Chris Nicholson's Writing Weblog
December 25, 2005 • Sunday
Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hanukkah.
permanent link
December 20, 2005 • Tuesday
My Christmas gift to you: The Twinkies Project.
permanent link
December 14, 2005 • Wednesday
Tired of news that's depressing, negative, inflammatory?
Check out my new favorite website, HappyNews.com, which runs only stories that are positive and inoffensive.
Current headlines include "Oldest Maya mural uncovered in Guatemala," "Iraqi expatriates to vote" and "Study: Tea may help fight ovarian cancer." Apparently there's some good going on in the world.
permanent link
December 12, 2005 • Monday
Randy Cohen and Nigel Holmes of The New York Times Book Review have compiled an online "Literary Map of Manhattan."
The map includes 99 excerpts from literature that deal with specific locations in the New York City borough. Writers quoted include John Updike, Mark Twain, Stephen King, J.D. Salinger and E.B. White.
permanent link
December 11, 2005 • Sunday
Often, the stories in books are altered when derived into films. Sometimes the changes are an improvement, sometimes a detriment.
In 2002 I saw the movie About a Boy. Early this morning I finished reading the Nick Hornby novel (also titled About a Boy) that the film was based on. The destination of the plotline was changed so much for the film that I cannot have an opinion about whether the changes were an improvement. The novel and the film were just too different.
When I began reading the book, my interest in the text fluctuated; the chapters alternate between points-of-view of Will, the lead man, and Marcus, the boy. I could relate to the former, but was bored by the latter. However, once I was enveloped by the plot, the dichotomy no longer bothered me. I cared about the characters and enjoyed the rest of the novel.
Good read.
permanent link
December 09, 2005 • Friday
According to an article in MedPage Today, a study has shown that drinking coffee improves memory.
From what I can tell, drinking coffee generally reminds me to drink more coffee.
permanent link
December 08, 2005 • Thursday
I recently read Steve Martin's second novel, The Pleasure of My Company.
I ignored his first novel, Shop Girl. I flipped through it in a book store once, and quickly agreed with the poor reviews I’d heard.
But when Pleasure was released, the reviews concurred that Martin’s novel-writing skills had notably improved — in fact, one review I read claimed that the book was very well-written. So I bought it.
That was about two years ago. I finally read the book last month.
True to reviews, Pleasure delivered. At first the novel had the feel of a very long humor column; its tone was equal to that of the excellent "Shouts & Murmurs" pieces that Martin wrote for The New Yorker in the 1990s.
Pleasure was funny enough to make me laugh out loud ... reading alone ... in bed ... at 2 in the morning. What surprised me was that after 70 pages of laughing, I realized I was in the middle of a cleverly crafted character study.
I not only enjoyed the humor and the character, but I also enjoyed Martin's prose. He is gifted at choosing perfect words and at creating precise phrases.
I highly recommend reading this novel.
permanent link
|
