Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies: A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite

This book is really awesome. I don't know the last time I actually wanted to sit down and read a grammar book. Surely, if you have a test to study for-- this probably isn't the book for you, but if you want to learn how to write better, this book is a great start. This book provides funny lessons that not only teaches, but makes you remember because of the humor. For instance, in the first chapter she discusses two authors that she considers as "meanies". She says, "A bug crawled up Kilpatrick's and Safire's behinds and died." While trying to teach about possesives she notes: "if they shared a single behind, it would be 'Safire and Kilbatrick's butt.'" Genius-- I couldn't stop laughing.

While reading Grammar Snobs I kept wondering if it was healthy to be laughing this much at a book on grammar. I read the book in one sitting (excluding 15-minutes to walk the dog and another 5-minutes hiding from a door-to-door salesperson) and it has to be one of the most user friendly books I've ever encountered when it comes to grammar. In addition. Casagrande may be the first author I've encountered who doesn't immediately disparage modern "netspeak" or attempts at countering racism and sexism in language. A great read for anyone looking to brush up on their grammar or to become better familiarized with writing.

I'm not an English major or teacher, but an engineer who occasionally writes technical and marketing literature. Although I've always had a keen grasp of tricky English rules and exceptions, at times I still fumble with such details as "which" vs. "that" and "three" vs. "3". I thought this book was hilarious and a fun way to learn the tricky rules. I usually have a very short attention span when reading any type of rule book. However, June's short and humorous chapters made this book easy to read. Besides the definite grammar rules, the best thing I got from this book is learning that, in many cases, there are no definite rules. The major sources of English reference disagree with each other, and the rules change over time. This quickly put my mind at ease as I often thought I was going crazy when reading different writing styles. I highly recommend this book for anyone who does any kind of writing for a living.

I'm a freelance writer who has a shelf full of reference books, because ... sadly ... even though this is my profession I often get caught not quite knowing why something is right or wrong. It's a complicated language OK! Love, love, love, love this book. As entertaining as it is informative. I've highlighted and sticky-noted several pages. Chapter 35 actually happened to me too ... almost verbatim.

Frankly, I think the entire point of this book is to relax about grammar. For those who find it useless, I question whether they read through the whole book or understood that Cassagrande's point is that grammar is a messed-up area in which none of the style guides will ever agree. Her point isn't to show you how it's done so much as to allow people to feel a bit more confident. I found the book insightful, helpful and a very good source of entertainment. If you take it too seriously, then you'll never get the point of it, which is to understand that grammar will always baffle even the smartest among us, and that it's okay that it is. Cassagrande points out a few areas where the style guides and self-proclaimed language experts can't even agree and shows that grammar is more complex given each interpretation. That we don't agree only proves that point.