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byrenical's review against another edition
5.0
This book tracks one mans journey into madness: The madness of the many illogical punctuation misdemeanours made throughout much of the western world.
More seriously, this is useful, straight to the point and often dripping with disdain for much of humankind. My kind of book.
The examples used are often funny and his anger at the misuse of Latin abbreviations is relatable. Calling much of what he considers poor form as 'grotesque' or 'ghastly' is also a vibe. Here is an excerpt I enjoyed:
As much as I enjoyed and agreed with this book, I have, however, decided to continue to break most writing rules when I see fit [convenient].
More seriously, this is useful, straight to the point and often dripping with disdain for much of humankind. My kind of book.
The examples used are often funny and his anger at the misuse of Latin abbreviations is relatable. Calling much of what he considers poor form as 'grotesque' or 'ghastly' is also a vibe. Here is an excerpt I enjoyed:
The use of unnecessary capital letters when you're trying to be serious can quickly make your prose look idiotic, rather like those content-free books that fill the shelves of the New Age section in bookshops:
Your Eidetic Soul is linked by its Crystal Cord to the Seventh Circle of the Astral Plane, from where the Immanent Essence is transmitted to your Eidetic Aura...
You get the idea. Don't use capital letters unless you're sure you know why it's there.
As much as I enjoyed and agreed with this book, I have, however, decided to continue to break most writing rules when I see fit [convenient].
nickthebooktoker's review against another edition
3.0
A great guide for virtually anything you could ever want to know about punctuation. Useful for being that much more of a perfectionist when it comes to your writing.
juggernaut's review against another edition
4.0
The book is very good in introduction the nuances of punctuation and it takes occasional digs at people who write with improper punctuations. The irony is, the book itself has punctuation error on page 141.
bookblabber_abhi's review against another edition
5.0
The writer calls it a textbook for punctuations. And it definitely is.
ltd's review
funny
informative
fast-paced
3.5
This book is Strunk & White's snarky, British cousin. It is an easy-to-read overview of correct punctuation usage. It includes comparisons of British and American style choices - helpful for an expat like me. Further, it includes strongly-worded commandments and admonishments, such as, "This silly practice [creating a second bibliography] is a pointless waste of time and paper."
I likely have a couple punctuation errors in the above. I would check through the book to make corrections if I were a patient and thoughtful writer.
I likely have a couple punctuation errors in the above. I would check through the book to make corrections if I were a patient and thoughtful writer.
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