The Gremlins of Grammar

Terrific, that's what The Gremlins of Grammar is. Wow, do I need it.

Toni Boyle and K.D. Sullivan do a wonderful job shaking out the rules that guide our speech...and they do so with humor and dead-on examples. I think one of the best chapters deals with confusing words like "whose" and "who's". They manage to clearly explain the differences, when to use and when not to. Clealy, they know their stuff.

I also found the chapter dealing with Internet English, Chapter 9 to most helpful.

I'm not sure I would recommend this book to high school or college students. It takes time to read through the material, and I've found that students want quick answers. However, for the worker who has to write, this source would be indespensible and should be on every desk. Executives who have to author reports would also benefit from having this book on their desk.

Well done Boyle and Sullivan.

This book is a horse of another color. Forget about clever and witty inside jokes only the enlightened can understand (which so many books about writing are like), or the overbearing boredom of rule after rule and feather-light distinction after distinction.

This book's got *soul*. And heart. And, as it should, lots of good stuff to help you make better choices in writing.

Just because a lot of famous, powerful and successful people these days come across like blithering idiots does not mean that you will be successful as a writer (or in life) with slipshod grammer and slapstick English. For a lot of us, the problem is, and always has been, how do you get the rules and the mindset without wishing you were getting a root canal instead?

The Gremlins of Grammar is your answer. You'll enjoy it. And, you'll learn a lot.

David Garfinkel
Founder, World Copywriting Institute
www.copynewsletter.com

Whether you worry over split infinitives, rely on spell check, wonder about the correct use of tenses/cases and terminology and how that impacts your audiences' or readers assessment of you, REAL help is here. It's in a thorough ---and thoroughly delightful ---book, The GREMLINS of GRAMMAR, by McGraw Hill. Written by Toni Boyle, whose common sense and wit are prevalent throughout, this book is chockfull of answers, explanations and reads like a conversation with the author, a good friend of NSA. To those unfamiliar with her wisdom, editorial experience and connection to use of the English language, this informative and delightful book is about the correct use of AMERICAN English, Toni Boyle -style. Forget "Eats Shoots and Leaves", The Gremlins of Grammar should be on the book shelves of every college student, blogger, writer and speaker. Not only did I learn, I laughed! What a combo.