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A review by mandalor3960
The Elements of Style, Illustrated by William Strunk Jr.
4.0
The Elements of Style contains a lot of great teachings on using English in writing and it's something that every writer should read and keep handy. Some writers and reviewers argue that it's archaic and in need of revision, but it echoes a finer English and rules and reminders that are generally still accepted today. This book will stand as the beholder of English Grammar Rules until it becomes as old as Shakespeare's work.
Rating Update 4/3/2019 - 5 to 4 stars. I was too generous with the 4 stars. It is a great resource book but it did not consume me like a 5 star book would. A lot of it was hard to sift through seeing that I took a while to finish reading it.
Rating Update 27 May 2019
Four stars to three stars. As the previous update says, "a lot of it was hard to sift through seeing that I took a while to finish reading it". Therefore, I have lowered the rating, since a three star rating would be a better cumulative rating that includes the few five star rated sections, the four star rated sections, and the myriad amount of three and two star rated sections.
Rating Update 5 June 2019
With the adoption of my new rating system, a five star rating is befitting. I recall reading this book for the first time and being dumbfounded by the amount of mistakes I had previously committed. This book was an eyeopener and I considered it worthy of a five star rating, not so much because the impression it left on me, but the impression of cherishing this book because of its Bible status as a resource book for writing and consider it a must-need book alongside other five star rated books that I enjoyed because of their entertainment value. I would rated "The Elements of Style" at four stars but if it was not perfect and had flaws. For now a five star rating is a safe rating.
September 7, 2019
Update
I cannot remember if this book changed my perspective and had a profound influence on me, but I will have to trust my memory of these assertions. To attain a five star rating, the book must fulfill these requirements.
September 8, 2019
Update
I have debated whether this book deserves a five or four star-rating. The reason behind this is that I do not think that the first reading of this book had the feeling of a five star-rating, the it-was-amazing feeling, but rather the four star-rating feeling of really-liking-it. I looked at my five star-rated books and "The Elements of Style" feels out of place. I had always previously rated this book at five stars and colored it green, but now I color it grey because I cannot remember my initial feeling towards the book. I will leave it at five stars because the book prompted me to buy a copy, something which I rarely do for books, albeit, that was at a time when I did not consider modes outside of going to a bookstore to acquire books. I believe I must have been extremely surprised and taken back by learning new things in this book, which would allow for a five star-rating.
January 18, 2020
Rating Update
Five stars to four stars. I am more certain that I felt a "really liked" feeling towards this book, than a "it was amazing" feeling. I also feel that later sections in the book, although being somewhat of a drag to read, were respected by me and taken in as good information. I cannot see this book crossing into the five star, "it was amazing" territory. A four star-rating is a safer rating since I cannot remember my feelings, though, I would not go lower than four stars. Though I am unsure why I bought the book originally, I believe it was based on a four star-rated feeling of, "this books has great content and I have it at lengthsway".
I must also state that even though the original review harps about the antiquated sections, I do not believe this made me dislike those sections, rather I was explaining my indifference to the antiquated sections that other reviewers complained about.
Four stars to three stars. As the previous update says, "a lot of it was hard to sift through seeing that I took a while to finish reading it". Therefore, I have lowered the rating, since a three star rating would be a better cumulative rating that includes the few five star rated sections, the four star rated sections, and the myriad amount of three and two star rated sections.
Rating Update 5 June 2019
With the adoption of my new rating system, a five star rating is befitting. I recall reading this book for the first time and being dumbfounded by the amount of mistakes I had previously committed. This book was an eyeopener and I considered it worthy of a five star rating, not so much because the impression it left on me, but the impression of cherishing this book because of its Bible status as a resource book for writing and consider it a must-need book alongside other five star rated books that I enjoyed because of their entertainment value. I would rated "The Elements of Style" at four stars but if it was not perfect and had flaws. For now a five star rating is a safe rating.
September 7, 2019
Update
I cannot remember if this book changed my perspective and had a profound influence on me, but I will have to trust my memory of these assertions. To attain a five star rating, the book must fulfill these requirements.
September 8, 2019
Update
I have debated whether this book deserves a five or four star-rating. The reason behind this is that I do not think that the first reading of this book had the feeling of a five star-rating, the it-was-amazing feeling, but rather the four star-rating feeling of really-liking-it. I looked at my five star-rated books and "The Elements of Style" feels out of place. I had always previously rated this book at five stars and colored it green, but now I color it grey because I cannot remember my initial feeling towards the book. I will leave it at five stars because the book prompted me to buy a copy, something which I rarely do for books, albeit, that was at a time when I did not consider modes outside of going to a bookstore to acquire books. I believe I must have been extremely surprised and taken back by learning new things in this book, which would allow for a five star-rating.
January 18, 2020
Rating Update
Five stars to four stars. I am more certain that I felt a "really liked" feeling towards this book, than a "it was amazing" feeling. I also feel that later sections in the book, although being somewhat of a drag to read, were respected by me and taken in as good information. I cannot see this book crossing into the five star, "it was amazing" territory. A four star-rating is a safer rating since I cannot remember my feelings, though, I would not go lower than four stars. Though I am unsure why I bought the book originally, I believe it was based on a four star-rated feeling of, "this books has great content and I have it at lengthsway".
I must also state that even though the original review harps about the antiquated sections, I do not believe this made me dislike those sections, rather I was explaining my indifference to the antiquated sections that other reviewers complained about.