http://pro-libertate.net/20110105/148-read-it-was-best-sentences-it-was-worst-se... ( )

It was the best of grammar books, it was the worst of grammar books, it was full of wisdom, it was full of silliness, it apologetically introduced complex grammar terminology, it never made much use of all this notation, it concentrated on The Sentence, it concentrated on most aspects of writing since writing is made up of sentences, it had everything to get you started, it had references to get you finished, our writing was going direct to Heaven, our writing was all going direct the other way – in short, the book was so far like every other witty short grammar book, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. ( )

It was the best of grammar books, it was the worst of grammar books, it was full of wisdom, it was full of silliness, it apologetically introduced complex grammar terminology, it never made much use of all this notation, it concentrated on The Sentence, it concentrated on most aspects of writing since writing is made up of sentences, it had everything to get you started, it had references to get you finished, our writing was going direct to Heaven, our writing was all going direct the other way – in short, the book was so far like every other witty short grammar book, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. ( )

Yes! YES! I had a gift certificate! I got the latest June Casagrande romp! If you haven't read her, she's a goddess! If you have read her, she's still a goddess -- you just didn't need me to tell you! Don't let the title put you off. Even if you're not a writer, READ THIS BOOK. ( )

Why I read it: Passed it in the library. I was curious what an entire book about sentences could even be filled with (to differentiate itself from, say, a grammar book), especially as someone who loves playing with sentences on the (rare) occasions that she writes creatively. Figured at most I'd skim the table of contents for a handful of chapters of interest and glance through them.

Pros: I actually ended up either reading or skimming through the entire thing. The book does have a lot of grammar explanation, but (at least initially) explains the grammar to help readers understand the different parts sentences are made from so they can experiment with them. Stresses not following writing/grammar rules but knowing how to follow them, so that any bending or breaking of them can be done purposefully rather than from ignorance and clumsiness. Tone is lighthearted and conversational, sometimes even funny.

Cons: The book focuses primarily on how to cut common mistakes out of sentences, and swap around sections (clauses/phrases/words) to improve readability. While the book does give nod to great sentences that break the rules semi-frequently, it would still be better described as (rather than a "guide to crafting killer sentences" as it states on the cover) a guide to not crafting crap sentences. This was especially true in the latter half of the book when many of the chapters could be summed up as "and here's another mistake I see all the time as an editor that you generally should not do."

Conclusion: As a former linguistics student, I am to language as the mischievous child left unattended with a radio and screw driver. I like to pull the thing apart and see all the bits and pieces work together to make the whole chunks we use unthinking every day and take for granted. This book--at least some chapters of it--did satisfy that urge in me. Still, I'd rather have read a book about how to create great sentences, and seen more analysis into the murkier waters of things like rhythm and tone versus grammar. But even if the scope of the book is more modest than it appears, there isn't a person out there who doesn't regularly create crap sentences, so it's not as if there isn't something to be taken from here.

On the other hand, as a sometimes-writer, I never expected to actually learn anything from this I didn't already have some awareness of, and indeed I didn't. Still, it does heighten that awareness of the building blocks of a sentence, which is something I always enjoy having more of, and I think can be helpful for writers--both for th purpose of not creating crap sentences, as well as creating great ones. ...As to why I pretty much read the entire book when I sound a bit underwhelmed by the contents... It was that easy, humorous tone and, well... The writing was all just so very readable. ( )