Hello, and welcome to In My Bag! My name is Jenn, and this is my product review blog. 
I have loved to read and write since I first knew how. I have fond memories of the public libraries in my childhood neighborhoods, and I have very vivid memories of begging my mom to go to the library for me when I was sick and unable to go myself. While other kids spent their afternoons and weekends playing outside, hanging with friends, and playing video games on their Nintendos, Super Nintendos and Sega Genesises, I would dabble in just a bit of that, and devote the rest of my time to reading — and writing in a journal. I’m all grown up now, but I still love reading, and still burn through books whenever I have the time to do so.
What’s interesting is that even though I’m a decent writer (I like to think so, anyway) and an avid reader, there’s a lot of little technical details and intricacies of grammar and the English language that I’m not familiar with (sidenote: I hated learning and dealing with verbs, adverbs, past-participles, etc., in high school!). So when The Glamour of Grammar came up for review, I was first in line to request a copy of it. Roy Peter Clark, VP and senior scholar at The Poynter Institute, a prestigious school for journalists from all over the world, wrote the book to dispel a lot of myths about grammar, and to show just how immersed it is in the English language.
Description:
Early in the history of English, the words “grammar” and “glamour” meant the same thing: the power to charm. Roy Peter Clark, author of Writing Tools, aims to put the glamour back in grammar with this fun, engaging alternative to stuffy instructionals. In this practical guide, readers will learn everything from the different parts of speech to why effective writers prefer concrete nouns and active verbs. THE GLAMOUR OF GRAMMAR gives readers all the tools they need to”live inside the language”–to take advantage of grammar to perfect their use of English, to instill meaning, and to charm through their writing.
I have to admit, grammar has never held a lot of interest for me, though I do my best — except when I’m blogging casually or am rushed or tired — to adhere to the standards I’m aware of, and I’m always open to criticism and suggestions. But this book sounded too good to resist. Learning different parts of speech and the ins and outs of nouns, verbs, active verbs and more, in a book that is also sprinkled with interesting tidbits and a bit of humor to make it all easier to swallow? Bring it!
I really enjoyed reading The Glamour of Grammar, and I’m not embarrassed to admit that I did learn several new things from each chapter (there are 50 total, but they’re not overly long, I promise!) of the book. As a blogger and a freelance writer, it’s great to have such an informative and fun book at my disposal.
Want your very own hardcover copy of The Glamour of Grammar? Read on…
Giveaway
Mandatory entry
Leave a comment about the book on this entry!
Additional entries:
(each additional entry earns you one additional entry into the giveaway; please leave a separate comment for each entry)
- Leave a comment telling me one aspect of writing in the English language you struggle with (grammar, punctuation, formatting, etc.)
- Follow me, @kissmykitty, on Twitter
- Follow @RoyPeterClark on Twitter
- Tweet the following to your public Twitter account: Check out The Glamour of Grammar! http://bit.ly/cCZIXs
- Tweet the following to your public Twitter account: #Win a copy of The Glamour of Grammar at In My Bag! http://bit.ly/b7XS59 #giveaway
- Blog about this giveaway, being sure to include a link to this giveaway and to The Glamour of Grammar
Giveaway details:
- The Glamour of Grammar giveaway begins on August 13th, 2010 and runs until August 20th at 11:59pm EST.
- All entries must be in by 08/20/10 at 11:59pm EST in order to be counted for the final drawing.
- Winners will be notified by email, and will have 48 hours to respond.
- No duplicate entries (IPs are logged).
Good luck to everyone who enters!
One of the problems I have with grammar is comma placement. I tend to overuse them! LOL.
I love books about grammar, I want it! :K
I am following you on Twitter under angsaysrawr!
I am also following RoyPeterClark under angsaysrawr.
I tweeted the following: Check out The Glamour of Grammar! http://bit.ly/cCZIXs under my public account TQBnet
I tweeted the following on my public twitter TQBnet: #Win a copy of The Glamour of Grammar at In My Bag! http://bit.ly/b7XS59 #giveaway
I tweeted the following under TQBnet: #Win a copy of The Glamour of Grammar at In My Bag! http://bit.ly/b7XS59 #giveaway
That book sounds awesome!
