Tracey's review
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
by Lynne Truss
Tracey's review
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
Tracey's review
rating:
bookshelves:
libraryread
By writing this book, Ms. Truss encourages grammar and punctuation sticklers to unite in protesting the current laxity in writing. After presenting numerous examples of mangled and missing punctuation, she lists and discusses the basic rules for punctuation, as well as the history of the various marks. She mixes indignation and humour in proportion, never taking herself too seriously.
Punctuation, on the other hand, she takes quite seriously; she believes that without it, communication cannot be quite reliable or clear. More of a self-help manual than a style guide, the writing is crisp and clear... and very British. I find myself being more cautious of my commas and more sensible about my semicolons, dithering over dashes and pausing before parenthizing.
Recommended to lovers of the written word whose blood pressure spikes upon seeing signs such as "A1 Vacuum's" and "Have It You're Way"
The joke the title is based on, just in case you've never heard it:
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter.
'Why?' groans the injured man. 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."
And sure enough, when the waiter consulted the book, he finds an explanation. 'Panda,' ran the entry for his assailant. 'Large black and white mammal native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.'
...more
Punctuation, on the other hand, she takes quite seriously; she believes that without it, communication cannot be quite reliable or clear. More of a self-help manual than a style guide, the writing is crisp and clear... and very British. I find myself being more cautious of my commas and more sensible about my semicolons, dithering over dashes and pausing before parenthizing.
Recommended to lovers of the written word whose blood pressure spikes upon seeing signs such as "A1 Vacuum's" and "Have It You're Way"
The joke the title is based on, just in case you've never heard it:
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter.
'Why?' groans the injured man. 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."
And sure enough, when the waiter consulted the book, he finds an explanation. 'Panda,' ran the entry for his assailant. 'Large black and white mammal native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.'
...more
