Michael J. Ritchie's Blog, page 27

“Before The Coffee Gets Cold” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (2019)

[image error] Oh gosh, is that the time?

I think we all sometimes want to have access to a time machine. Wed like to go back and explore older times, or have one more day with those weve lost, or maybe skip ahead a few years and see if things really do get better. Its a bleak time at the moment on planet Earth, so escapism is key to staying sane during the next couple of months, whether were quarantined or not. (Note to readers from the future: This post is being written during the rise of the coronavirus...

“You Took The Last Bus Home” by Brian Bilston (2016)

[image error] you took the last bus home

Just a quick little review today. Im not particularly good when it comes to poetry. It was my weakest module on my university course, and Ive really struggled to find some that I like over the years. There are exceptions, of course, and I can now at Brian Bilston to my list of poets I enjoy, along with Spike Milligan and John Cooper Clark.

I first encountered Bilston on Twitter where he shares some of his topical poetry, and hes a delight to follow. Warm and witty,...

“Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier (1938)

[image error] “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”

My journey through the Western canon has been sporadic. Sometimes I stumble onto something I like very much. Other times, I read Thomas Hardy. The trouble is that when everyone is telling you something is really good, it raises your expectations. You also come to think that you know the story. However, as I learnt from the likes of Frankenstein or Catch-22, what I thought I knew barely touched the surface or was wildly incorrect. That was how I...

“The Last” by Hannah Jameson (2019)

[image error] “Nadia once told me that she was kept awake at night by the idea that she would read about the end of the world on a phone notification.”

I never learn. Why did I think it was a good idea to read another dystopia during the rise of an international virus that the media are touting as the scariest thing ever? And why did I think that the same book would be a sensible thing to read while staying in a hotel alone all weekend, when it’s also a thriller set in a hotel? Suffice to say, my...

“My Legendary Girlfriend” by Mike Gayle (1998)

[image error]“Mr Kelly, which football team do you support?”

Recently I’ve been having a bit of a wobble regarding the bigger questions in my life. Am I where I thought I’d be at this age (not helped by my birthday looming over me)? Have I made the right choices? Am I on the path to something better? Should I have another drink? When you feel low, it’s all too easy to sink even deeper, and Will Kelly, the protagonist of My Legendary Girlfriend, has just about reached rock bottom.

Stuck in a job he hates,...

“Mr Lonely” by Eric Morecambe (1981)

[image error]“It was Tuesday morning.”

Following the recent news that Simon Cowell is due to “write” a series of children’s books with his son, it’s stirred up feelings among the literati on Twitter regarding celebrities getting publishing contracts. Some of them can write, you can’t deny that, but it’s pretty rich when there are so many people out there who want nothing but to write getting looked over in favour of celebrities who have never publicly mentioned that desire before. Plus, the cynic in me...

“Elevation” by Stephen King (2019)

[image error]“Scott Carey knocked on the door of the Ellis condo unit, and Bob Ellis (everyone n Highland Acres still called him Doctor Bob, although he was five years retired) let him in.”

I have a love/hate relationship with Stephen King but, then again, I think everyone does. Sure, there is no denying his talent, but when you churn out as many books as he does, they can’t all be winners. Having been bitten in the past, but also having enjoyed others, I took a chance on his new book, Elevation, partly...

“The Death Of Mrs Westaway” by Ruth Ware (2018)

[image error] “The magpies are back.”

I long for the day someone appears and hands me a big cheque informing me that I’ve won or inherited a lot of money and life will be a bit easier now. That kind of thing only happens in fiction though, and is the catalyst for the events of The Death of Mrs Westaway.

Harriet “Hal” Westaway is a young woman with a problem. Orphaned at eighteen and now three years on reading tarot cards on a Brighton pier and never quite knowing where the next rent money is coming from,...

“The Long War” by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter (2013)

[image error] “On an alternate world, two million steps from Earth: The troll female was called Mary by her handlers, Monica Jansson read on the rolling caption on the video clip.”

It’s another one of those posts that’s about a sequel. Go and read The Long Earth and then come back here. Done that? Great. Welcome! On we go…

It’s been twenty-five years since Step Day, the fabled day that people learned they could step to parallel Earths where they have access to all the space and resources they could wish...

“How Fiction Works” by James Wood (2008)

[image error] “The house of fiction has many windows, but only two or three doors.”

I saw someone on Twitter the other day declaring that “everyone can write”. This was in a discussion about how much one should pay a copywriter to work for them. I argued, “Everyone can type. Not everyone can write.” I like to think of myself as someone who can write (and I’ve managed to write a blog for seven years and publish two novels, so there must be something in this) but I’m still learning and I don’t think we ever...