false <![CDATA[Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165672357m/8600.jpg 8600 18 We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the Internet, in e-mail, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. This is a book for people who love punctuation and get upset when it is mishandled. From the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, this lively history makes a powerful case for the preservation of a system of printing conventions that is much too subtle to be mucked about with. A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air. "Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. "I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up." The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough finds an explanation. "Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots, and leaves." <b>So, punctuation really does matter, even if it's only occasionally a matter of life and death.</b> 854886 book 2003 Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation total:10336|5:2703|4:4069|3:2691|2:686|1:187| 10336 39423 14653 1572 3 23 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 09:27:18 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 13:06:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 15 false false Mon Dec 03 20:32:51 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 04 18:44:05 -0800 2007
A panda walks into a restaurant and eats a meal. He picks up a pistol, fires it at the waiter, and walks out. As he's leaving, the victim moans, "Why????" The panda says, "I'm a panda; look it u...more...]]> 5 12 false false Mon Jun 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 31 06:52:05 -0800 2008 Sun Aug 02 07:28:21 -0700 2009
...more...]]> 1 7 false false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Tue Jul 31 23:12:27 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 31 23:18:56 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 5 false false Tue Oct 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 12 14:20:35 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 15:31:38 -0700 2008
1. Apostrophe
2. Comma
3. Quotation Marks (single and double)
(Now I understan...more...]]> 4 6 true false Sat Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Jul 26 23:30:25 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 23:30:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 6 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sun Aug 12 15:08:15 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 29 21:11:36 -0700 2008 3 3 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 16:46:50 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 16:50:44 -0800 2008 Even the...more...]]> 4 4 false false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Nov 10 14:43:12 -0800 2007 Tue Feb 19 19:16:12 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 4 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 26 20:55:14 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 29 21:11:37 -0700 2008
At first I thought a zero tolerance approach to punctuation sounded a bit extreme. That is until Truss mentioned one of ...more...]]> 5 4 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Aug 14 12:51:58 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 13 11:49:17 -0700 2009
If you're a stickler for punctuation, if you hav...more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Dec 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 08:45:37 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 06:31:26 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 14 12:16:17 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 21:45:16 -0700 2008
...more...]]> 5 3 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 24 11:33:46 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 24 11:42:26 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1 2 false false Wed Jul 25 11:50:31 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 25 12:52:52 -0700 2007
In particular, her distaste for "emoticons" seems entirely in...more...]]> 1 2 false false Wed Jul 11 06:57:46 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 11 06:59:38 -0700 2007
It's overwhelmingly pretentious. As far as I am concerned, it generally ignores the way language moves to apparent reg...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 20:11:11 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 08:16:02 -0700 2009 1 Lynne Truss’ Eats, Shoots & Leaves is the very best book I’ve read about punctuation. Okay, it’s the only book I’ve ever read about punctuation, but that doesn’t diminish its accomplishment: for 204 pages, it managed to make punctuation not only educational, but also interesting.


Much...

more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 04 07:40:48 -0800 2009 Sun Apr 05 09:43:06 -0700 2009 "Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm...more...]]> 1 2 false false Thu Jul 05 18:00:05 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 12 19:34:45 -0700 2007 1 2 false false Thu Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 02 20:08:24 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 15 18:58:57 -0800 2009
I could probably write a book of equal length (a fluffy and yet tedious 204 pages) going into what a...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=8600