My Grammar and I... Or Should That Be Me?

I really enjoy writing, and because I do a lot of it, I must make sure my grammar is spot-on. Plus, poor grammar is a pet peeve of mine and no matter how many times I grind my teeth over a poorly written sentence, I can't change the way others write. It makes it even harder for some since the rules of writing tend to change a little over time. For example, when I was in high school, you always, always added a comma at the end of a string of words, right before the word "and" (known as a serial comma). But now, the last comma isn't always necessary. So, when is it necessary? My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me?: Old School Ways to Improve Your English answers this and many more questions (including the big question posed in the title)!

For those of us addicted to proper grammar, and for those of you interested in being able to improve your writing, My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me? provides the answers to questions you have with a relaxed and sometimes comedic approach. Even through my fogged mommy-brain, I am able to sit and read through My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me? quite easily, which is more than I can say for some of my college level English textbooks!

Some of you may be wondering if I am one of those social networkers that reads and re-reads my Facebook status updates before I post. The answer is yes, I do. In fact, if I do see a grammatical error, I promptly delete it and start over or post again and explain my lack of accuracy by blaming it on my fogged mommy-brain! I suppose it would be a little too much for me to purchase My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me? as secret pal gifts for those who don't worry about grammatically correct status updates, especially now after reviewing the book.

Surely, there must be many more of you out there stressing over the serial comma, and if you are, My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me? is a helpful piece of therapy! For those of you simply pondering the proper usage of various nouns, pronouns, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, or even the serial comma (and many more), My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me?: Old School Ways to Improve Your English will provide you with a simple and easy to remember explanation for each question you may have.

If you like this book, you may also be interested in reading reviews on these other books:

• I Used to Know That
• i before e (except after c)

I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School

I am a stickler for fact based books. I still have all my college books for reference, and even though they are only collecting dust in the bottom of a spare closet, I've convinced myself I need to keep them. I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School, by Caroline Taggart, is the book that isn't collecting dust because it wraps so many different facts into one compact book! In fact, it as found a nice little home on my computer desk - far away from the dark depths of a closet!

Unless you are teaching a subject in school or are a super genius, there's just no way you are going to be able to remember everything you were taught. You will probably remember the difference between an adverb and an adjective, but will you remember what "diphthongs" are? In fact, I had to read that word twice because I couldn't recall anything having been called a diphthong!

I've studied a fair amount of literature and even though it was in college - my most recent studies - I still am unable to retain everything, even after writing research papers on the same topics! I just don't use the information every day and of course, much of what I had learned has disappeared from my mental database. But I sat back and flipped through the literature portion of I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School and it was amazing to see what memories were being triggered! From Shakespeare to J.R.R. Tolkien, each literary great has at least a small spotlight in I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School.

Whether you are a literary buff, a lover of science, or just interested in unlocking the memory back that's collecting a little bit of dust, I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School covers many other topics like Religion, History, Geography, Nature and more!

If you like this book, you may also be interested in reading reviews on these other books:

• My Grammar and I... Or Should That Be Me?
• i before e (except after c)

i before e (except after c)

While in high school and college, I found some very ingenious ways to memorize those desperately needed tidbits of information for tests and reoccurring topics. Those mnemonic strategies are still with me today. In Judy Parkinson’s book i before e (except after c), countless mnemonic strategies are presented in ways the young and old can appreciate.

Parkinson starts with the first trick of memorization we learn in life, our ABCs. She actually provides a little history with this mnemonic learning tool, along with many others in i before e (except after c). Who knew there were so many different ways to memorize topics of the English Language?

Not only are English Language mnemonics used, but there are examples for memorizing a myriad of facts. One in particular I wish I had known in my science classes was for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa. But it is coming in handy now that I have Canadian friends that refer to degrees Celsius when talking about the weather! I just remember:

Celsius to Fahrenheit:
Multiple C by 9
Divide the answer then by 5
Next, all you need to do, is to add 32.

We’ve all used mnemonics whether we realize it or not. Or perhaps you didn’t realize that old saying “Righty-tighty, Lefty-loosey” is an example of mnemonics. Either way, we all benefit from these simple and fun ways of memorizing rules, proverbs, facts, people, places and things! Judy Parkinson makes mnemonics fun for everyone of every age in i before e (except after c), which by the way, is something I say to myself each and every time I have to spell the word “receipt!”

More Book Information:

I Before E (Except After C)
Old-School Ways to Remember Stuff
By Judy Parkinson
Published by Reader's Digest
April 2008;$14.95US; 978-0-7621-0917-3

Description

Hundreds of Memory Tricks You Learned in the Classroom

"Thirty days hath September..." How many times have your relied on that old maxim to figure out a calendar?

Or how about "Every Good Boy Does Fine" to remember the notes on the treble clef?

These ingenious, practical memory techniques abound in I BEFORE E (EXCEPT AFTER C) with its hundreds of curious sayings. In this clever -- and often hilarious -- collection, you'll find engaging mnemonics, arranged in easy-to-find categories that include:

• Geographically Speaking
• Time and the Calendar
• Think of a Number
• The Sky at Night and by Day
• Guarenteed to amuse and inform, this little book is a perfect gift for students of all ages.

Author Bio
Judy Parkinson is a graduate of Bristol University. She is a producer of documentaries, music videos, and commercials, and won a Clio award for a Greenpeace ad. Parkinson has published four books and has contributed to a show of life drawings at the Salon des Arts, Kensington.

Reviews
“Parkinson’s book is a welcome throwback, an indispensible guide that can be used for general knowledge revision, or whenever that simple nugget of information proves elusive.”
-The Good Book Guide

“Remember all those awesome acronyms and nifty mnemonics you learned in school, to stop stuff going in one ear and out the other? No? Well, never mind—a new book called i before e (except after c) is here to re-educate the educated.”
-The Sun
If you like this book, you may also be interested in reading reviews on these other books:

• My Grammar and I... Or Should That Be Me?
• I Used to Know That