The full title of the book is Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. My mother gave it to me for Christmas, and it's a sign of what a grammar geek I am that I was excited about getting this book.
The author, Mark Garvey, is very enthusiastic about his topic, to the point that he gushes a little too much. He needs to heed Strunk's brilliant rule of "Omit needless words" in many places.
Even though I regard Elements as one of my go-to books when I'm editing, I never really knew the history behind it. When Stunk was a professor at Cornell, he self-published a slim little pamphlet filled with writing rules and style suggestions. He thought it would make grading papers easier, because he and other professors could just scribble "see rule #2" in the margins of papers instead of explaining every editing mark again and again.
E.B. White, author of the children's classics Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web among others, and long-time writer for "The New Yorker" magazine, had Strunk as a professor when he was at Cornell. He and Strunk kept in touch through the years, and long after Strunk's death, White wrote an essay for "The New Yorker" about Strunk and his little pamphlet. The rest is writing history.
Garvey was given access by Cornell and by the Strunk and White families to letters between the two authors and letters to and from the publishers and fans/critics of the book. And, really, those were the best part of this little book. In the letters you can see the affection that both authors had for each other and for the English language.
After I finished this book, I pulled out my well-worn copy of Elements and thumbed through it again. Reading White's introduction and Strunk's rules of usage really makes me want to be a better writer. As White contends, in order to be a good writer, you have to understand the rules, even if only to break them. Too many "writers" today don't have a grasp of the basics of language and usage. They should all be given copies of the little book.
A side note - in my life before kids I worked as an editor for the Texas Attorney General's Office. I reviewed all publications the agency produced and other documents on demand. One day, an attorney asked me to take a few moments to review a letter he was getting ready to send to members of the state legislature. I made a few edits and handed the letter back. He disagreed with one of my edits and questioned me on it. I informed him of the rule I was following, and he asked to see proof that it was really a rule. So I brought out my Elements and showed him the relevant entry. This is the conversation we had at that point:
Him: What year was that published?
Me: 1979 (the third edition)
Him: Well, the book is out of date.
Me: Grammar rules don't go out of date.
Him: I went to Harvard Law School.
Me: Congratulations, but you're still wrong on this.
Him: Well, I'm doing it my way.
Me: Fine. It's your name on the letter, not mine.
I found out later he complained about me to my boss, who told him that I was correct in my edit and to stop asking me to review his letters if he wasn't going to take my advice. Ha - score one for the grammar geeks!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
love stories in this town
my friend gave me this book, by amanda eyre ward, for my birthday. it's received a lot of press here because ward lives in austin.
i've never really been a fan of the short story as a whole, and this book didn't do much to change that. the stories, most of which are set just after 9/11 revolved around the loss of loved ones and coping with life and love in the wake of the attacks.
perhaps it was the frame of mind i was in when i read the stories several months ago, but i found them too sad for my liking. ward is an excellent writer, but i felt worse after reading the collection. ward has published several other books, and i liked her writing enough that i may give those a look, just to see if the stories are less sad.
*i'm writing in lower case because my keyboard is broken. the shift key is on the fritz.
i've never really been a fan of the short story as a whole, and this book didn't do much to change that. the stories, most of which are set just after 9/11 revolved around the loss of loved ones and coping with life and love in the wake of the attacks.
perhaps it was the frame of mind i was in when i read the stories several months ago, but i found them too sad for my liking. ward is an excellent writer, but i felt worse after reading the collection. ward has published several other books, and i liked her writing enough that i may give those a look, just to see if the stories are less sad.
*i'm writing in lower case because my keyboard is broken. the shift key is on the fritz.
switch bitch*
i've read most of roald dahl's children's lit, both when i was a child and with my kids, but i've never read any of his adult fiction before this book. and i don't think i will ever again. switch bitch contains four novellas that revolve mostly around sex, and they're fairly disturbing at that.
dahl's fantastical worlds and great imagination work well in children's lit, but in these works he seems to trying to be whimsical for the sake of being whimsical, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
i'm going to stick to his children's books.
*i'm typing in lower case because the shift key on my keyboard is broken.
dahl's fantastical worlds and great imagination work well in children's lit, but in these works he seems to trying to be whimsical for the sake of being whimsical, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
i'm going to stick to his children's books.
