Although attempting to be on the lighter side of reference material, My Grammar and I...Or Should That Be Me?: How To Speak and Write It Right is a decent guide to grammar. However, this is a book more for those who have a good grasp of the language and its many nuances within spelling and grammar, as well as pronunciation. It cannot be used as a guide for those whom English is a second language; and certainly not for the younger set.
In fact, the style and tone go from middle school level to high school and post secondary level, and back again. Perhaps the authors were trying to aim for a larger circle of target readers, but instead this method detracts from the book's usefulness. It's interesting that the same poem in explaining parts of a speech is used here as in the reference book geared for the younger set (see Write Every Time).
Overall though, the book is strong in information and examples, even if often the examples are from well known writers of literature. As with all Reader's Digest reference books, the pocket size makes it easy to store anywhere. There are five sections: Spelling and Confusables; Parts of Speech; Sentence Structure; Punctuation; Odds and Ends (Elements of Style). It's irritating though to have fun facts listed in a "smart aleck" box; or funny examples to explain the feature in a "Ha-Ha" box. Again, this stems from the lack of a defined targetted audience. Often the "Ha-Ha" box example needs explaining for those with only a high school education.
A major disappointment is the lack of any kind of index, a grave oversight for any book that intends to be a reference use. Perhaps the authors thought the table of contents would be enough, but it isn't.
One fun fact this book opens with is that English is the only language to have 9 ways of pronouncing a single four-letter combination: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed". Again, only a well rounded native speaker would not have trouble with the above example; there is no pronunciation chart provided.
In its defense, the back cover of this book does imply this is a refresher course for those stumped by dangling participles or split infinitives, and says this is also for those who have no idea what these things are. In truth, this book is a bit too difficult for those not already very familiar with the nuances of the English language, but does serve as a handy reference guide.
Book courtesy of FSB Associates.
References:
Taggart, Caroline and Wines, J.A. My Grammar and I...Or Should That Be Me?: How To Speak and Write It Right. New York, NY USA: Reader's Digest, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60652-026-0
Paym Bergson - Paym Bergson - freelance entrepreneur & career coach with extensive experience working in the educational/professional development ...
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