The genre here on LT is currently showing as “Reference.” If you’re looking for a style reference, I’d suggest CMOS itself. If, on the other hand, you use CMOS on a regular basis and need a little word nerd humor in your life, I highly recommend this! ( )

Entertaining for grammar and style nerds, of which I am one. ( )

Can't afford CMoS? Buy this. ( )

“A wonderful blend of substance and snark—both a useful reference and a fun (yes, fun) read." says Grammar Girl, of grammargirl.com.

Twenty years ago when I became a technical, and then quickly, a corporate writer, I met online a group of several hundred copyeditors, and over the years I've stayed in touch with many of them. We used to use a ListServ, but now I chat business with them on Facebook. This diverse group comes from all over the globe, and I've never met a group of people that I've learned more from -- they're not only highly intelligent (and for the most part, highly educated), but they have great critical thinking skills and a dogged sense of fairness, and for the most part, a wicked, wicked sense of humour.

So it was no surprise to me that But Can I Start a Sentence with "But"? is all of those things.

The books draws from the Q&A at the Chicago Manual of Style website (If you're not familiar with The Chicago Manual of Style, and really, why would you be? It is the end-all and be-all of grammar and formatting questions for North America. The UK has several books addressing the same issues--Oxford and Cambridge presses both publish versions--but none as definitive and revered as the CMS). This is a collection of various questions from their Q&A section. There are a few stupid questions -- which all get a humorously irreverent response, but for the most part the questions are from people who know their stuff, and can't find the answer in CMS. Some of my favourites:

Q: Is there a period after an abbreviation of a country if it is terminating a sentence? "I went to the U.K.."

A: Seriously, have you ever seen two periods in a row like that in print? If we told you to put two periods, would you do it? Would you set your hair on fire if CMOS said you should?

Q: I often have to edit sentences with dangling modifiers--for example, "As a valued supporter, I am pleased to invite you . . . " -- (snip technical details) -- That is, until today I received feedback from a higher up that said it had to be changed -- (snip more technical stuff) -- Now I'm really confused! Is that a legitimate critique? Should I just rework the entire sentence?

A: Although the higher-up botched the grammar critique . . . it's clear that your editing was rejected, so yes, you need to try again. For instance --(snip technical answer)-- If your higher-up just can't part with the opening phrase, explain that you would be happy to reword but can't think of a more efficient way to eliminate the dangling modifier. Using the term "dangling modifier" is often enough to frighten someone who doesn't know grammar into complying.

(I have to say that throwing out grammatical terms in this situation has worked for me in the past when others have balked at my edits)

Q: I need help on how it would be easier to make a bibliography easier.

A: You could keep it short. You could find the references online and copy and paste them in so you don't have to type them. You could buy some software that helps format bibliographies. You could ask your mom to do it.

Okay, two of those were pretty snarky. Really, there are good answers to the questions from non-twits, which is most of the 108 pg book.

Recommended for: Obviously a specialized audience, but anyone who cares about writing and presenting information correctly, I think. If you're not detail oriented, the existence of this book will utterly baffle you.

NOTE 1: Please don't judge the content, grammar, or any other technical detail of this post. I am in a rush, and simultaneously cooking dinner.

NOTE 2: If you want the short version, here you go: consistency is important, but even more important is communicating as clearly as possible to your reader. Always. ( )

Can a grammar/usage/style book be "cute"? Usually not, but this one manages - well, at least if you’re into grammar/usage/style books.

This book is a short compilation of some questions and answers taken from the website of The Chicago Manual of Style. Basically, most of the answers tend towards advice along the lines of “follow common sense,” “do what makes the text most readable,” and “convention often outweighs logic.” But many of the answers are quite humorous, such as in this exchange:

Q. Is it “happy medium” or “happy median”? My author writes: “We would all be much better served as stewards of finite public funds if we could find that happy median where trust reigns supreme.” Thanks!

A. The idiom is “happy medium,” but I like the image of commuters taking refuge from road rage on the happy median.

Or this one:

Q. How do you spell out the sound of a scream? I’ve seen everything from “aaagh!” to “aahhh!” Please tell me there’s a limit to the number of times one can repeat letters!

A. There is a limit to the number of times one can repeat letters! Unfortunately, the limit is different in almost every case.

There is plenty of “actual” advice of course, such as guidance for citing URLs, illustrations, album names, abbreviations, and so on.

Evaluation: To be honest, unless you write, edit, or publish, you probably would not find this book all that essential for your happiness. Being kind of nerdy, however, I enjoyed it quite a bit. ( )