*i'm typing in lower case because the shift key on my keyboard is broken.
bleak house*
several books i've read in the past year referenced bleak house, so i figured it was the universe's way of telling me it was time to tackle it.
for the most part i enjoyed the story. you can definitely tell that dickens was writing this book for serialization because there are chapters that do nothing to move the plot forward and characters who really don't serve any purpose - like the caddy jellyby and everything about her.
i'm in the process of watching the masterpiece theater mini-series of the book, which is excellent, and the producers have done an excellent job of whittling the story without losing any major plot points.
i do have a love-hate relationship with dickens, though. i had to read several of his books in college and grad school, and i was always bothered by how he treated women in the novels. bleak house is no different. without giving anything away, i really don't like what dickens did with esther summerson and lady dedlock at the end.
but it was still worth the read, and i may revisit some others of his, like our mutual friend and a tale of two cities.
for the most part i enjoyed the story. you can definitely tell that dickens was writing this book for serialization because there are chapters that do nothing to move the plot forward and characters who really don't serve any purpose - like the caddy jellyby and everything about her.
i'm in the process of watching the masterpiece theater mini-series of the book, which is excellent, and the producers have done an excellent job of whittling the story without losing any major plot points.
i do have a love-hate relationship with dickens, though. i had to read several of his books in college and grad school, and i was always bothered by how he treated women in the novels. bleak house is no different. without giving anything away, i really don't like what dickens did with esther summerson and lady dedlock at the end.
but it was still worth the read, and i may revisit some others of his, like our mutual friend and a tale of two cities.
*i'm writing in lowercase because my keyboard is fried and my shift key doesn't work.
Friday, December 11, 2009
That Old Cape Magic
I love Russo's writing, and his Empire Falls is one of my favorite books. But this book didn't wrap me up the way his others have. When I finished reading it, I figured out why. Russo's other books are set in towns that become as much a part of the story as any of the characters. I can see the towns as if I've lived there my entire life. And that's what's missing from this book. It is mostly set on Cape Cod, but not really in any one place. The story revolves around Griffin, his now-dead parents who still argue with him in his head, his estranged wife and their daughter, and their annual trips to Cape Cod. I liked the characters well enough, especially Griffin's caustic mother, but the book just doesn't have the spark that Russo's books usually have.
Although, the rehearsal dinner scene was one of the funniest I've ever read. Russo does have a talent for setting up absurdly funny situations.
Although, the rehearsal dinner scene was one of the funniest I've ever read. Russo does have a talent for setting up absurdly funny situations.
Daphne du Maurier
I hadn't read du Maurier since high school, and twice in two weeks, someone mentioned Rebecca, so I grabbed a copy while I was at the used book store. And oh my gosh I forgot how good a book it is. Not only is the story suspenseful, it is so well written. I loved reading it so much that I went back to the store the next week and grabbed Jamaica Inn, and I loved it too. I couldn't stop reading it.
With both books, I remembered the basic plot lines, but I didn't remember the gasp-worthy shockers that both books have.
I was back at the book store last week, and I looked for more of du Maurier's novels (and show wrote a lot of them), but they didn't have any others in stock. I'm going to have to put in a request at the library.
One interesting fact, the house in Rebecca - Manderley - is based on a real estate in Cornwall called Menabilly, where du Maurier lived on and off. Du Maurier was able to rent Menabilly from the family that had owned it for generations, and she did a tremendous amount of work to restore it to its grandeur. You can find some pictures of it at http://www.dumaurier.org/memories.html.
With both books, I remembered the basic plot lines, but I didn't remember the gasp-worthy shockers that both books have.
I was back at the book store last week, and I looked for more of du Maurier's novels (and show wrote a lot of them), but they didn't have any others in stock. I'm going to have to put in a request at the library.
One interesting fact, the house in Rebecca - Manderley - is based on a real estate in Cornwall called Menabilly, where du Maurier lived on and off. Du Maurier was able to rent Menabilly from the family that had owned it for generations, and she did a tremendous amount of work to restore it to its grandeur. You can find some pictures of it at http://www.dumaurier.org/memories.html.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Catching Up
I have read so many books in the last month thanks to being terribly ill. I spent so much time in bed that I got lots of reading opportunities. Instead of doing separate entries for each book, I'm going to do a quick rundown.
Otherwise Normal People - It's about the world of competitive rose growers, and it's fascinating. It's sort of Like Susan Orleans' Orchid Thief, but without the crazy guy. My only complaint is that it didn't have pictures of the roses. I ended up going to the Jackson & Perkins website to look up some of the varieties.
Mutiny on the Bounty - I've always had a fascination for tales from the high seas. Perhaps it's because I grew up in a beach town and loved sailing. Or maybe I was a seafarer in a former life. This book is a fictionalized account of the very real mutiny on the Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian against Captain Blye. And while Blye comes across as the bad guy in the book, Christian is no peach either. He sets the captain and 17 crew men adrift in an open boat with barely any food or water in the middle of the South Pacific. Amazingly, Blye and company survive and make it back to England, where they report the mutiny and send the Royal Navy after the mutineers. The Navy never gets it's hands on the mutineers, but they do round up several members of the crew who were left on the Bounty with Christian, who then put them ashore on Tahiti. The story of those crew members' return to England is worth reading all by itself.
Pitcairn Island - This is the third of the Bounty trilogy. It's about what happened to the mutineers after they set Blye adrift and abandoned other crew members on Tahiti. Fletcher Christian and 8 English sailors basically kidnapped 6 Tahitian men and 12 Tahitian women and searched through the South Pacific for an island on which to settle. They eventually found Pitcairn, where they lived for 20 years without being discovered.
