Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen

Could a book about grammar be funny, highly informative -- and a hard to put down page turner? The answer is "yes" if it is this one written by Mary Norris. Anyone who has ever written anything more formal than an email or a grocery list will find that all those little things they've puzzled over have been puzzles to Ms. Norris as well which she discusses in a narrative style so engaging you hardly realize you're learning a great deal along the way. I particularly like her account of how she ended up being a New Yorker editor, and the "inside peek" of what that world is like.

Amazingly enough, Mary Norris has managed to turn the soberness of correct grammar into a breezy and humorous read. She answers many common questions, among them one of my pet peeves, "Between you and I", which the title suggests. Thank you, Mary!
But there are many others, such as : when to use "into" or "in to" ; and how punctuation has been used over the centuries to evoke
a certain response in the reader, such as Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick",( why the hyphen?) or Charles Dickens, who "punctuated by ear", as he often read aloud to his audience.

Many wonderful recollections with famous authors and scenes best remembered. And you actually learn from this book. What's not to like?

Between you and me, dear reader, this was a wonderful informative and entertaining book all about grammar and publishing at the prestigious New Yorker Magazine. The author is a 30 year copy writer of the New Yorker. I never had such fun learning intricate rules of grammar and punctuation as I did with this witty experienced copy writer. Besides the grammar and punctuation, Mary Norris tells entertaining inside stories about the publishing house including her colleagues, feisty arguments about writing rules, and experiences with many famous authors. I enjoyed all the nuances of grammar discussions, including the intricacies of dictionaries. Really, I never thought that I would be so intrigued about these subjects, but Mary Norris made it possible.

As others have noted, a copy editor's book should be free of typos.

I recognize that this is not a grammar text, but several times I found her examples very confusing. Is she illustrating what is correct or what is incorrect? For example, here I guess she means that "If it was not for the stupid rules" is correct, but I'm not sure.

"Where I get twisted up is when there's a negative involved. "If it were not for the stupid
street cleaning rules, I would be home in bed." Does the negative cancel out the contrary-to-factness?
No. Those are the stupid street cleaning rules."

Very entertaining for a book on grammar, but the editor should be lashed with a wet noodle -- there are some really poor errors in punctuation. If you are going with one editing style, English, American, whatever -- then BE consistent! Shame, shame -- gave me a chuckle. Better than hearing radio announcers talk about a victim being "Drug along behind a speeding vehicle" or about :two people trying to conversate in a crowded room". I could go bald from pulling out hair.

Every few years a book about English grammar and/or punctuation comes out that helps you rethink your own usage. This is one of those books. However, it's better than that. Mary, having worked for many years at The New Yorker, was among the cream-of-the-crop in the literary world. Now she's out on her own telling her story, and giving us very solid ideas about punctuation, syntax, and grammar, while giving us a doorway into her life too. It's a great book!

For those of us a little shaky about correct grammar, an all-inclusive group I suspect, this is an excellent review of those rules we encounter every day. The author is a very erudite commentator, but then who would expect anything less of a New Yorker line editor. She has a breezy yet very informative style and a gives us gems about life atThe New Yorker along the way
An enjoyable and informative read. I recommend it highly

I was hoping for something on the level of "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" and was disappointed that "Between You and Me" didn't measure up. It was a good read, but I wanted a great one. Curiously, Ms Norris chose to show how modern and enlightened she is with a chapter on four letter words and how many times authors could or did put the F word in the The New Yorker. While it's a useful word for many--myself included, and by no reasonable measure can I be called prudish--but it doesn't come across well in "good" company, whatever that means. Its use can provoke a reaction like that of misspelling, misuse of words or incorrect grammar.

Punctuation has more wiggle room than I would have ever expected. Apart from a few violations that set a professional apart from an amateur, puctuation is meant to clarify, so that the author's meaning is transparent--just like a good computer operating system should have menues designed in the interest of clarity, transparency, ease of use . . . So, after all the admonitions to conform to latest punctuation guide put out by Oxford, and the bulldosing of elegance by well-meaning copy-editors, I learned that my punctuation is spot-on, for the most part. I get it right without giving it a thought. Thatks for letting me say to my copy editors: Read this book by the Queen, or Off With Your Head! --Angel Griffin, author

A gem for readers who are fascinated with grammar and the use of the language. Mary's anecdotes are a delight, including tales of great saves and near misses, with mini-portraits of the language matriarchs she's worked with. Terrific sense of humor -- and even a chapter on profanity -- combining reminiscences, explanations, grammar lessons and examples, and tales of the profession that are both witty and enlightening.

