Welcome to Litsy!

A useful reference book and an entertaining read! Grammar with a sense of humor.

Reading now.

Can a book about style & clarity in writing be one of your favorite books of the year? I‘m here to tell you it can. And you don‘t have to be a writer to enjoy this one—anyone who enjoys books, peering into the world of editing, or delving into the nuances of the English language will find a lot to like. With lots of humor & obvious but never pompous expertise, Dreyer has written a great book that belongs on the shelf with the big style manuals.

Another recommendation from a friend…

I adored this!! I‘ve read this over mannnnyy many months, here and there in tidbits. An entertaining how-to writing guide from one of Random House‘s copy editors, Benjamin Dreyer. Dry humor for word lovers. I learned some things as I giggled which isn‘t something I‘ve been able to do with many other pieces of nonfiction. The author is also on Twitter 🐦

The difference between lay, lie, laid, lain, and the rest of that clan is the main reason I am not a writer.

I have been laughing at this for three days. #grammar #copyediting

#3books that made me laugh

Harry Potter- I‘m pretty sure all of the Harry Potter books have made me laugh at some point, so I just picked one at random.

Dreyer‘s English-Helpful and surprisingly funny

Furiously Happy- I wasn‘t really a fan of most of Lawson‘s humor, but I‘d be lying if I said this book didn‘t make me laugh at all.

Book mail today! 😄📚

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was both helpful and funny. I laughed out loud several times while reading, leaving my boyfriend wondering what could possibly be so funny about a reference book. I think that makes it appropriate for #booked2020 #MakesYouLOL 😂 I borrowed this from the library, but I think I might buy a copy to use as a reference.

#catsoflitsy #Phoenix

As the seasons turned overnight - the start of winter here in Aus - I finished the #Spring quarter 💐 for #Booked2020

My fav of the bunch was definitely Dreyer. He had me giggling on nearly every page (and was super informative as well).

Never thought a book on grammar could be a FUN read ... yet here I am!

So many interesting and useful tidbits in here. I wish I‘d had this when I was helping a previous boss edit her book (for context, we work in STEM and our writing skills are subpar so it was a struggle). This is a book I‘ll come back to whenever a grammar/syntax/spelling/punctuation question comes up.

Bonus points for being written in a witty and conversational voice 👌🏼

#Two4Tuesday - Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView

📖 Fundamental (tagged book)

📚 No, which is hard for me to believe because I really thought that I suffered with a book-buying addiction.🥴 Though I have gained a new fondness for my Kindle! It delights in its elevated status!😉

Tagging -> Tuesday Night Owls

“As much as I like a good rule, I‘m an enthusiastic subscriber to the notion of “rules are meant to be broken” — once you‘ve learned them, I hasten to add.”

It is the closest thing to porn for word nerds. I really loved reading this style guide, but then again, I am a huge language nerd. It's full of interesting language rules, nonrules, facts, and examples. We're all writers even if we don't do it for a living, and I've never met someone who doesn't want to be a little bit of a better writer. https://onthebl.org/2020/03/31/dreyers-english-by-benjamin-dreyer/

For this week‘s #bookreport I‘ve been doing my best impression of a reader, but really I‘ve been opening books and skimming. I did get through these two 🥳 I had trouble getting into Nothing To See (which I really should have loved), so I resorted to non-fiction and read about grammar to comfort myself with hard and fast rules. It actually helped! Planning to read Rubbernecker next but your best guess is my #weeklyforecast 🙃

A hilarious book full of dry wit and intellectual humor...which also happens to be an excellent reference manual on grammar and punctuation. Highly recommend if you love to copy edit.

Unrelated, I have a feline TA helping me move my class online. 😂

1. Tagged ebook & a hardcover edition of Gentlemen in Moscow.

2. No, but I have a couple #netgalley requests I hope come through! 🤞

3. Nutty black cat named Riley! 🖤

@rachelsbrittain #weekendreads

Here‘s a #shelfie of my recent reads, and it‘s also time for another Book Review Roundup! (I‘m Texan, so I get to use the word “roundup” with impunity. 🤠) I‘m currently reading the tagged book, and my only review for this one so far is heck yes! But I‘m about to serve up a full batch of reviews, including the rest of the books pictured here. Yippee!

For a book on copy editing, this is hilarious.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh, this was fun! A writing style guide on audio? Yep, it works. Perfect narration. I had no trouble visualizing the “text.” Dreyer‘s many punctuation and grammar examples are clever and often funny. Just what I needed!

I knew I would love and feel chastised by this book. I was right. In discussing breaking the “split infinitive” rule, Dreyer shares a bit about Raymond Chandler.

#bookreport @Cinfhen

- Completed 4 this week, with the tagged book being an easy 5⭐️ favorite, but I did really like The Lido too....

- Just started ‘Leading Men‘ and loving the writing...
- American Dirt is for the bookclub at work (B&N)

Loved it. Witty, informative and completely delightful! I listened to the audiobook with print copy in hand, which really enhanced the experience for me. Benjamin Dreyer is charming and hilarious, and persnickety in the best of ways.✏️🤓💕

#booked2020 #liveandlearn
#pop2020 #abookonasubjectyouknownothingabout

#weeklyforecast

- Doing an Audio/kindle combo on Dreyer‘s English and LOVING it! Dryer is so much fun to listen too, and reading the kindle at the same time helps with the grammar (and not having to flit about with the footnotes!)🤓
- So far I‘m enjoying the gentle, uplifting read of The Lido, with its emphasis on community and friendship. And love a book set in London!..🇬🇧💕
- Next up, Literary figures, Hollywood glamor and 1950s Portofino! 💕

I like my humor with a really dry finish. This is so hilarious I can‘t even.

