The Sense of Style

Finished July 30
The Sense of Style: the Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker

This book had a lot more grammar in it than I expected. The audiobook included a pdf of the glossary of terms, and the grammar trees that Pinker discusses, but if you're familiar with grammar and sentence parsing, it isn't strictly necessary to view them.
Pinker talks about the dangers of writers forgetting that their readers don't have the same knowledge that they do, one that occurs for all nonfiction writers, but more so for academics. There is a lot about coherency in writing, and he uses lots of examples to illustrate how changes can be made to make sentences more coherent for the reader without losing the intent of the writer.
When discussing grammar, Pinker addresses rules that really aren't rules, those that have become widely quoted, yet have no basis in reality in terms of language. Many of these came about through rules in other languages such as Latin, or hypercorrections such as the use of I when combined with another person as object.
Pinker's aim is towards greater clarify for the reader, and writing that flows gracefully rather than sounding stilted and awkward. He has lots of examples of both good and bad, and shows how to improve a sentence through simple changes to structure, wording, or punctuation.
Near the end he includes two lists: one of common rules that should be disregarded, and one of rules he feels are important to apply. He includes comments for both that are useful in understanding.
I like his sense of humour that often surprises, and his focus on the reader.
A useful and interesting guide.

Between You & Me

Finished June 11
Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris, read by Mary Norris

This is a mix of memoir and grammar guide, two of my favourite things. Having the author read it just adds to the fun. Norris worked as an editor at The New Yorker for decades, and she tells her own history including what came before in her life, and her experiences at the magazine.
She also includes a lot of information on comma issues regarding grammar and editing. From copulative verbs to compound nouns, from profanity in print to pencil quality, from the nuances of punctuation to editorial personalities, Norris makes language even more interesting than it already is to me.
She injects humour into her subject, and is not shy about exposing her own mistakes and embarrassments. Language is such fun, and she emphasizes that. The rules shouldn't be taken too seriously, but you should know that you are breaking them, and why. A very enjoyable read.

English for the Natives

Finished December 1
English for the Natives: Discover the Grammar You Don't Know You Know by Harry Ritchie

I got this book for a birthday present and have really been enjoying it. The author has a good sense of humour that he brings to play in the examples he uses throughout.
He talks about how many people become nervous when faced with grammar, but that we all use proper grammatical forms when we speak and write without really thinking about it. He also dispels some myths around grammar that have been long held up as rules, but aren't really.
English, like all active languages is constantly developing, and we need to recognize that in the way that we accept usages, spellings, and meanings of words as they change over time.  He also talks throughout about how standard English has become the defining way of using the language, despite many English speakers using the language differently.
The first chapter deals with the history of English and the second with how we, native English speakers, learn our language. The following chapters each take on a grammatical word category and look at the different ways it is used, how it works, and how it relates to others. These chapters begin with nouns and go on through determiners, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions.The final chapter deals with structure.
There are also a couple of useful appendices, one with common 'mistakes' made by speakers of non-standard English, and one of irregular verbs.
The book is written in a very engaging, conversational style and I found myself understanding grammar better than I had before and feeling more confident about using some of those non-standard standard styles, and breaking those "rules".

Missed Periods and Other Grammar Scares

Finished June 4
Missed Periods and Other Grammar Scares: How to Avoid Unplanned and Unwanted Writing Errors by Jenny Baranick

OK, I admit it, I chose this book for the title. I've always been a big grammar fan and took a couple of editing courses a few years back too. The author teaches English and critical thinking classes and has a grammar blog by the same name as this book. With humour, pop culture references, and a flirty style, Baranick illustrates common grammar errors and gives tricks for avoiding them. Every chapter has an exercise or set of exercises to test the reader's learning for that section. A fun book about an important subject.