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Shady Characters: The Secret Life of…
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Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks (edition 2014)

by Keith Houston

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6942132,941 (3.98)11
Revealing the secret history of punctuation, this tour of two thousand years of the written word, from ancient Greece to the Internet, explores the parallel histories of language and typography throughout the world and across time.
Member:crackdog
Title:Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks
Authors:Keith Houston
Info:W. W. Norton & Company (2014), Edition: 1, Paperback, 352 pages
Collections:Your library
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Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks by Keith Houston

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» See also 11 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 21 (next | show all)
It was interesting to see how the various punctuation marks developedor, as was often the case, failed to cath on. Fpund the "sarcasm mark" section interesting in particular, as it's strange to thing how social media is altering language ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
One word for this book: Enlightening. ( )
  uvejota | Jul 26, 2023 |
I don’t even know where to start with how much I loved this book. I haven’t crushed so hard on a writer since my brother-in-law force-lent me A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.
With 68 pages of endnotes, his writing brings to mind the journal articles I have to read for grad school, but unlike the dry majority of these offerings, Houston’s scholarly writing is incredibly fun to read.
I smiled so much as I read this. I wish I’d read it on my kindle, because there would have been loads of highlighted passages to share. My comments below have some of my favorite quotations I noted as I progressed through the book.
Without Houston’s clever, friendly style, this still would have been a fascinating book, using specific symbols and marks to trace the evolution of the written word. His writing made it a delight. ( )
  Harks | Dec 17, 2022 |
This was great! From Cicero to ARPAnet and more, Houston covers the history of punctuation with knowledge and humor. Definitely recommended. ( )
  SwitchKnitter | Dec 19, 2021 |
Well-researched, well-written account of (for the most part) how some obscure punctuation marks developed in form over time (rather than slanted toward usage, say, although any history is necessarily going to touch on that). I'm not sure how much of the information will stay with me, but it was entertaining to read about at the time.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve! ( )
  ashleytylerjohn | Oct 13, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 21 (next | show all)
Shady Characters makes a pleasurable contribution to type history, particularly for readers who haven't considered the ampersand in any detail.
added by Katya0133 | editNew Criterion, Carl W. Scarbrough (Dec 1, 2013)
 
An unusual triumph of the human ability to find exaltation in the mundane.
added by Katya0133 | editKirkus Reviews (Aug 1, 2013)
 
[F]or anyone interested in the quirks of English punctuation without a lecture about how grammar is dead, this book satisfies that curiosity nicely.
added by Katya0133 | editPublishers Weekly (Jul 8, 2013)
 
This book will reward the reader who is less interested in finding the answers to specific questions than in learning about the topic in general.
added by Katya0133 | editLibrary Journal, Robert Mixner (Jul 1, 2013)
 
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Chapter 1   The Pilcrow

This is the pilcrow: ¶. They crop up with surprising frequency, dotted about websites with a typographic bent, for instance, or teaming up with the section symbol in legal documents to form picturesque arrangements such as §3, ¶7. The pilcrow also appears in Microsoft Word, where it adorns a button that reveals hidden characters such as spaces and carriage returns.
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Revealing the secret history of punctuation, this tour of two thousand years of the written word, from ancient Greece to the Internet, explores the parallel histories of language and typography throughout the world and across time.

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