Book Review: Grammar Girl’s 101 Troublesome Words
Katie 
Ok, I’ll admit it. I get excited when grammar books show up to be reviewed. I read grammar books for fun! Part of the reason is because I want to know how many tips and tricks I already know (I was a Communication / Journalism minor in college, after all. A lot of these were hammered in to my brain repeatedly by multiple classes.) The other reason is because there are so many words out there, it is impossible for any book or class to cover them all and I am always up to learning new things.
Grammar Girl’s 101 Troublesome Words (You’ll Master in No Time) is sorted in alphabetical order. Each word or phrase is hi lighted at the top of the page and then there is a little bit about what rules there are for that word/phrase. Or lack there of. Some words are evolving (e-mail vs email) and other words just really don’t have any rules to follow because of how quickly the English language is changing. After each write up, there is an example of using the word.
These examples are “cool” examples though! They include quotes from TV shows like Dexter, Gossip Girl and The OC (just a few of my favorites) and current magazines and other publications and all that. I thought this was a great touch because I’m more likely to remember something Chuck Bass said than I am to remember something a silly BOOK said. (Throw it all in to a song sung by a boyband and I’ll NEVER forget.)
101 Troublesome Words (and all of the quickandditrytips!) is definitely recommended for anyone who likes to write or is just geeky about words.
About the Book
Millions of people around the world communicate better thanks to Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, whose top-rated weekly grammar podcast has been downloaded more than 40 million times. Now she’s turning her attention to solving your worst problems-one troublesome word at a time.
Are you feeling “all right” or “alright”? Does “biweekly” mean twice a week or every two weeks? Do you run a gauntlet or a gantlet? Is a pair of twins four people or two?
The English language is always changing, and that means we are left with words and phrases that are only sort of wrong (or worse, have different definitions depending on where you look them up). How do you know which to use? Grammar Girl to the rescue! This handy reference guide contains the full 411 on 101 words that have given you trouble before-but will never again.
Full of clear, straightforward definitions and fun quotations from pop culture icons such as Gregory House and J. K. Rowling, as well as from classical writers such as Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin, this highly-useable guidebook takes the guesswork out of your writing, so you’ll never be at a loss for words again.