Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies

April 3, 2006
Hoping to make grammar both accessible and amusing, Casagrande offers practical and entertaining lessons on common uses and unfortunate abuses of the English language. The author, a southern California newspaper columnist, memorably delineates "who" and "whom"; "can" and "may"; "affect" and "effect"; and provides pithy primers on the perennially problematic dark alleys of language (subjunctives, how to use punctuation marks around quoted material, possessive gerunds). In brief, cleverly titled sections, she addresses a slew of grammar and punctuation questions: "To Boldly Blow" examines the issue of split infinitives, "Snobbery Up With Which You Should Not Put" tackles prepositions and "Is That a Dangler in Your Memo or Are You Just Glad to See Me?" pokes fun at dangling modifiers and the confusion they create. By also touching on e-mail and text messaging, where traditional rules are commonly ignored, Casagrande keeps the discussion current. She maintains her sass and her sense of humor throughout, at one point calling the hyphen "a nasty, tricky, evil little mark that gets its kicks igniting arguments...the Bill Maher of punctuation." Readers intimidated by style manuals and Lynne Truss will enjoy this populist grammar reference.

February 27, 2006
Hoping to make grammar both accessible and amusing, Casagrande offers practical and entertaining lessons on common uses and unfortunate abuses of the English language. The author, a southern California newspaper columnist, memorably delineates "who" and "whom"; "can" and "may"; "affect" and "effect"; and provides pithy primers on the perennially problematic dark alleys of language (subjunctives, how to use punctuation marks around quoted material, possessive gerunds). In brief, cleverly titled sections, she addresses a slew of grammar and punctuation questions: "To Boldly Blow" examines the issue of split infinitives, "Snobbery Up With Which You Should Not Put" tackles prepositions and "Is That a Dangler in Your Memo or Are You Just Glad to See Me?" pokes fun at dangling modifiers and the confusion they create. By also touching on e-mail and text messaging, where traditional rules are commonly ignored, Casagrande keeps the discussion current. She maintains her sass and her sense of humor throughout, at one point calling the hyphen "a nasty, tricky, evil little mark that gets its kicks igniting arguments...the Bill Maher of punctuation." Readers intimidated by style manuals and Lynne Truss will enjoy this populist grammar reference.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2006
The author of a grammar column for L.A. community newspapers, Casagrande brings a lively approach to her overview of basic grammar. Sensing that people are intimidated by grammar, she uses humor to promote her down-to-earth approach to the topic, labeling grammatical purists as snobs and bullies. In short, pithily titled chapters, she addresses common grammar problems, pointing out, for example, the distinction between " who" and " whom" in "For Whom the Snob Trolls," explaining the split infinitive in "To Boldly Blow," and discussing prepositions at the end of sentences in "Snobbery Up with Which You Should Not Put." She is most helpful when addressing the language shortcuts taken in text messaging and e-mail, topics that have not yet been fully addressed in traditional style manuals. Speaking of which, she gets in her fair share of jabs at " The Chicago Manual of Style "in the particularly funny chapter "The Kids Are All Wrong," devoted to rock-music-related language issues. Both sassy and edifying, Casagrande's little tome will be especially useful to those in search of basic grammar instruction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)