Eats, Shoots & Leaves

Book Description

Critics

• Eats, Shoots & Leaves By Lynne Truss

  British author Lynne Truss is a self-described "stickler," a nut about punctuation who can't rest easy when she sees mistakes on street signs, newspaper headlines or billboards. ("Within seconds, shock gives way to disbelief, disbelief to pain, and p ... (read full critics)

  bookpage published on Thu, 16 Sep 2010

• Bookreporter.com - EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES by Lynne Truss

  EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation Lynne Truss Gotham Books Reference ISBN: 1592400876 "Is there a hyphen in anal retentive?" — Author Unknown Lynne Truss told a British interviewer that she had written this book for "p ... (read full critics)

  bookreporter published on Mon, 30 Aug 2010

9 Reviews

• 1 person find this helpful

  So unimaginable that punctuation can make up such a long book. The author had carried out extensive research on this topic and there were loads of reference in it.

  The analogies and jokes on punctuation did bring about a lot of fun,

  and yet the vocabularies were a bit too much for me!

  P ... (continue)

  So unimaginable that punctuation can make up such a long book. The author had carried out extensive research on this topic and there were loads of reference in it.

  The analogies and jokes on punctuation did bring about a lot of fun,

  and yet the vocabularies were a bit too much for me!

  Punctuation marks are somewhat useful and essential: they either do with the syntax or notate the music of the spoken language.

  　

  "Punctuate the following puzzler: Charles the First walked and talked half an hour after his head was cut off"

  "The Law of Conservation of Apostrophes: For every apostrophe omitted from an it's, there is an extra one put into an its"

  ------------------------------------------------------------------
  Apostrophe
  1. indicate a possessive on a singular noun
  2. indicate time or quantity
  3. indicate the omission of figures in dates
  4. indicate the omission of letters
  5. indicate strange, non-standard English
  6. feature in Irish names such as O'Neil
  7. indicate the plural of letters eg. f's
  8. indicate plurals of words eg. do's

  Comma
  1. for lists
  2. for joining
  3. for filling gaps eg Annie had dark hair; Sally, fair
  4. before direct speech
  5. setting off interjection
  6. commas that come in pairs

  Bracket
  to add information, to clarify, to explain, to illustrate

  　
  Square bracket
  1. an editor's way of clarifying the meaning of a direct quote without actually changing any of the words
  2. used around the word sic eg "please send a copy of The Time's [sic]", he wrote.

  Ellipsis
  1. indicate words missing
  2. trail off in an intriguing manner
  　

  Hyphen
  1. avoid ambiguities eg re-mark
  2. spelling outnumbers
  3. linking nouns with nouns
  4. noun phrase to qualify another noun eg stainless-steel kitchen
  5. certain prefixes
  6. to spell out words
  7. avoid unpleasant linguistic condition eg deice (de-ice)
  8. indicate a word is unfinished and continues on the next line
  9. hesitation and stammering

  Is this helpful?

  Candy said on Jan 17, 2012 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  I have the seventh sense

  Funny! I am one of these people who have a horrible compulsion to edit typos and punctuation and it's actually a relief to hear someone write about it. I am not alone. And wait, I DO have a life, and I HAVE relaxed about correcting people ... lest they get offended.

  I did have a few issues with the ... (continue)

  Funny! I am one of these people who have a horrible compulsion to edit typos and punctuation and it's actually a relief to hear someone write about it. I am not alone. And wait, I DO have a life, and I HAVE relaxed about correcting people ... lest they get offended.

  I did have a few issues with the book. One, it is written for a British audience, and many punctuation rules and examples are British, of course. If you're used to American conventions, the rules may seem "wrong" to you. Two, after reading one chapter on one specific punctuation mark, say the comma, you can get a little fatigued with example after example. So best read this in several sittings.

  This isn't a book for everyone. Don't bother with it if ...
  ... you're one of those people where bad grammar and punctuation (wrong or lack of) just don't grate on your nerves, DON'T bother with this book. It will seem like a mountain was made out of a molehill.
  ... you're NOT interested in proper punctuation. At the least, one needs to keep an open mind.

