Let's be honest, shall we? Punctuation isn't supposed to be fun. Commas, fullstops and, of course, the oft-misused apostrophe are supposed to be the reserve of the grammar geeks and English nerds. Yet to those geeks, nerds and arguably those with even the slightest interest in language, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by writer and journalist, Lynne Truss, not only makes punctuation fun, it makes it pretty darn funny. Make no mistake about it, this book is a far cry from your usual punctuation handbook or style guide. Sure, the rules of punctuation are all covered in good detail, though where Eats, Shoots & Leaves triumphs over other ...  Read the complete review

I wouldn’t say I’m a stickler for punctuation as such; a misplaced apostrophe doesn’t send me into a rage or give me an irrational urge to spread Tipp-ex over a shop sign, but it is the kind of thing I’m likely to notice and sigh about before moving on. I may not be a militant pedant, but I am a pedant just the same. So it was really only a matter of time before I ended up reading Lynne Truss’ “Eats, Shoots and Leaves”, if only to see what all the fuss was about. I was also curious to see if I was doing things correctly myself; being educated at a Grammar School is no guarantee of perfect grammar. Even less so these days, it seems. Truss starts ...  Read the complete review

It’s an assuming looking thing. At only 7.5” x 5” and 210 pages, it is hardly the six-foot model of the book world. In fact, it would probably fail to meet the minimum height requirement to be an air hostess. But, as we know, good things often come in small packages and this little gem proves that point perfectly. If I told people I had just read a book on punctuation, I wonder what their response would be. Many might believe it was a text book, some kind of Eng Lang thing that had to be read for an exam. Certainly, twenty-five years ago, I would probably have been shocked at my future grown up self for using my leisure time to read a book like this one. ...  Read the complete review

Firstly, I must admit I am something of a stickler for correct grammar and punctuation. I wouldn't describe myself as a pedant, but I squirm at the sight of the grocer's apostrophe or - my particular bugbear - the use of quotation marks for emphasis. I saw good example of this at Edinburgh Zoo a few years ago: Strictly "NO" PARKING here (I have left quotation marks out of that quotation for obvious reasons.) Anyway, I photographed that particular punctuation pecadillo and sent it to my local paper, and, when I went back to the zoo again, the offending sign was gone. And, I must admit, I rather missed ...  Read the complete review

Named after a joke (panda walks into a cafe, eats a sandwich, pulls out a gun and fires two shots - why? 'I'm a panda' it says. Barman looks in badly punctuated wildlife guide and reads: panda: Eats, shoots and leaves) this is well-known writer and broadcaster Lynne Truss's attempt to explain why punctuation matters. Don't be expecting a dry scholarly grammar book, however. The joy of this book is that it is really funny. Truss writes extremely well and uses humour to make her point very effectively throughout the book. If you DO want to brush up on your use of punctuation, this is a great place to start as everything is explained very clearly. ...  Read the complete review