I saw Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog recommended on a friend’s Goodreads list, put it on my To Read list and my Amazon wish-list, then forgot about it until my brother gave it to me for my birthday a few months ago. I’d started it a while back, but then had to put it down when work and life got a little busy. Now that things are a little quieter, and I saw a recent article about the Oxford comma being declared legally necessary (a decision […]
This one is for the English majors.
Due to the tastes of my book club, I have read more non-fiction and more memoirs this year. Some haven’t worked out for me (fashion. No thank you) but this one faired much better. As is probably common for a reader, I was an English major in college and so this book, about grammar and the life of Mary Norris, The New Yorker copy editor was compelling thought it was a slow start. A slooooow start. Also, if you are an audiobook person, members of my […]
The Talk was Better than the Book: An Almost Eternal Journey
I should admit I had expectations going into this book. I had the privilege of hearing the author, Steven Pinker, speak during a tour for this book, and the talk was amazing. It was smart and entertaining, and I was hoping for the same from the book. The book is smart all right, but it’s soooo dense that the entertainment is mostly gone. I like language and grammar, and I’m pretty good with them. I have graduate degrees in both English and Latin. And even […]
Confessions of a Comma zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I try really hard not to be “that guy” when it comes to grammar. I don’t have enough friends to play with fire and correct every grammatical mistake that flies out of their mouths. But like most voracious readers, I notice when these errors pop up. These days I work at a publishing company, where we pore over every minute detail. It’s pretty common here to see a production assistant with her face practically buried in a draft, searching for any errant commas to vanquish. […]