Ok not only do I love that Dreyer quotes this excellent passage from the beginning of Charles Dickens‘s Bleak House as an example that fragments can sometimes be used to great effect, but also I love that he‘s going to wait three months for me to read the whole novel. I‘ve already read it, but thanks so much for your considerate patience, Mr. Dreyer. ☺️

#FebruaryTBR
My ambitious plans for this month...

- American Dirt and Stella are both for bookclubs
- Sag Harbor I picked for #authoramonth
- Salt in my Soul I picked for a #tearjerker for #ReadwithMrBook ... a memoir about a woman with CF
- I‘ve been dying to read Our Homesick Souls for a while...
- Remaing 4 are all for #Booked2020 for #covercrush, #liveandlearn, about Hollywood and book with a Head covering on the cover!
😊💕📚

Ok, I said I was going to read fewer books this year so I can focus more on my creative projects...so I started another book today. 🙄😝 But hey, this one is Dreyer‘s English, a style guide, so it‘s going to help me with my writing! Really.

1. You wouldn‘t imagine a book about spelling and grammar would make you LOL, but it did!
2. I was born to be a great husband 🤪 hhhmmm got that slightly wrong!
3. Neither, really.
4. All Littens are amazing, but @jenniferw88 you are especially caring and thoughtful.

1. I tried the audio book for the tagged book, but I think it's something I'm going to need to see and read. It's a shame because I did love listening to the author.

2. I was thrilled that my local library had a physical copy (why didn't I check there first?)

3. Why the hell do I do this to myself? All these holds are going to come in the same week. I just know it.

And another hold comes in 🙄

Impressed how funny this really useful book is proving to be.

Fascinating read! My favorite part was the punctuation. Proper nouns was fun also with the above two sending me into paroxysms of giggles! My least favorite part was grammar. Ugh. Still don‘t enjoy that! Overall, a more interesting and fun read than one would think with the subject matter. 4⭐️

Laugh out loud book on writing? Yes please! This was super informative, entertaining, and helpful. I listened to the audiobook, which was great fun, and now I want to buy a copy to have as a reference.

This was a lot of fun and I will have to get my own copy. Dreyer's examples neatly clarify how to use words that are easily mixed up. I also liked when he pointed out uses that have arguments on both sides or where there is no wrong answer. Editing is not black and white.

#ThoughtfulThursday @MoonWitch94

1) feeling fitter thanks to the #bookfitnesschallenge
2) *by Zombies
3) cold, clear sky, I can see some stars

While reading the German Six of Crows to my kid I have often stumbled across awkward sentence constructions, mistranslations (leading to factual error), terrible grammar and punctuation. My kid now hands me the book and a pencil each time we read together. 😁
There might be a revised translation, but I don't think so. At least my other kid will have the benefit of a revised/copy edited book soon. 😉

#NFNov @rsteve388 @Clwojick

After #audiodinnerpreparation (savory stuffed/rolled pancakes) I'm hoping to get a few chapters in.

#MrBook1InAMillion #readathon #24B4Monday #PartyOfOne

@MrBook @TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65 @jb72 @Alisnazzy @Lynnsoprano @Rachel.Rencher @Lucas.Rencher

I'm not exactly sure I'll get to all of the books on the list, but I'll give it a try.

#NFNov

@Clwojick @rsteve388

In my next life, I want to be a copy editor. This book is as funny as grammar gets!

I have read just the introductions yet and i am already in love. Can i hug the author for putting this out in the world? 🥰

Chuckling at that title! 😁

Going to be FUN!
#currentlyreading

#Bookmail
Hello!
FriYAY!
🌞

“No sentence has ever been harmed by a series comma, and many a sentence has been improved by one.”

#punctuation
#QuotsySep19

This book can be read for pleasure or it can serve as a desk-reference. The writing is informative and stilted. Dreyer so often breaks the flow of his sentences by means of parentheses, dashes, and footnotes that his writing style moved in my mind from annoying to comic & thence to oddly endearing. I‘m glad to add that Dreyer is quite funny. This book can serve as a thorough guide for editing one‘s own writing. Good stuff.

Look what arrived today! It's the book I bought from the gift card I won during the #24in48 #readathon.

Huge Thank You to the ladies at @24in48!!!

Now I need to show a lot of restraint. Must. Not. Start. This. One. Yet. I'm buddy reading three other books atm and I'm lagging behind - especially with the book I'm reading w/ my son. He's likely to spoil the best scenes before I get to them.

I took this out of my library, but now that I‘ve read it I feel this is a book I want to own and slot next to my other reference books, yet it‘s so much more than just a reference book for me. Parts were laugh out loud funny and informative without being condescending. It covers grammar, but also common spelling errors and confusables. Five stars for this one. ❤️

This was the most fun I‘ve ever had reading a style guide. Read by the author, it‘s a charming mix of unpretentious and persnickety. I got the audiobook from my library and am seriously considering buying a hard copy for myself.

On of my favourite books this year so far, here Dreyer talks about full stops....

#stop
#ayupaugust

*I chose the Spice Girls due to Mel B most definitely being a ‘Leeds lass‘ - in fact she has just moved back to the wilds of Yorkshire from LA*

Here we see Dreyer in his natural habitat, amongst the dictionaries and reference books....

Dreyer, though, is an entirely different animal to these other tomes.

He is irreverent, interesting and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny.

If you love words, language and grammar then you have to read this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️