At least once a week I try to thank someone formally for having a positive impact on my life. What’s weird about this task today is that I am going to thank someone who has no idea that I exist. And who will likely never receive my thank you.
But it needs to be done.
Earlier this year I was visiting an uncle who lives in Central California and we were discussing our mutual love of reading. He mentioned starting a new book that he was really enjoying. A book called Rivers of London.
A few weeks later I picked up this book through my library and it was quite literally love at first sight. And by this I mean the cover was captivating. Whimsical drawings of a city I had visited once and become instantly enamored with (yes it’s a personality fault this love at first sight stuff).
I love London for its deep history, for its immense range of restaurants and for its people. Walking down the streets to hear dozens of languages spoken is a dream fulfilled for me.
Rivers of London turned out to be the perfect blend of fantasy and reality, of past and present, and of fun and gravity. The main characters have deep knowledge of interesting subjects- architecture, history, language, cars, fashion and, of course, rivers.
Imagine my extreme joy in discovering that this was no solo book, but part of a lengthy series, each one more wonderful than the previous one! I have now spent the summer ferreting out the books at the library, one by one, then delaying the start of each read as long as possible to prolong the anticipation.
If these books were chocolate truffles, I would spend an hour just smelling the aroma before taking that first tentative microbite, wanting to prolong the joy of consuming them.
Ridiculous I know but when you find a series like this, intricate and beautiful and intelligent beyond description, there is only one thing to do. Well maybe two.
First read the damn things and love every minute. and then thank the author profusely for sharing such wondrous creations with readers.
So Ben Aaronovitch, thank you a million times for the imagination and creative drive that led to the Rivers of London book series. My life will forever be the better for these stories.
Ben Aaronovitch
Rivers of London