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khornstein1's review
3.0
I feel like I should have liked this better...I have a real nerdly interest in grammar and the history of the English language. The book starts off well; I was sort of interested in Norris's career at the New Yorker...but we didn't really learn much about it. And I was disappointed to find that all the "rules" of grammar at the New Yorker were way more...fluid? than I thought they would be and, in fact, were sometimes developed at the whim of various staff members.
Pencils...I have obsessions like that as well: ask me about my binder clip collection! But I get the joke--it doesn't need to go on and on. I am also aware that the absurdity of certain "rules" that even the highbrow world of elite magazine publishing cannot even agree on, are things I find myself trying to explain to adults who (whom?) I tutor for the high school equivalency exam. Many times I am telling them, (about commas for instance...) "this is just the way it is on the Hi-Set--there's no reason for it! Just memorize it!" The chapter on gender was good.
Pencils...I have obsessions like that as well: ask me about my binder clip collection! But I get the joke--it doesn't need to go on and on. I am also aware that the absurdity of certain "rules" that even the highbrow world of elite magazine publishing cannot even agree on, are things I find myself trying to explain to adults who (whom?) I tutor for the high school equivalency exam. Many times I am telling them, (about commas for instance...) "this is just the way it is on the Hi-Set--there's no reason for it! Just memorize it!" The chapter on gender was good.
hinesight's review
4.0
How to tell you're going to love the book you're reading when you're only 8 pages in:
"I cannot explain the effect this word [synecdoche] had on me, except to say that it made me ecstatic. I was like that cartoon dog who, when given a biscuit, hugs himself and levitates. In addition to what the word was describing - the wilds of Alaska - it was a window onto the writing itself." ~ paperback edition
OMYGOD, yes!! Done this very thing, preach on, Mary Norris!!!
"I cannot explain the effect this word [synecdoche] had on me, except to say that it made me ecstatic. I was like that cartoon dog who, when given a biscuit, hugs himself and levitates. In addition to what the word was describing - the wilds of Alaska - it was a window onto the writing itself." ~ paperback edition
OMYGOD, yes!! Done this very thing, preach on, Mary Norris!!!
pwheater's review against another edition
4.0
Fun and informative read. Part grammar guide, part life story, wholly entertaining.
tara_pikachu's review
2.0
I expected a fun, light read on grammar but that's where I am fundamentally wrong..aren't I? (Mary Norris would scowl at serial the comma I put in after 'fun'.) Grammar is never fun...no matter how eager I am to perfect mine.
heyallimarie's review
4.0
The grammar nerd in me loved every bit of this book (even the bits that went over my head or I had to look up). Thankfully, I have two good friends with English degrees who discussed it with me endlessly. I always love memoirs and this was no exception! Four stars.
hannchilada's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
3.0
I don’t think the audience is editors. There’s just too much explaining of her perspective takes, although when Norris wanted to be, she was very amusing.
erboe501's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted this to be slightly more memoir and slightly less instructional, but overall I think it was a good blend of both. I learned about what it's like to be a copy editor (and the fact that I could never be one). I learned a few grammar rules I'll try to keep in my brain: it's between you and ME, not between you and I (as the book's title suggests).
Sometimes when Norris explained why a comma should or shouldn't go somewhere, she made the explanations of minute grammar technicalities sound like beautiful prose. I don't think I've ever read sentences as carefully as she has.
Could be dense because of the detailed explanations of copy editing commas, hyphens, and spelling, but I still enjoyed it.
Sometimes when Norris explained why a comma should or shouldn't go somewhere, she made the explanations of minute grammar technicalities sound like beautiful prose. I don't think I've ever read sentences as carefully as she has.
Could be dense because of the detailed explanations of copy editing commas, hyphens, and spelling, but I still enjoyed it.
biscuithead's review against another edition
was enjoying it sorta but felt neutral about it. I just like her voice I think.