Michael J. Ritchie's Blog, page 30
October 27, 2019
“The Platform Edge” edited by Mike Ashley (2019)
[image error] “‘There’s a lot in knowing your engine well,’ said the Driver, as he shut the regulator and laid hold of the Westinghouse brake handle.”
What is it about trains that makes them so fascinating? They’ve been around for a long time now and yet have generally had some kind of hold over us. They still seem romantic, dangerous, exciting things that can take us anywhere and give us a whole new adventure. Unless you’re travelling on Southern, of course, like I normally have to. On the other hand, fiction is...
October 19, 2019
“Kismet” by Luke Tredget (2018)
[image error] “The bus to Kilburn is a long time coming, and while waiting Anna looks back and forth between two versions of the Edgware Road, the real and the digital.”
As the chronically single member of my friendship group, I’m the only one who has much experience with dating apps. Most of the people I know seemed to get in just in time and settled down before they could download. I’m not particularly a fan though, as it’s often difficult to maintain a conversation with someone when there’s no need to reply imme...
October 15, 2019
“Death Of A Bore” by M. C. Beaton (2006)
[image error] “There used to be quite a lot going on in a highland village during the long, dark winter months.”
Since I can’t be in Scotland as often as I’d like, it’s time to return via literature. It’s a lot cheaper too, and I get to spend some more time in the company of the delightful PC Hamish Macbeth. Once again, murder has come to Lochdubh, and the village is shaken.
John Heppel is a writer of literary fiction of dubious quality. Based on his youth growing up in the slums of Glasgow, his magnum opu...
October 14, 2019
Six of the Best … Books about death
[image error]Death is one of the certainties of life. Everyone and everything will die, and there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do about it. While in the real world, the two constants seem to be death and taxes, in fiction it’s death and love. Every book I think I’ve ever read contains at least one death and one person in love. Today, however, with Halloween on the horizon, we’ll just be focusing on one of those.
No one knows what happens when we die. I like to imagine that whatever comes next is som...
October 7, 2019
“Mr Commitment” by Mike Gayle (1999)
[image error]“Have I missed something here?”
Commitment is still seen in our culture as a scary word at times. This is particularly skewed towards men, who are viewed as never wanting to grow up, leaving women wondering when the man-child they’re dating is ever going to get down on one knee. Most romance stories seem to deal with this from the female point of view, so thank goodness we’ve got Mike Gayle on hand to share the other side of the story.
Duffy has been dating Mel for four years and is very happ...
October 3, 2019
“Lies Sleeping” by Ben Aaronovitch (2018)
[image error]“His name was Richard Williams and he worked in public relations.”
And so we return to London for another run around magical crime scenes with Peter Grant. Let’s crack on.
We are at the point now where series lock-out has increased so much that if you’ve not read the previous books, nothing here is going to mean anything to you. Grant even says as much on the first few pages. Closing in on Martin Chorley, a wizard who would rather use his powers for evil than good, Peter Grant and his fellow...
September 30, 2019
Six of the Best … Fictional Drinks
[image error]Some people are of the opinion that literature goes best with a cup of tea and a slice of cake. I’m sure that for many people, this is spot on, but I’m afraid I’m not one who agrees. Literature should be paired with alcohol. Books and booze, as I’ve long said, are two of the greatest things that humanity ever came up with, so it seems rude not to enjoy them together. Indeed, my relationship between alcohol and literature was best summed up in a line in Charlie Hill’s novel Books:
“Someone who...
September 25, 2019
“Down And Out In Paris And London” by George Orwell (1933)
[image error]“The Rue du Coq d’Or, Paris, seven in the morning.”
As someone who has long worked in customer service, currently funding my wine and book purchases being a barista and waiter, I’ve long had a sense of community with those seen at the bottom of the pile by many others in society. I’ve never been someone with a high-flying corporate job, or a role that brings in buckets of cash, and in some ways maybe that’s for the better, although there are definitely advantages to having money. One of my co...
September 23, 2019
“You” by Caroline Kepnes (2014)
[image error] “You walk into the bookstore and you keep your hand on the door to make sure it doesn’t slam.”
It is quite amazing how naturally we seemed to take to social media as a species. Granted, a lot of us have become more savvy in recent years and maybe don’t feel the need to “check in” to every location or update the world on every change in mood. After all, you never know who is watching. You came to me originally in the form of a series on Netflix that I devoured. It was just the right type of cr...
September 17, 2019
“The Mystery Of The Blue Train” by Agatha Christie (1928)
[image error] “It was close on midnight when a man crossed the Place de la Concorde.”
In December 1926, Agatha Christie went missing for eleven days before turning up at a hotel miles away from where her car had been abandoned and with, supposedly, no memory of any of it happening. When she returned, her life was in turmoil. Her first husband, Archie, had filed for divorce and Agatha was struggling to cope with this burden (remember, at the time this would have been quite shameful) and having to restart he...