  I think this book would make a great addition to my Strunk and White. Or maybe they should make an Americanized version?

  Is this helpful?

  guiltlessreader aka screamingbanshee said on Dec 13, 2009 | Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  I'm not quite sure what this says about me, but I found this book about punctuation rather amusing and enjoyable. I think you have to be what I've affectionately heard called a "grammar guru" to appreciate this book: someone who routinely finds (and gets frustrated) with punctuation, spelling, and ... (continue)

  I'm not quite sure what this says about me, but I found this book about punctuation rather amusing and enjoyable. I think you have to be what I've affectionately heard called a "grammar guru" to appreciate this book: someone who routinely finds (and gets frustrated) with punctuation, spelling, and grammar errors in books, letters, and Internet posts. If you're thinking "Hey, I resemble that remark!", then this book is for you. Or if you're just curious about the proper uses of the semi-colon, then you might find this book helpful. It's worth noting that the author, and content, are British, but as an American, I had no trouble following along; in fact, I felt that it added color (or colour) to the book. Be forewarned, though: you may find yourself paying a lot more attention to the punctuation you use, after reading this book.

  Is this helpful?

  Bashful said on Nov 11, 2008 | Add your feedback

• 

  Funny and useful

  In a funny way it taught me how to use punctuation better than more boring and informative books.

  Is this helpful?

  Ely-Baby said on May 31, 2012 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  After being the only one who noticed apostrophes being put in the wrong places all the time, after asking everyone I could why, after being told there was nothing wrong (with the apostrophes, I mean, since there was probably something wrong with me)... after all of these things, I found this ... (continue)

  After being the only one who noticed apostrophes being put in the wrong places all the time, after asking everyone I could why, after being told there was nothing wrong (with the apostrophes, I mean, since there was probably something wrong with me)... after all of these things, I found this book. Ok, it's actually a book I have to study for an exam, but I've never ever enjoyed a school book as I'm enjoying this.
  It's funny, deliciously written and actually useful; and now I finally know there are some people who just can't write in their own language even in the USA and the UK.

  Is this helpful?

  l'aura said on May 1, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  I must confess I haven't finished this book yet, and I probably won't go on.
  I found it very funny and interesting at the beginning, since it carries some fundamental information about English language (e.g. the use of apostrophe for the plural form of acronyms). I particularly appreciated the descr ... (continue)

  I must confess I haven't finished this book yet, and I probably won't go on.
  I found it very funny and interesting at the beginning, since it carries some fundamental information about English language (e.g. the use of apostrophe for the plural form of acronyms). I particularly appreciated the description of a few common and not-so-common mistakes - there's an inner stickler inside me who particularly enjoys such things :P
  However, the book soon became extremely boring, with so many unhelpful references to history. I wonder, for example, how helpful such long references to Aldus Manutius may be to a reader who simply wants to find out more about English language.

  Is this helpful?

  Lilacwhisper said on Feb 25, 2011 | Add your feedback

See all 9 comments

Book Details

• Rating:
  (136)
  • 5 stars
  • 4 stars
  • 3 stars
  • 2 stars
  • 1 star
• English Books
• Hardcover 209 Pages
• Edition: 1
• ISBN-10: 1592400876
• ISBN-13: 9781592400874
• Publisher: Gotham
• Pub date: Apr 01, 2004
• Dimensions: 1226 mm x 839 mm x 194 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Paperback, Audio CD, Others and eBook
• In other languages: other languages Deutsche Bücher, Libri Italiani, Nederlandse Boeken, Svenska böcker

Improve data of this book

Groups with this in collection

• book recommendations (957)
• The TechnoCité library (14)

Prices Change currency & sellers

ISBN	Edition	List	Sale	Seller
9781592400874	Hardcover	$19.95	$14.36	bn.com
		--	$10.99	ebooks.com
		$19.95	$11.99	The Book Depository
Other editions →
+ 3 copies tradable: 1 in USA →