Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Toleration Approach to Punctuation

The worst thing about Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss is trying to tell the panda joke to people who haven't read the book. The best thing is her rallying cry:

"Sticklers unite! You have nothing to lose but your sense of proportion (and arguably you didn't have a lot of that to begin with)."

Personally, I'm not exactly a stickler for grammar; I know full well that the language changes constantly and that people who get too hung up about grammar are a pain in the tuckus. On the other hand, I have an uncanny ability to spot most (though certainly not all) grammar problems. In fact, it gets to be a bit embarrassing sometimes (at my last job, I had to strenuously resist becoming the unofficial editor of the company). And it's not even as if I particularly enjoy editing.

I have a suspicion that Eats, Shoots and Leaves is one of those books that a lot of people own (either because they bought it to look more intelligent, or people bought it for their friends as they wished their friends to be more intelligent), but that very few people have read. If you have a copy quietly moldering on your bookshelf, pick it up. I promise you, it is a quick and entertaining read, even if you could care less about the proper use of a semi-colon.

Truss does a great job of explaining simple grammar concepts (e.g. when to use an apostrophe) in a very funny way that sticks with you. Except for the extreme sticklers out there, most people can come away with some new knowledge about grammar after reading this book. (And if there are any extreme sticklers out there, I recommend The Use and Abuse of the English Language by Robert Graves and Alan Hodge; it will give all but the most dedicated and knowledgeable word smiths an inferiority complex.)

Buy this book on Amazon.

Comments

[Alia]

I absolutely loved that book. Had me laughing out loud and wanting to join the Apostrophe Protection Society.

[Tabitha]

:-)