‘The Elements of Style’ by William Strunk, Jr.
Book Review
This one is widely considered a classic but I admit that my experience here doesn’t speak to it — because I made the mistake of attempting the audiobook* version. For something that is attempting to teach grammar rules to apply to your writing, this is not a good format for consumption.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the narration of the audiobook, to be honest. While I’m usually all for a pedantic lecturing tone, something about this one I found off-putting immediately.
The examples used to illustrate the writing rules are extremely clear and well laid out (and are spoken out clearly as well, but again, would better be seen on the page directly) and thus are helpful to the anxious writer who never enjoyed their grammar lessons. I am also extremely pleased that there was support given for the Oxford comma. (And why wouldn’t there be?)
I’m going to agree with all the other authors and writers out there who say that this is a standard on their ‘how to write’ shelves and suggest you grab a copy. But stick to the printed page for this one.
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