As someone who due to generation or local schools didn't have a real grammar unit until high school, I learned plenty here. I'll be watching my commas and hyphens very closely now. I also enjoyed getting to know--even just a little--the obviously delightful person in the author. Her voice, judging from her wonderful video contributions on The New Yorker's website, came through brilliantly.

Informative, funny and engaging. Norris gives us a tightly written memoir of herself, but also of punctuation marks and editing. This is not a style manual, although it does clarify some of the mysteries of grammar and punctuation. Norris has embedded her lessons in war stories from her many years as a copy editor and proof reader. Highly recommended for anyone who writes, edits or reads.

After Mary Norris marked up a New Yorker article by Philip Roth, the author told the magazine's fiction editor, "Who is this woman? And will she come live with me?" Norris has done the impossible: she's made grammar and punctuation fun (or at least interesting) to read about. She knows her stuff and writes in relaxed, conversational tone with a good dose of humor and good cheer.

Here are a few examples:

"Generally, in English, to have your sex tacked onto your occupation is unnecessary and often insulting. Except for the handful of professions defined by biology, like wet nurse and midwife and madam, why should sex enter into it? There are a few imperishable English words where the feminine ending is strong and useful--'heroine,' from the Greek, and, from the Latin, 'dominatrix.' Take that, sexist pigs."

"A colon is a very controlling gesture. It says, 'Right this way,' like a proper butler. A sentence should have only one colon, just as it should have only one period. A butler would never tolerate another butler in the same household."

As I writer, I learned a lot from this book. As a reader, I laughed a lot too.

HILARIOUS topic and treatment of the subject for me, an retired English teacher. How many red pens have I drained in 45 years! God knows>
I have come across the grammatical and linguistic subjects the author treats.
I laughed out loud! I'm reading it a chapter at a time to savor its glib and risible tone.

I expected insight and perhaps even some guidance in the art of copy editing. I was halfway through the book before realizing this was not going to materialize. What a shame. It could have been delightful.

This is an excellent account of being in the copy department of the New Yorker Magazine and humorously recounts her interactions with both staff and writers. Plus a special chapter on pencils and pencil sharpeners which is delightful.

I loved learning the mechanics of language as a child. (Car mechanics can relate.) Finally, a book with good humor and good mechanics! Thanks for the memories, and the encouragement to keep up the good work, punctuating every step of the way.

I went into this expecting, based on reviews, it to be a good read, and I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed reading it. It was both entertaining (funny and witty) and educational. I'll never think about the comma the same way again!

Very funny book--combination of her life, the newspaper editor's job, and the usage of punctuation and even sentence structure.
She has many you tube episodes--the best is the hour presentation at a book festival.
Buy this book!

Kudos to Ms. Morris for this great grammar book. It is not just a “grammar” book like countless others; no, this one is special because it actually teaches you how to write correctly, something I am still struggling to learn—I think it is a memory thing trying to remember rules about you and I…it is me!
What makes this book special is that it humanizes the author/teacher and treats the student as a friend having a conversation about the intricacies of writing correctly. What I loved about the book are the subject area titles such as, “Spelling is for Weirdos, Between You and Me, A Dash, a Semicolon, and a Colon Walk into a Bar, F*ck This Sh*t, and What’s Up with the Apostrophe?” I will read it again and again and still enjoy it.

So, between you and me, get the book!

Yes, I highly recommend it

While not as funny as "Eats, Shoots and Leaves", it is entertaining and, of course, it is always fun to dwell on the dreadful things writers and TV talking heads do with our language. Block that comma -- and while you're at it, block that apostrophe!

An entertaining inside glimpse at the world of the New Yorker and the army of copywriters, editors, and such that ensure that most of what we read is correct. As a new and growing novelist, I learned more than I expected from the grammar lessons imbedded in the book. I appreciated Mary Norris's journeyman's approach to punctuation. This is a worthwhile read for all who appreciate the English language, and more so for students of the language and budding writers. If I were a college English professor, I would add this book to the required reading list.
A 'tip of the hat' to the author and four stars.