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A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite
by June CasagrandeThe antidote to Eats, Shoots and Leaves - an uproarious and very American language book for those who are tired of getting pulled over by the grammar police
What do suicidal pandas, doped-up rock stars, and a naked Pamela Anderson have in common? They’re all a heck of a lot more interesting than reading about predicate nominatives and hyphens. June Casagrande knows this and has invented a whole new twist on the grammar book.
Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies is a laugh-out-loud funny collection of anecdotes and essays on grammar and punctuation, as well as hilarious critiques of the self-appointed language experts.
Chapters include:
Casagrande delivers practical and fun language lessons not found anywhere else, demystifying the subject and taking it back from the snobs. In short, it’s a grammar book people will actually want to read—just for the fun of it.
Chapter 1
A Snob for All Seasons
Shared Possessives
Grammar snobs come in two forms: amateur and pro. Amateur
grammar snobs are a lot like amateur gynecologists—
they're everywhere, they're all too eager to offer their
services,
and they're anything but gentle. They include the guy at the
party who says, "From where did you get the recipe for this
torte?" and the girl who likes to point out your dangler and
laugh, and the old biddy who was beside herself with malicious
glee the time I accidentally wrote "old bitty."
These people are scary enough, but what's worse is that
there also exists a whole crop of cranks who actually make a
living at being meanies.
Meet James Kilpatrick, syndicated columnist and grammar
grouch extraordinaire. Kilpatrick is a guy who actually writes
stuff like, "It is time, once again, for propounding a paean to
the period. Heavenly dot! Divine orb! Precious pea of
punctuation!
...
If you liked Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies, try these:
by Melvyn Bragg
Published 2006
An enthralling story not only of power, religion, and trade but also of people and how they changed, and continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.
by Lynne Truss
Published 2006
'Who would have thought a book about punctuation could cause such a sensation? Truss serves up a delightful, unabashedly strict and sometimes snobby little book, with cheery Britishisms dotting pages that express a more international righteous indignation.'
by A. J. Jacobs
Published 2005
Part memoir and part education (or lack thereof), The Know-It-All chronicles NPR contributor A.J. Jacobs's hilarious, enlightening, and seemingly impossible quest to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z.
A few books well chosen, and well made use of, will be more profitable than a great confused Alexandrian library.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
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