Scan barcode
raloveridge's review
3.0
A good reminder that punctuation is our friend in the midst of creative texts. Of course, the book seems aimed at an intro class and there was next to no discussion of poetry, but it was an interesting enough book to pick up from time to time over the course of a month. If I taught fiction-writing (or creative non-fiction), I'd totally assign this book.
lizziaha's review
1.75
Well written and sound enough, but insufferable. If you’re going to be a prescriptivist, then at least be right.
mobilisinmobili's review
5.0
If Strunk & White had written only of the virtues of punctuation it might have come out something like this book.
writersrelief's review
5.0
This is a nonfiction book that puts a spin on the different uses of punctuation in creative writing. The analogy that sticks with me is that a colon is like a magician. The audience doesn’t know what’s coming, and then voilà: the curtain is pulled back for the grand reveal. This book totally changed the way I look at colons and em-dashes.
xterminal's review against another edition
4.0
Noah Lukeman, A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation (Norton, 2006)
Noah Lukeman's three writing guides (The First Five Pages, The Plot Thickens, and this one) are wonderful little oases of good, old-fashioned common sense in a twisted thicket of how-to-write tomes. They are small, to the point, and quietly sure of themselves. They can be; the information contained therein is impeccable. If you haven't discovered Lukeman yet and you're an aspiring writer of any fictional stripe (and aren't we all?), hie thee to the bookstore, library, whatever and grab yourself a copy of The First Five Pages, about which I cannot say enough good things (though I tried when reviewing it a few years back). You can grab the other two in either order, I think.
This is a straight punctuation book; Lukeman starts with the most commonly-used punctuation marks, gives a quick overview of when they should (and shouldn't) be used, and then heads into more esoteric territory. All of it is good reads, even if you actually know most of this stuff heading into it. I did, and this still ended up being my favorite of the three; Lukeman is concise, witty, and a lot of fun without going over the top (as, say, Lynne Truss). ****
Noah Lukeman's three writing guides (The First Five Pages, The Plot Thickens, and this one) are wonderful little oases of good, old-fashioned common sense in a twisted thicket of how-to-write tomes. They are small, to the point, and quietly sure of themselves. They can be; the information contained therein is impeccable. If you haven't discovered Lukeman yet and you're an aspiring writer of any fictional stripe (and aren't we all?), hie thee to the bookstore, library, whatever and grab yourself a copy of The First Five Pages, about which I cannot say enough good things (though I tried when reviewing it a few years back). You can grab the other two in either order, I think.
This is a straight punctuation book; Lukeman starts with the most commonly-used punctuation marks, gives a quick overview of when they should (and shouldn't) be used, and then heads into more esoteric territory. All of it is good reads, even if you actually know most of this stuff heading into it. I did, and this still ended up being my favorite of the three; Lukeman is concise, witty, and a lot of fun without going over the top (as, say, Lynne Truss). ****
ashesandhoney's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. It's not at all technical and for that it is actually far more useful than a lot of rule books can be. I think the explanation of using commas in this book actually does more for me than any list of rules on comma use that I've ever read.
The book is about how to use punctuation to bring home your point rather than how to use punctuation correctly.
The book is about how to use punctuation to bring home your point rather than how to use punctuation correctly.
More...