photocreditI am almost ashamed to write this post, knowing somewhere there will be a mistake. Punctuation Stickler Lynne Truss will be aghast that I read her book, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, on correct punctuation, and I will continue to make errors--probably my whole life. This was a hilarious book at a topic far from comedy: the founding, history, and correct use for different punctuation marks.
The author really knows how to relieve the audience with fits of laughter interspersed between chapters on the exclamation point ( ! ), the apostrophe ( ' ) , and the period (.). Of course, this isn't all her book is about. The reason she wrote this book is to teach the general public on the proper use of these marks and how they change language, tone, and meaning of the written word. She also admitted she cringes when reading signs like, "No Dogs Please", wanting her inner stickler to take a red marker to it and add that ever-needed comma.
I found this 200 page lecture to be entertaining, informative, and quite necessary for my horrible internet-emoticon-using habit I've picked up since, oh, seventh grade. All I need to do now is read a book about grammar usage, and I'll have felt I was refreshed in 9th grade English class. I think I'll put her elementary adaptation on the home-school list for future reference.
I give this book a 4 out of 5 for wit, and impeccable punctuation.
A word for the wise, Inner Sticklers: Don't let your proper punctuation turn into fascism. You'll lose friends over an appropriate mark. Is it worth it? (Or rather, are your friends really your friends if they can't properly place a comma?) You decide.
Comments
Thanks for sharing
Patty