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| Karen Elizabeth Gordon |
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| Lynne Truss |
As I have been obsessing a little about grammar and such, I
am reminded of two of my favorite writers – Karen Elizabeth Gordon and Lynne
Truss.
If you are uncertain about your grounding in grammar, punctuation, or
usage (and if you went to school between the late sixties and the 1980s, you
probably should be), you should seek out the works of these two clever women.
Unlike the inimitable (and insufferable) Elements of
Style, Gordon’s and Truss’ books are funny and encouraging. 
Gordon’s The
Transitive Vampire: a Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the
Doomed came to my rescue back when I was struggling to teach that which I had
never been taught. It has since been released in an updated edition, and joins
her other books exploring the English language in all its unruly glory.
Twenty years after Gordon’s Vampire created a subgenre for
funny grammar books, Lynne Truss’ Eats, Shoots & Leaves burst on the
scene to amuse and convict all of us about our increasingly-casual approach to
punctuation.
Gordon’s books address a broader range of issues and have
the distinct advantage of indices, while Eats, Shoots and & Leaves
is more of a “why” than a “how” book and may inspire the reader to taking up a
crusade (the chapter on Apostrophes inspired Kathy and I in our surreptitious
attacks on posters and signs in a number of Boston hospitals).
You should probably still keep a copy of the AP Stylebook on
your shelf, but spending some time with these funny Ladies of Grammar will almost
certainly make you a better – and happier – writer.
2 comments:
Hey...didn't you notice I kinda said I liked that book last week?
As the kids say, JK. I'll have to search for the Vampire book. They're all the rage now. Or, were.
Well, I just found out that if you try to post a quote with > or < it disappears.
My opening referred to your comment: "Unlike the inimitable (and insufferable) Elements of Style"
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