Status Updates From How to Write a Sentence: An...

So far, some useful info. But what does it mean when I've already come across three typos in a book on writing? Ugh.

It's more of a safari while locked in a van than wild game hunting trip, but I am seeing some fantastic wildlife.

Oop - Middlemarch spoiler! It happens. But that's the last straw. It was nice to read this, but I am taking it back soon.

Index to Latin/Greek references. Those are all that interest me now. I mean to bring this back to the Library this weekend, most likely after meeting with Hannah on Sunday.

I actually like this author, so I am more reluctant to polish it off for the 4th. I probably should eventually read the legendary Strunk & White Elements of Style only heard about. It sounds good. Finally did! ...why haven't I read it yet?

Voice appreciation is fun. That's why I like Pasternak, though Gogol is important for cultural appreciation - I am not going to love every part of that culture, but it's useful. Hm, am I dating the man next door now? I wonder as I read about the girl next door archetype. Tasted nice, somewhat bossy, but taking me to Saint-Saëns so works. This book touches on the same trial about establishment of religion as Wexler.

I think it's good to review! Likely a fast read.

I'm a writer and a lover of sentences. I'm also a former copy editor. I'm surprised that I'm this bored on page 44. Author is spending much more time talking about sentences in abstract than about writing (or even reading) sentences themselves. So far not living up to the title.

"You shall tie yourself to forms and the forms shall set you free."

What can I say...it's well written.

This is more meh than I anticipated

Read a little at a time. Often go back over sections. Getting a lot of value.

I think he just used the Karate Kid movie as an example... :P

I'm loving this so far, it's really interesting!

I do feel like I should set more time aside to focus specifically on reading this book. Just reading a page here and there won't cut it...

I try to read at least one book a year about writing and/or grammar and this is my current choice. I'm enjoying it. I'm surprised by the hate some people express towards the author.

So far, I've found this book interesting, yet it occasionally lacks the ability to keep my attention.

Between Woolf and Ford, additive style of Woolf is "to render the flow and the play of consciousness adrift in the current of changing impression" - I had learnt to use this in the past, and regretting of overuse ever since. To Ford, it "the economy of the sentence - it packs so much", this I'd better learn then, repairing my often scatter train of thoughts caused by Woolf style.

Had I known this book would eventually be written, I would have skipped English class altogether! No, seriously though, it's the missing piece.

I need to read every sentence three times, good stuff.

I've changed my mind.
Stanley Fish is actually a good teacher when it comes to analyzing prose of different famous writers. Furthermore I've learnt jargon's like parataxis and syntaxis, not really necessary as the author himself states 'you don't have to learn it, but it might be useful at a cocktail party.' Aha, every piece of knowledge is valuable.

Aesthetically pleasing hardcover, content so far isn't worth 25 dollars though.

Laurence Stern, to his abuse of additive form: "a seemingly new pattern of unity; not new but as old as humanity: the organic pattern of life" and "I know there are readers in the world...who are no readers at all...because they are not trying to put things together or figure them out". There's difference between intentionally not to & incapable to be aesthetic. Prove first you're masterful enough to be condescending

Subordinating Styles and purposes:
-phrases with similar preposition: connection,completion
-Brevity: unshakable conviction, deliberate wisdom
-parenthetical: delayed progress, reflection
-piling clauses: suspending completion, avoiding final act
-succession of dependent clauses: preliminaries become direct assertions
-rhyming patterns, pairs, interplay between inner and outer, progression: inter-clause effects

"...it behooves us to know what the various styles in our repertoire are for and what they can do." - pg 35

"...the truth is that forms are the engines of creativity...prompting [students]to make moves in their writing they might not otherwise make..."-pg26

Word nerdy and fun

Off to a fantastic start. What a great read!

Fish likes to contradict himself and then point out that he's contradicted himself. Must make him feel smart or something. Not quite condescending, but not humble, either. "Annoying" is the word I'll use. Still, other than that, it's a great read thus far.

The weakest point of this book, so far, is the lack of exercises. The examples are good, but sparse. i.e., the theorizing is solid, the pedagogy is lacking.

What I thought would be a short, quick read has become much more demanding. It requires, no, demands your attention. If you just skim it or let your mind drift off, you'll miss some critical stuff herein. It's like trigonometry for sentences, though a lot more enjoyable.