5 stars & 5/10 hearts. This is an awesome book that any writer should have. It is full of words we confuse and common grammar mistakes. It is really hilarious (I laugh aloud so often when reading this). There is a couple mentions of rape (from newspaper headlines used as examples & a word definition) but that is the only content. It is witty, useful, and just excellent. I definitely intend to reread it many, many times.

I think I'm in love. Be still, my geeky, grammar- and word-loving heart! I had the satisfying experience of coming across entries that reinforced my own pet peeves (e.g. the misuse of 'fulsome,' the confusion of 'tortuous' and 'torturous'). But still more satisfyingly, I learned plenty more that I did not already knew, and also learned explanations for things that I knew only by instinct. Marvellous!

A book to dip into and enjoy. Mr Brysons' wit and writing are what bring a potentially bland word book to life.

Highly recommended.

Despite having read the older version, I found this book indispensable in the intricacies of language. Bryson lists a seemingly random mix of place names, easily mistaken word pairs, and grammar points to form an alphabetized list of everything necessary to the classic editor.
My version was revised and published in 2001 so some spellings and usage rules have become obsolete but the book is not a bad introduction into the realm of information often familiar only to professional editors.

As Bill Bryson makes abundantly clear with his many citations throughout this compendium to Henry Fowler and Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English, Bryson’s n  Dictionary of Troublesome Wordsn should not stand alone on any writer’s library shelf. Rather, the two tomes should stand side by side and should cast a reciprocally respectable glow, one upon the other. Though belonging to very different eras, Fowler and Bryson are both scholars in the finest sense of the word – and their works are true works of scholarship.

tAs scholarly as he may be, however, Bryson has not sacrificed his sense of humor—as we can readily see in the following example on pp. 127 – 128 in his discussion of the word ‘major,’ as in “major initiative,” “major embarrassment,” “major undertaking,” and so on, (in which it) remains a severely overworked word, and thus brings a kind of tofu quality to much writing, giving it bulk but little additional flavor. Nearly always it is worth choosing a more precise or expressive term.”

tTo his ultimate credit, however, Bryson does not include himself among the greats in the discussion of the English language (pp. 141 - 142): “(t)he widely held belief that none must always be singular is a myth. Since Fowler, Bernstein, Howard, Gowers, Partridge, the Evanses, the Morrises, Follet, The Oxford English Dictionary, the American Heritage, Random House, and n  Webster’s New World ndictionaries, and many others have already made this point, I do not suppose that the addition of my own small voice to the chorus will make a great deal of difference.”

tBryson’s “own small voice” notwithstanding, I would suggest that he has already gained a foothold among the greats in this particular area of scholarship.

tCan Bryson be captious when he needs to be? You be the judge. On p. 146, we read: “(e)rrors caused by failure to keep track of antecedents. Few people, it sometimes seems, have shorter attention spans than the average writer. All too often he or she will confidently set out with a plural or singular noun, become distracted by three or four intervening words, and finish with a verb of the opposite number.” In all honesty, this is a point on which Bryson and I disagree. On p. 101, he suggests that ‘is’ is grammatically correct in the sentence “It is not you who is (are?) angry.” In my ‘umble opinion, ‘who’ is merely a relative pronoun—and not the antecedent to the correct verb, ‘are,’ which is ‘you.’

The same argument occurs on pp. 219 – 220, where Bryson insists that “(o)dd as ‘you who is’ may sound, it is indeed correct. Sorry, Bill, but I believe you’re dead wrong on this particular point.

tHowever, Bryson does not leave us bereft of surprises. On p. 180, we find alongside the mention of ‘scarves and scarfs’ that “(e)ither is correct for the plural of scarf.” And on p. 91, next to ‘strived and striven,’ we find that “either is acceptable” as a past participle.

tThis review of Bill Bryson’s work would not be a proper review without at least one further mention of his humor. And so, on p. 205, we find that “’untimely death’ is a common but really quite inane expression. When was a death ever timely?”

tNo, this little book is not for the weak of mind or spirit. It also requires more memory than I now have! But I’ve already ordered a second copy—and will make a present of it to both of my children this coming Christmas.

RRB
Brooklyn, NY
12 May 2020

This dictionary never gets dry

A geeky must have for any write trying to get it right.

What began as a lark as a welcome break for the old noodle after reading some mind-bending books became something much more serious.

I like books, words, and books about words. This doesn't take much brain-power - but this was different. This was quite a serious, thorough, quite complete run-through of the most common bugaboos that need addressing.

I thought Bryson was a bit overstuffy at first, but then realized how useful and relevant all his advice is. Halfway through the book, I then realized why I find his writing so elegant and smooth: he avoids all the mistakes he preaches for writers to avoid, deftly!

This book might already have had the most profound effect on me as a writer: I find myself recasting bad sentences per his guidance, avoiding non-clarity per his say-so, and considering better words and grammatical alternatives per his direction.

An achievement, this belongs on the shelves of any editor worth his or her salt.

I am always reading this type of book to glimpse into the world of those smarties that I believe secretly carry a red felt pen with them to correct the incorrect grammar of the rest of us.

I always learn that I have been misusing or mispronouncing some word or another, this makes me think that reading through the book has been validated, until I catch myself using that same word incorrectly again.

This is a great style and usage book, and it certainly gave me an ass whipping! I thought I was pretty good with all things grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage. I definitely was surprised by many items in this book. As a reference book I think it would be a bit tricky to use -- so many of the things that were new to me are so wrong in my head that I don't think I'd remember to double check the guide book for clarification. I hope some of the new information sticks.

This isn't really the kind of book you read through, it's more of a reference book to dip in and out of. It's informative but in all honesty I'm unlikely to remember half of the rules. Some suggestions to avoid using well known phrases seem a bit pernickety, even if they are tautological. There are scatterings of the author's trademark wit but I only really read this through to have completed all of his work (so far).

compendium of correct usage

This book is all over the map on topics related to correct sentence structure, definitions and spellings. I learned a lot of fairly useless information. I will let the grammatical gods enjoy squabbling over these topics.