for the grammar geeks

[cellio]

Today I learned that one of my favorite grammar/usage curmudgeons has a blog, which I've now syndicated: bill_walsh.

Bill Walsh is the author of Lapsing into a Comma, a sensible style guide with interspersed rants. Just my kind of thing! Also see Rules That Aren't, a response to some commonly-held "rules" like not splitting infinitives. (And hey, apparently he has a new book out. Must investigate.)

I don't agree with everything he says, of course, but he makes solid, often-entertaining, arguments for his points instead of just saying "thou shalt do X".

Comments

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

His other book, The Elephants of Style is very good, indeed. I have both Comma and Elephants on my reference shelf.

[cellio]

Thanks. I've added Elephants to my "pending" Amazon list. (Some people use the wish list to suggest gift ideas to others; I use it to keep track of things I want to get eventually, either when the used price is really good or when I need something to bring an order up to free-shipping levels. That said, I'll probably get Elephants soon because I really liked Comma.)