Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[imchongjun]

Hello, teachers.
My question is: when do you use the phrase "while I think of it"? My favorite author Neil Gaiman writes in his blog that "While I think of it, there's a bit in the Washington Post Book World about comfort fiction, in which a dozen authors (me included) talk about the books we turn to for comfort." I checked the expression with Google and found that it is used very frequently. What does this mean? Is it similar to "by the way"?

[Anuradha Chepur]

It could be similar to by the way.
OR
It could imply that what follows the expression, "while I think of it," is a spontaneous thought, opinion, etc.: You say something while simultaneously thinking about it and you didn't think about it earlier.

I also think it could be similar to discourse markers like Well. . ., Actually. . ., In my opinion. . .etc., used mostly in spoken communication, when the speaker is buying that little time he needs to organise his thoughts.