Friday, October 15, 2010

Review - The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark

A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English


TITLE:    The Glamour of Grammar
AUTHOR/EDITOR:    Roy Peter Clark
INFO:    Hardback, Non-Fiction, 294 pages
PUBLISHED:  Little, Brown and Company, 2010
ISBN#:   978-0-316-02791-5
HOW'D I GET IT:   Received from Publisher for Review

FROM GOODREADS:  
 Early in the history of English, the words "grammar" and "glamour" meant the same thing: the power to charm. Roy Peter Clark, author of Writing Tools, aims to put the glamour back in grammar with this fun, engaging alternative to stuffy instructionals. In this practical guide, readers will learn everything from the different parts of speech to why effective writers prefer concrete nouns and active verbs. THE GLAMOUR OF GRAMMAR gives readers all the tools they need to"live inside the language"--to take advantage of grammar to perfect their use of English, to instill meaning, and to charm through their writing. With this indispensable book, readers will come to see just how glamorous grammar can be. 

MY TAKE:   I found this to be an engaging and helpful book.  Many times these guides can be rather dry and boring.  Not so with this one.  Mr. Clark has created an easy to follow guide through this mysterious language of ours.  While this could be classified as a reference or "how-to" book, I felt it was primarily a "great read" that was actually fun.

The author is a big advocate of using the dictionary and immersing yourself in the words.  He is obviously a master when it comes to both the construction and dissection of words and sentence structure.  I found it amusing and instructive that he also delves into communication via texting and Tweeting.  (My personal opinion is that both of these new forms of messaging are murdering proper language.)

The structure of the book is extremely user-friendly.  The short chapters with titles such as "Learn seven ways to invent words" and "Tame taboo language to suit your purposes" are easy to read and get right to the point.  An appendix at the end of the book makes it a simple task to go back and find a particular passage.

I think this book would make a fabulous gift for students, those for whom English is a second language, and for any writers or would-be writers in your life.  It has a permanent place on my bookshelf.
   
MY RATING:    4.5/5

WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon, The Book Depository, IndieBound

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~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

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