Fumble Rules
My beloved and unceasingly pestilential readers have clearly noticed that my proofreading habits have been pretty abysmal of late. It was with that in mind that I picked up Fumble Rules by William Safire. While normally I would have carried this book around for awhile only to deposit it someplace obscure, today I was actually moved to read this ugly little book. I was not disappointed.
"Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague."
The fatal flaw of most books concerned with grammar is that they tend to be incredibly wordy, even to the point of sending one into a coma, which can be extraordinarily dangerous if one is poised on the railing between the family room and the kitchen; this book exposes one to none of that danger. Safire offers fifty rules to promote good grammar and usage, and does so using right and wrong examples. The examples he uses are not, however, of a purely abstract nature, but using examples that are recognizable or satirical. The book is succinct and humorous; it took me all of half an hour to peruse and, basic though it was, it made me think about some of the things that I do--or sometimes fail to do--instinctively.
It makes for an amusing little read. And I have no doubt that a perusal of this book would be of great benefit to the vast majority of Americans.
One should not, however, so much as consider reading Fumble Rules if one has not yet finished reading the complete Connie Willis, but I am a fool. My reader must excuse me therefore, I must return to the priority that has been neglected: All Clear.
"Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague."
The fatal flaw of most books concerned with grammar is that they tend to be incredibly wordy, even to the point of sending one into a coma, which can be extraordinarily dangerous if one is poised on the railing between the family room and the kitchen; this book exposes one to none of that danger. Safire offers fifty rules to promote good grammar and usage, and does so using right and wrong examples. The examples he uses are not, however, of a purely abstract nature, but using examples that are recognizable or satirical. The book is succinct and humorous; it took me all of half an hour to peruse and, basic though it was, it made me think about some of the things that I do--or sometimes fail to do--instinctively.
It makes for an amusing little read. And I have no doubt that a perusal of this book would be of great benefit to the vast majority of Americans.
One should not, however, so much as consider reading Fumble Rules if one has not yet finished reading the complete Connie Willis, but I am a fool. My reader must excuse me therefore, I must return to the priority that has been neglected: All Clear.
Well, better Safire than Strunk & White.
ReplyDeleteThat one tidbit you posted seems a bit familiar, though I don't think I've read Fumble Rules. Most likely bits of it have filtered onto the InterWeb from time to time.