I actually didn’t even realize there was controversy over this book until this comment popped up on one of my reminders for Book Club. Who knew people could get so upset over grammar? The New Yorker seems to delight in pointing out every single error in the book. There’s heated debated in the Amazon reviews. The author has been referred to as a “grammar fascist” and a “grammar bully.” Of course, in the book, Truss does threaten to kill a great number of grammar offenders. I assumed it was in jest.The book is divided into chapters on different punctuation marks. Truss outlines the rules for usage, notes their history, and discusses why they are important. The tone of the book is humorous, suggesting that grammar snobs deface posters for the movie “Two Weeks Notice” to include the missing apostrophe.

I found the book to be very accessible and light-hearted, despite the threats of violence. The history of punctuation was very interesting and Truss outlines how it has changed over time. I discovered I was really attached to how we punctuate in the English language. Capitalizing every noun, as is done in German, seems crazy to me.

What are your thoughts on the book? Are you a Truss hater? If so, why?

I know I just postponed the damn thing for a week, but between the holidays and moving this past weekend, I’ve just got too much going on.

Rather than try to squeeze it in at the end of December, I’m just skipping to January. We will discuss Lynne Truss’ “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” on January 27, 2012.

I’ll be adjusting the rest of the Book Club schedule accordingly.