Angela’s last blog entry: Things I Hide From People
I’m terrible with using commas and semi colons when they’re not actually supposed to be there. And sometimes, I just use semi colons to make sentences look cooler.
I am following @kissmykitty under @quotetasticc
I am also following @roypeterclark under @quotetasticc.
I want this book. A lot. I saw your review and literally got a little thrilled about an entire book on grammar. I have a great love for grammar, loved English class (in fact that was the only class all throughout school that I enjoyed at all) and I have definitely been known to point out other people’s misuses of grammar, comma placement and the like because well, I’m a bitch like that.
Holly’s last blog entry: Call for Submissions — “Dear Sister” Upcoming Anthology for Survivors of Sexual Violence
I’m interested in this book just because English is my second language (my mother tongue is Italian), and I love this language and anything related to it. I’m a translator, and when it comes to the languages I work with, I want to learn as much as possible about them.
My Twitter account is @its_me_ilaria , and I’m following both @kissmykitty and @roypeterclark . I’m going to write a post on my blog (mylifeintranslation.net) about the book and your giveaway.
Ilary
Ilary’s last blog entry: SSLMIT Forlì – My experience and some notes part II
Here’s my blog post about the giveaway —> http://www.mylifeintranslation.net/blog/the-glamour-of-grammar-by-roy-peter-clark.html
Ilary’s last blog entry: SSLMIT Forlì – My experience and some notes part II
I love books like this – something that takes something that could appear dull, and gives it new life. I’d especially love to read it because I think it would be a great fit for the types of things I write about!
Erica’s last blog entry: Hatiquette- Rules for Wearing Hats
Apparently, I mis-read the instructions. I never left the part of grammar I struggled with! (Does reading comprehension count?)
I cannot use a semicolon to save my life.
Also, I tweeted and followed the appropriate people.
Erica’s last blog entry: Hatiquette- Rules for Wearing Hats
Let’s start with this: What’s wrong with grammar today? It’s the fragmentation of the language through the different communication mediums. When I send a grammatically correct text to someone and they reply with “K”, the glamour of grammar is the last thing on the person’s mind. Facebook and other formats encourage people to leave short snippets of their day like, “I feel sick today,” “my dog is sick today,” “my son/daughter/wife/husband is sick today.”
Content, people! Having something to say and saying it in a meaningful way seems to be lost on many. We need a counter revolution of the sort that’s represented with this book.
Jenn: Thank you so much for calling attention to my new book, The Glamour of Grammar. Your readers may be interested to know that it is the sequel to Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, which is now in paperback. I’m delighted to say that my publisher Little, Brown has kept the cost of both books down so that anyone interested in language knowledge or writing improvement can get copies at a low price.
I admire your own devotion to the craft. Cheers, and thanks again.
I didn’t specify the aspect of the English language I struggle with, does my application count anyway?
I’d like to learn more about formatting because I didn’t really study it.
Ilary’s last blog entry: SSLMIT Forlì – My experience and some notes part II
I would love this book! It took years for me to learn the easy way to know when to use me, I, she, him, etc and once I did it was so simple. This book would be awesome since I do copywriting for a living. All of my co-workers have degrees in English and mine is in Criminology. I need a leg up!
Karsun’s last blog entry: Ultimate Frisbee Videos
I did all the requirements to win The Glamour of Grammas. One of my biggest problem is the use of the dash and concordance. English is not my native language. That’s why I will enjoy this book very much. I do not hava a blog but I posted in my FB page and my Twitter acct. Thank you.
One of my main problems with grammar is punctuation and when it is the proper time to start a new paragraph. I am not very good with proper grammar at all, but hopefully with time I will learn!
I am following you and RoyPeterClark on twitter (@verbalized)
It seems as though my comment about the book did not go through, so I’ll post it again.
From your post, I am very interested in reading this book. I will openly admit I am not great at grammar. I’ve taken English courses at a university level and still do not feel as though I have learned enough. This book seems like it would put a fun spin on things and not seem as though I am just studying for another test. I would love a chance to read it in hopes to better my grammar
I tweeted Both tweets here: http://twitter.com/verbalized/status/21490709038 and here: http://twitter.com/verbalized/status/21490494507