As a copy editor, I wanted to love this book. Support a dying profession! But it was not to be.

What I expected to be a sort of relatable tell-all of the profession and the inner workings of the New Yorker — think Anthony Boursain’s “Kitchen Confidential” but for copy editors — was instead a mostly dry explainer on various grammar rules punctuated by the occasional cheesy one-liner pun or not-so-funny joke on the subject, suitable maybe as a poor yet likely choice for required reading in a freshman English 101 class.

Consequently, what should have taken me a couple days to read (200 pages) instead plodded on for three months, as I simply couldn’t keep my eyes open reading for very long. Harsh, but true. When a highlight is a seemingly out of place chapter about the author’s love of No. 1 pencils is a high note, something is clearly off.

Zzzz... one star, don’t bother unless you’re REALLY into grammar. Like, ultra high level, spectrum-y obsessive word nerd, not just a lowly overworked copy editor.

I quit this around the 50% mark, yet also enjoyed it. Weird, right?

I liked this book, especially the beginning where it was a little more memoir, a little more autobiography. I loved hearing about the author's time at the New Yorker.
In the middle, right around the time my checkout was about to expire, it was in the depths of minutae about hyphens. So I love this from a grammar-nerd perspective. But I also felt very satisfied that I didn't need to finish.

Mary Norris is inquisitive, funny, particular but not uptight, masterful with profanity, and downright adorable in her passion for #1 pencils and effective sharpeners. I relate!

This book took me about a year to finish. At times it was mildly interesting, which must be why I managed to finish it. I think the pencil chapter near the end was most gripping. It was the book that I picked up when I needed something really dull in which to fall asleep. I was hoping to brush up on some grammar, which I got at times, but it was mixed in with long and rambling disconnected text that it was slow going. I think if you are the type of person that loves the tiny details of language use, as the author clearly is, then you would probably enjoy the book. I also now know I would never, ever, ever want to be a copy-editor.

Due to the tastes of my book club, I have read more non-fiction and more memoirs this year. Some haven't worked out for me (fashion. No thank you) but this one faired much better. As is probably common for a reader, I was an English major in college and so this book, about grammar and the life of Mary Norris, The New Yorker copy editor was compelling thought it was a slow start. A slooooow start. Also, if you are an audiobook person, members of my club definitely recommend skipping that format: if it hard to sometimes read the intricacies of the English language, imagine trying to listen to someone explain the idiosyncrasies.

Once I got about 20 pages into the book, past Norris' early life, I enjoyed a glimpse into a career that I really don't give much thought to, despite the fact that I frequently benefit from the hard work of copywriters. I am always fascinated by a clear snapshot of someone else's existence, and Norris does a good job of bringing us into her world.

Not only did I find this read entertaining, but it was also highly educational. Of the clever phrases of Norris' that I liked, or the knowledge nuggets that I picked up, these are my favorites. I learned proper usage of a word I took for granted that I knew:

"He taught me that "over all" was two words as an adverb, as in "Over all, Dave gave me a good education. Closed up, "overall" was an item of clothing worn by a car mechanic." Or, in my life experience, a guy boiling crawfish

I learned the history of a word I use with some regularity.

"There is only one documented instance of a gender-neutral pronoun springing from actual speech, and that is "yo," which "spontaneously appeared in Baltimore city schools in the early-to-mid 2000s." "Peep yo" means "Get a load of her-or-him." "Yo" also has the added advantage of already belonging to the language, so it may actually have a chance. THe people of Baltimore have spoken."

Finally, I learned about mischievous apostrophes, and how more neat history.

"The Bronx was once owned by Jonas Bronck: Bronck's farm - the Bronx. Queens was claimed by the British in the name of Catherine of Braganza; that land was the Queen's - Queens. Rikers island, Wards Island and Randalls Island were name for Riker, Ward, and Randall."

If you are a reader (and likely if you are reading these words you are) and have an equal amount of reverence and frustration with the English language, you will enjoy the rabbit hole that Norris brings you down.

I learned some things about myself while reading this book.

While I am a big, big grammar nerd, I could still never work at The New Yorker. The lengthy chapters on hyphenation drove me crazy. I think it comes down to this: I want a rule to follow and I will stick to it; I don't want it to change based on which publication I'm reading.

Also, there are huge sections of this book devoted to pencils, pencil sharpeners, and name-dropping. It really just didn't grab me like I wanted it to.

3.5 stars. As a comma queen myself, someone who has made a career out of being a grammarian, I found Norris's book both amusing and illuminating. We grammar nerds love discussing grammar nerddom, and Norris does it beautifully. This book probably won't appeal to everyone — an entire chapter on why editors get attached to one particular brand of pencil might be something that fascinated me for 10 pages, but I couldn't see it working for many others — but it really does give you insight into what the wordsmiths out there in the publishing world are doing every day. To me the most intriguing bit of new information was right at the beginning, when she described how American spelling became Americanized in the first place. Why do Brits and Canadians have colour, honour, favourites, and go travelling, while Americans have color, honor, favorites, and go traveling? Because of Webster, and the fact that when he wrote his dictionary he decided wouldn't it be lovely to just knock out extra letters and go with a shorter, more economical spelling? I had no idea. But now when I'm editing a book with American spelling at the same time as one with Canadian, I know whose name to curse the entire time. This book was recommended to me by my stepmom, who read it and said, "Wow, I thought all you did all day was correct spelling. I had no idea your job was so complicated and layered!" Now if I could just get everyone else I know to read this! :)

I didn’t expect to enjoy this collection as much as I did.

Mary Norris’s voice comes through so clear in these essays that it felt at times like I was back in college listening to one of my favorite English professors give a lecture. And while some of the more technical subject material lost my attention, I was totally won over by the collection as a whole.

This book was fun! I can't remember how it popped up on my radar, but when I found a copy at the local library book fair, I happily paid to snatch it (that book pile is ever tottering and never reducing). I am not sure it made any earth shattering changes in my punctuation, but it did give me more confidence in what I do use--- and allowed me insight into a copy editors world. Mary Norris explains different punctuation and how to use it while also sharing anecdotes about working as a copy editor and her opinions on different trends/ways of editing. I found each chapter to be interesting. I have to admit commas still have my pencil hovering over the paper, but at least she admitted it is more of a style thing with not true SET rules.

Read if you enjoy understanding the English language. 2017 Reading Challenge: a book with a subtitle.