amusing dialogue, or for the history of science fiction on radio, or for fans of British comedy, or the the Douglas Adams fans who want to read more adventures written by their hero...
But it's also a really good resource for anyone who wants to learn about writing for radio. Radio scripts are a little bit different to scripts written for film, TV or the stage - and seeing a script that was actually bought and produced by the BBC is a great way to see how radio scripts are put together. The book also contains trivia about the making of the radio series.
"Oh, dear, I think you'll find reality's on the blink again."
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