Michael J. Ritchie's Blog, page 16
July 24, 2021
“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote (1965)
“The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call ‘out there’.”
I love a good murder story, as well you know, but these days my interests lie far more with fictional deaths and real ones. While undoubtedly interesting, I think I burnt out a few years ago when every fifth podcast seemed to be about unsolved crimes. There’s only so many times you can hear these stories, and the truth is what really makes a good story is a grea...
July 19, 2021
“Goodbye, Chunky Rice” by Craig Thompson (2004)
“Clunk.”
My occasional foray into graphic novels doesn’t disappoint, and I should really read some more. The stories they tell are no less important than those we get other ways, and it’s an unfortunate soul who dismisses them as such. Here’s one.
Chunky Rice is a small turtle who spends his days playing on the shore with his good friend, Dandel the mouse. But nothing can stay the same for ever, and the shy, quiet turtle must head off for pastures new to find out where he belongs. As t...
July 18, 2021
“Faust Among Equals” by Tom Holt (1994)
“The Laughing Cod in downtown Hlidarend is rated as one of north-east Iceland’s premier restaurants.”
The world needs more funny writers. There seems to be a notion that funny fiction is out of fashion right now, with emphasis on “worthy” and earnest stories. Of course they have their place, but for me books are about escapism and with the world being so assuredly worrying, sad and terrible at the moment, we’re going to need the likes to Tom Holt to make sure we don’t entirely lose sight ...
July 11, 2021
“Proximity” by Jem Tugwell (2019)
“For the first time in ten years, the real me walked free.”
Imagine if not only your phone knew where you were all the time, but the police knew too. Imagine if your FitBit not only tracked your exercise, but also caused vending machines and pubs to refuse you service if you’d consumed a bit too much junk food or alcohol. Imagine if your Peloton screamed at you if you didn’t exercise every morning. Welcome to the world of Proximity.
Some time in the future, everyone in the UK is on iMe...
July 5, 2021
“Murder In The Mews” by Agatha Christie (1937)
“Penny for the guy, sir?”
I’m back with another Agatha Christie review. One day I’ll have reviewed the lot and stop, don’t worry.
In this book, we get four short stories from Christie, each featuring Hercule Poirot. In the title story, “Murder in the Mews”, we discover a woman found dead in her flat, having apparently killed herself, with no one hearing the gunshot because it took place on Bonfire Night, and who would notice one more bang? In “The Incredible Theft”, no one dies but we ...
July 4, 2021
“Wordwatching” by Alex Horne (2010)
“I love words.”
Alex Horne is probably best known these days for being the downtrodden genius behind Taskmaster, probably the greatest television show ever. Prior to this, however, he wrote a couple of books. The first was dedicated to birdwatching, and in his second, he turned his attention to the world of words, setting himself a single goal: get a word into the dictionary.
Deciding that, as he approaches his thirtieth birthday, that it’s time to make his mark on the world, Alex find...
June 19, 2021
“The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster (1962)
“There once was a boy named Milo who didn’t know what to do with himself – not just sometimes, but always.”
Sometimes when the world gets a bit too much (as it seems to be doing on a regular basis at the moment) it’s a good idea to take refuge in children’s literature. Books for kids are often sneered at by “proper readers”, but this is foolish, as all readers begin somewhere and children’s books – the really good ones anyway – never speak down to their audience and are full of enormous w...
June 18, 2021
“Weekend At Thrackley” by Alan Melville (1934)
“The alarm clock at Mr Henderson’s left ear gave a slight warning twitch and then went off with all its customary punctuality and power.”
The British Library continues to do the Lord’s work by digging out forgotten gems from the Golden Age of crime writing. I’ve read and adored Alan Melville before, so was thrilled to return to him at long last.
When Jim Henderson is invited to the country house of Thrackley, he has no idea who Edwin Carson might be or why the invite has reached him. N...
June 13, 2021
“All My Colors” by David Quantick (2019)
“It was a Saturday night in March of 1979 in DeKalb, Illinois, and Todd Milstead was being an asshole.”
Sometimes creators get ideas that feel so good and so real that they wonder if they stole it from someone else by mistake. Legend goes that Paul McCartney dreamed the tune to “Yesterday” and was so convinced it already existed, he asked people for a year if they recognised it before writing it himself. That all turned out quite harmless, but what if there was something more sinister at ...
May 31, 2021
“Brand New Friend” by Mike Gayle (2005)
“‘Do you want to hear an interesting fact?’ said Jo.”
When in doubt, go back to Mike Gayle. He’s one of the most comforting writers I know, and this is one of the first books I remember reading in adulthood. I think I’d put off reading it again for so long because it was what got me into his work in the first place, and I was worried it wouldn’t have lived up to my memory. Unfortunately, I will be laying the spoilers on pretty thick later on, so consider that your final warning.
With t...
