Chris Nicholson's Writing Weblog
July 21, 2007 • Saturday
At Barnes & Noble, two lines of readers extended from the front door, one around each corner of the 70-yard-wide building.
Across the street, the massive mall parking lot was quarter-filled with cars, though only one store — Borders Books and Music — was open.
So I crossed another road, walked into the supermarket, picked up one copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, stood second in line at the cash register, paid and left.
Clever trick on me, though. At 12:40 a.m., I'm far too tired to read.
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July 19, 2007 • Thursday
An excellent article by Sports Illustrated writer S.L. Price appears in Oxford American. The piece, "The Apprentice," details how Price became a sports writer, starting with his experience on his college newspaper, ending with his coverage of the big leagues of all American sports.
The autobiographical component is just that: a component. What the story is really about is what it takes to become a sports writer, and how it feels to be one. It's a great read.
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July 12, 2007 • Thursday
Last night my sister Katie and I saw the new Harry Potter film, ...Order of the Phoenix. We agreed that the movie nailed the tone of the book: dark and brooding. The filmmakers left much of the book out of the script (not all by necessity, I maintain — I think kids who read 800-page books will also sit through 3-hour movies), but they did a much better job with omissions than in the last movie (...Goblet of Fire).
There were a couple of faults in ...Order (Michael Gambon still just doesn't understand Dumbledore's character, and the plot transitions were too quick toward the end), but overall it was an excellent appetizer to next week's release of the final Potter book. Woo hoo! — can't wait!
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July 11, 2007 • Wednesday
An new feature of mine appears in the July/August 2007 issue of USTA Magazine (supplement to Tennis magazine).
The article, "Champions of Equality," covers a brief history of the American Tennis Association — the oldest African-American sports organization in the U.S. — and the 90th anniversary of their national championship.
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July 10, 2007 • Tuesday
Randy Walker, a friend of mine working with New Chapter Press, has just been involved with publishing The Roger Federer Story, Quest for Perfection, the first biography of the tennis star published in the U.S.
For more information, visit RogerFedererBook.com.
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