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crickedcactus's review against another edition
5.0
SUPER FUNNY, and also, I learnt stuff like how the commas are super important and if you move them around, they might create new biblical interpretations: For example
“verily, I say unto thee, This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”
vs
“Verily I say unto thee this day, Thou shalt be with me in Paradise.” (P74, Truss)
The former the comma after “thee” is the Protestant interpretation of the Bible which skips over the concept of Purgatory, while the second with the comma after “they” means to Catholics that Paradise is promised sometime later, after Purgatory. The placement of the comma changes the meaning of the religious text. The more you know!
“verily, I say unto thee, This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”
vs
“Verily I say unto thee this day, Thou shalt be with me in Paradise.” (P74, Truss)
The former the comma after “thee” is the Protestant interpretation of the Bible which skips over the concept of Purgatory, while the second with the comma after “they” means to Catholics that Paradise is promised sometime later, after Purgatory. The placement of the comma changes the meaning of the religious text. The more you know!
lindapatin's review
funny
informative
slow-paced
5.0
This is a reference book about punctuation, YAWN, right? No, it's informative and pretty hilarious!
mindellah's review against another edition
4.0
It’s hilarious; I finally feel seen and understood. If I owned this book, I’d pick it up here and there and read in chunks. But since I’ve borrowed it, I must return it. I can’t seem to read it straight through. I yearned for fiction. I will probably come back to it again sometime to finish.
kruthika_prakash's review against another edition
3.0
3.5⭐️The book introduced me to different uses of punctuation marks—specifically, commas and colons (that were discussed elaborately). I would recommend the Merriam Webster’s punctuation guide over this book as the former gets straight to the point. Although I am a huge language lover, the history of punctuation marks in the first parts didn’t appeal to me particularly because of the redundancy. But I must say that I liked the interesting usage examples in the book. I would recommend this book if you’re curious about punctuation marks.
book_concierge's review against another edition
4.0
Subtitle: A Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation.
Well this was the perfect “geek-read” for me. My writing may not always be correctly punctuated, but I do try to adhere to the general rules of grammar and punctuation. There were more than a few moments when I felt Truss was channeling the good Sisters at Ursuline Academy who first tried to drum those rules into my head.
Truss writes with a delightfully irreverent style, and yet still conveys the seriousness of her purpose. Clearly there is a difference between
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
And
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
It was a fast, enjoyable read, and I think I learned a few things.
Well this was the perfect “geek-read” for me. My writing may not always be correctly punctuated, but I do try to adhere to the general rules of grammar and punctuation. There were more than a few moments when I felt Truss was channeling the good Sisters at Ursuline Academy who first tried to drum those rules into my head.
Truss writes with a delightfully irreverent style, and yet still conveys the seriousness of her purpose. Clearly there is a difference between
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
And
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
It was a fast, enjoyable read, and I think I learned a few things.
alannahjrpurslow's review against another edition
4.0
Funny and informative! I enjoyed it very much.
sksrenninger's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful. Silly British humor mixed with serious concern over punctuation. Easy to read but still interesting and informative!
dharma130's review against another edition
2.0
OMG...I can't take it. I read 25 percent and couldn't take it. She's talking about punctuation and commas, and I swear her punctuation is incorrect! She has punctuation outside quotes and random commas that I just don't get!