I’m a nerd. You can ask anyone who knows me.
I’m nerdy about a lot of things, but words are my primary geek obsession. I always have loved words. I believe that words, used carefully and correctly, can change the world.
Notice that I wrote “used carefully and correctly”?
Too many times words are used carelessly and incorrectly. We’ve all seen it happen. The possessive (non-existent) it’s or the use of above when the author really means more than are just a couple of usages faux pas that make me crazy.
As you can imagine, my love of words has led me to read a lot of grammar books. Some are helpful. Others are not.
My favorite grammar book was a requirement in my undergraduate news editing class. Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English is just good, nerdy fun.
You will love learning about grammar from Patricia O’Conner, a former New York Times book editor and linguistic expert. The mnemonic devices and examples O’Conner uses make the book an easy read while helping you remember grammar rules. O’Conner’s sense of humor is displayed through the cleverly-named chapters including Plurals Before Swine, Comma Sutra and Verbal Abuse.
The only downside to O’Conner’s book is that you really need your own copy. It is not a book you can just borrow from the library, if you are prone to go that route. You’ll want to add this one to your collection for reading, rereading and referencing.
Let’s Talk Nerdy!
What books do you recommend for learning more about grammar and word usage?
