Home › Books › Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving…
Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian
by
12/99
Critics
54/99
Readers
n/a
Scholars
10/99
Rating
15/99
Volume
50/99
Rating
59/99
Volume
—
Sign in to add to your shelf, rate, or review this book.
About This Book
For fans of Mary Norris and Benjamin Dreyer, an unconventional guide to the English language drawn from the cross-country adventures of an itinerant grammarian. When Ellen Jovin first walked outside her Manhattan apartment and set up a folding table with a sign reading "Grammar Table," it took about 30 seconds to get her first visitor. EVERYONE had a question for her. Grammar Table was such a hit—attracting the attention of the New York Times, NPR, and CBS National News—that Ellen soon hit the road, traveling across the U.S. to answer questions from students, retired editors, bickering couples, and anyone else who uses words in this world. In Rebel with a Clause she tackles what is most on people's minds, grammatically speaking—from the Oxford comma to things you were never told about dictionaries, the ubiquity of like, common errors in online dating profiles, the likely lifespan of whom, semicolonphobia, and much, much more! Punctuated with linguistic debates from tiny towns to sprawling state capitals, this is a treasure trove for anyone wishing to shore up their prose or delight in our age-old and universal fascination with language.
Preview
Reviews
"Jovin, the author of several books on writing and grammar, describes her experiences traveling across the country answering the public's questions about language use...In 49 lively chapters, she recounts her conversations on punctuation, conjugation, spelling, pronunciation, and contentious word choices while offering sage and sensible advice on common areas of confusion...She writes about passersby who air their grievances about the misuse of apostrophes, and she offers jaunty but exceptionally clear illustrations of their appropriate deployment."
"Jovin, cofounder of a communication training firm, documents in this zippy account her trip across America with a pop-up grammar advice table...Her endeavor was a success, and soon she took the show on the road across 47 states...Whether she's discussing Oxford commas or contractions, Jovin uses a combination of intuition and established guidelines to demonstrate that there's almost always more than one correct answer to questions of communication...Along the way, she shares funny anecdotes about the interactions at her booth and how it functioned as an outlet for individuals to passionately express their points of view...Jovin's emphasis is always on fun—chapters have silly titles, and stick-figure drawings illustrate the concepts...The result reads less like a how-to guide and more like a usage-centered memoir."
"effect...Jovin has written usage manuals, but with its folksy, peripatetic arrangement, 'Rebel With a Clause' isn't quite one of them...Strong on charm, then, but without enough of either prescription or reflection, the 'Grammar Table' finds itself falling between two (grammar) stools."
Reader Reviews
0 reviewsSign in to write a review.
No reader reviews yet. Be the first!