Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English

I'm the type of English nerd who enjoys reading grammar guides for fun and the title of this one struck my fancy a couple years ago. However, this grammar guide wasn't quite as fun as the title implies. The author is a little too prescriptive in her tastes (rather than descriptive) and American-centric, which occasionally clashes with my eccentric Canadian spelling. Also, because I read the second edition that was originally published in 2003, the chapter on email is hysterically outdated. Not bad for a flip-through reference guide but if you're looking for a grammar equivalent to Eats, Shoots & Leaves keep on moving.

Lovers of the language, unite! You have nothing to lose but your niggling worries if you're haunted by whiches, all tensed up, or baffled by whose and who's.
Woe Is I is a survival guide for people who want a clear, simple, elegant introduction to good usage. Charming, amusing, sensible, modern, this book is a gift of clarity and good humour.
Most of us don't know a gerund from a gerbil and don't care, but we like to speak and write as though we did. Grammar is mysterious to each of us in a different way. Some very smart people mess up pronouns, and there are brilliant souls who can't spell. Many people can't tell the difference between it's and its. Others go out of their way to avoid using quotation marks. Whatever your particular show more boo-boo, Woe Is I can help you fix it without hitting you over the head with a lot of technical jargon. No heavy lifting, no assembly required. show less

I'll admit it: I feel grammar and punctuation-challenged, so I didn't groan when I saw this was assigned for my composition class. However, after making my way through most of the book, I have to say I'm disappointed. "National Bestseller" claims my edition. Really?! Really!? This must be one of the those books that people who don't read very much buy and throw on the shelf to show how well-read they are (or wish they were).

While it covers grammar, punctuation and word choice, the tone is breezy, the format outline-friendly, and there are enough sidebars and lists to make a "Dummies" book blush, so it feels more like a 'safe' introduction than a truly helpful text. If you look for rules, they're hidden in chatty examples of just how show more tricky rules can be. If you look for examples of how to apply the rules, you only get three or four before it's on to the next one. Thus, I'm not sure it is truly helpful for the reader who wants to improve their grammar in a long-lasting way. Too much of the writing is cluttered with silly humor that distracts from the point. For instance, one aside in the section on verb tense states, "that odd crackling noise you hear is the sound of a sentence short-circuiting!" Well, either that or my temper.

I found the format annoying and unhelpful towards actual comprehension. There's a tendency towards long lists in each section. One section on spelling has a long list of hard-to-spell words, so that the reader doesn't get caught pants down by spell-check. Great, I guess. But if I actually want help, I won't get it because I memorized a list of tough words--it'll be from using a dictionary. And yawn for readability, no matter how chatty your definition of "recede" is ("Three e's, and none of them together. Marc expects hemlines to recede next year (For hints about spelling "seedy" -sounding words, see above.)

As O'Conner uses just a couple of examples (almost never more than three) to illustrate her point/rule, the pace is keep moving, but at the expense of greater comprehension. I wouldn't have minded a few exercises or "test your comprehension" questions at the end of each chapter.

The second half on word choices is even more mixed in terms of usefulness. One chapter on "Verbal Abuse" will help dictionary-adverse users better understand a number of common words and phrases that are used incorrectly, such as "decimate," "hopefully," "irony," "literally," "lay/lie," "assume/presume," etc. It's a section for those who feel unsure of the meaning of the words they use. There is a chapter on common cliches that should be avoided, called, "Death Sentence: Do Cliches Deserve to Die?" I admire the intention, but sometimes corporate-speak is that way for a reason, and changing it up too much risks the readers/listeners thinking you don't speak their language or aren't responding to their ideas. Likewise, the chapter with ten tips on "How to Say What You Mean," would work best for a beginning writer. In fact, I think many of the tips would be contraindicated for a fiction writer.

Surprisingly, most of the chapter on punctuation was familiar to me. Thanks, ninth grade English!

Overall, a useful book if you feel very unsure about your writing skills, need to write semi-articulately in your profession and don't want to bother with a lot of hard-core rules and practice. I doubt that it will be helpful to a lot of advanced writers who want to improve their grammar. show less

This book is unique. It addresses grammar issues even the most illustrious writers struggle with. It helps the writer become a better editor of their own work with insight and humor. This book delivers compassion to its readers, not judging them. Instead, it gives fun examples and infuses drollery into a subject that often deflates a writer. The book speaks directly to the heart of every writer, understanding what they are going through, and shows them how to fix the most infuriating and tricky issues of grammar.

Finally! A GOOD book about grammar that's easy to understand and actually fun to read. I'm an editior by profession and a writer by love, but I could never force my way through Struck and White's "Elements of Style"--has to be one of the most boring books ever written! But "Woe is I" is a fantastic look at the quirkiness of the English language and her examples will have you laughing--which, I'm discovering, is useful for remembering them later. I keep this on my shelf at work. A nice go-to reference. Recommended for writers, editors, and other lovers of English.

A lighthearted approach to problematic issues with grammar and usage. This is a quick, fun read and should also be handy reference, with chapters on easily confused words, cliches to let die, and common grammar snafus.

Reread in 2023: A little bit dated now. Recent acceptance of the singular "they" has been a wonderful thing for writers and copyeditors! There is also some advice I don't agree with. But overall, a nice guide for fearful beginners, with many helpful tips.

Bought this for my mum for Christmas, had to get up to free shipping and decided to buy a copy for myself! I read the second edition from the library last year, so here is my review for that one:

A very instructive book, in particular the chapter on word usage, which pointed out a couple of words that I myself use wrongly (or whose definitions I do not entirely understand). I shall make careful note of those when I come across them in my work.

The book as a whole is very good. The example sentences are fun, especially the ones that refer to characters in literature. (Bertie and his aunts make a few appearances throughout the book.) I also liked the chapter on grammar rules that should just be allowed to die (e.g. not ending a sentence show more with a preposition, splitting infinitives).

One thing I did find grating at points was the tone. Sometimes the author came across as a bit condescending, or at least very vehement in defending her viewpoint, especially if she was discussing a grammar rule that could go either way, but SHE preferred one particular way. I can't remember any particular examples, but it was just in a couple of places and not really a widespread problem. I would still recommend this book for people who want to pick up some tricks regarding English grammar and usage. show less