Unfortunately, their life was not idyllic. There was rape and murder and alcoholism. the Tahitian men, tired of being treated like slaves and tired of having their women stolen, plotted to kill all the English men. They managed to kill a few before the English figured out what was going on and returned the favor. By the time the bloodshed was over Fletcher Christian was dead, and only four English sailors were left alive, along with several of the women. The alcoholism among the remaining men got so bad that the women built their own encampment and lived there with all the children. By the time an American sailing ship landed at the island, 20 years later, only one man was left, acting as father to all of the children who had been born.
The book fascinated me. As much as a recluse as I tend to be, I can't imagine settling on an island and then deliberately burning the only ship that could get them to the world beyond. But that's what they did, forcing themselves into complete isolation for decades.
Lost Paradise - This book pretty much ended any desire I had to visit Pitcairn Island. It's by a New Zealand journalist and chronicles the sex abuse trials on Pitcairn five years ago. It turns out that for generations, Pitcairn men had been raping girls as young as 9 and 10. Often, these girls were nieces or cousins on the men. There wasn't a family on the island that not involved in some way. The trials were a legal challenge - magistrates and attorneys had to be imported from England and New Zealand and housed on the island, among the accused and victims. Six reporters were allowed to attend, and they also had to live on the island amidst a very hostile population that was convinced the outside world was trying to paint them all in a bad light. Many of the girls and women who initially reported the rapes ended up not pressing charges or refusing to testify. The girls and women who did ended up isolated from their families and the island itself.
The book is a fascinating account about how a closed society can go so badly wrong. I'd love to get my hands on an account of the island's history during the 200 years between its discovery by the outside world and the trial. Even though I no longer have any desire to visit the island, it still fascinates me.
Otherwise Normal People - It's about the world of competitive rose growers, and it's fascinating. It's sort of Like Susan Orleans' Orchid Thief, but without the crazy guy. My only complaint is that it didn't have pictures of the roses. I ended up going to the Jackson & Perkins website to look up some of the varieties.
Mutiny on the Bounty - I've always had a fascination for tales from the high seas. Perhaps it's because I grew up in a beach town and loved sailing. Or maybe I was a seafarer in a former life. This book is a fictionalized account of the very real mutiny on the Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian against Captain Blye. And while Blye comes across as the bad guy in the book, Christian is no peach either. He sets the captain and 17 crew men adrift in an open boat with barely any food or water in the middle of the South Pacific. Amazingly, Blye and company survive and make it back to England, where they report the mutiny and send the Royal Navy after the mutineers. The Navy never gets it's hands on the mutineers, but they do round up several members of the crew who were left on the Bounty with Christian, who then put them ashore on Tahiti. The story of those crew members' return to England is worth reading all by itself.
Pitcairn Island - This is the third of the Bounty trilogy. It's about what happened to the mutineers after they set Blye adrift and abandoned other crew members on Tahiti. Fletcher Christian and 8 English sailors basically kidnapped 6 Tahitian men and 12 Tahitian women and searched through the South Pacific for an island on which to settle. They eventually found Pitcairn, where they lived for 20 years without being discovered.
Unfortunately, their life was not idyllic. There was rape and murder and alcoholism. the Tahitian men, tired of being treated like slaves and tired of having their women stolen, plotted to kill all the English men. They managed to kill a few before the English figured out what was going on and returned the favor. By the time the bloodshed was over Fletcher Christian was dead, and only four English sailors were left alive, along with several of the women. The alcoholism among the remaining men got so bad that the women built their own encampment and lived there with all the children. By the time an American sailing ship landed at the island, 20 years later, only one man was left, acting as father to all of the children who had been born.
The book fascinated me. As much as a recluse as I tend to be, I can't imagine settling on an island and then deliberately burning the only ship that could get them to the world beyond. But that's what they did, forcing themselves into complete isolation for decades.
Lost Paradise - This book pretty much ended any desire I had to visit Pitcairn Island. It's by a New Zealand journalist and chronicles the sex abuse trials on Pitcairn five years ago. It turns out that for generations, Pitcairn men had been raping girls as young as 9 and 10. Often, these girls were nieces or cousins on the men. There wasn't a family on the island that not involved in some way. The trials were a legal challenge - magistrates and attorneys had to be imported from England and New Zealand and housed on the island, among the accused and victims. Six reporters were allowed to attend, and they also had to live on the island amidst a very hostile population that was convinced the outside world was trying to paint them all in a bad light. Many of the girls and women who initially reported the rapes ended up not pressing charges or refusing to testify. The girls and women who did ended up isolated from their families and the island itself.
The book is a fascinating account about how a closed society can go so badly wrong. I'd love to get my hands on an account of the island's history during the 200 years between its discovery by the outside world and the trial. Even though I no longer have any desire to visit the island, it still fascinates me.
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