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#2024reads #nonfiction

I read this a few months back, at times this was a touch dry but the examples and illustrations included made this an easier, fun read.

Keith Houston throws in many facts and trivia of 11 typography symbols, at times this is a touch overwhelming but at the same time fascinating. One of these is how the ampersand used to be the 27th letter of the English alphabet. I‘m still grappling with this one.

This was an interesting book about symbols we use in writing, their history from handwritten manuscripts to modern printing, and further changes with online text. I especially enjoyed the chapters on the pilcrow, octothorpe, and manicule, all of which I also think qualify as weird words. I was not as interested in the discussion of irony and sarcasm and attempts to identify them in print.

#nonfiction #audiobook
#WeirdWords #WeirdWordWednesday

I quite enjoyed this book, especially because of the history it touched upon. We zoom from the Library of Alexandria to Bell Labs in the U.S., from medieval scriptoriums to 20th C newspaper offices, from the birthplace of the typewriter to the office where the first email jumped from one computer to another. It‘s a rewarding journey, well researched. He could delete the entire last chapter & improve the book, in my opinion; the rest is great fun.

I look forward to the chapter on the sarcasm mark.

This is a collection of short, popular histories of selected typographical marks: the pilcrow, the interrobang, the "octothorpe" (it's a *pound sign*, dagnabbit), the manicule, also &, @, *, -, -- (er, "the dash"), and a history of irony marks.

Like most detailed nerdery, it's more fascinating than you'd ever have guessed (

"The Latin backstory is provided by Paul Saenger, an authority on the introduction of spaces between words and the practice of silent reading that followed."

Paul Saenger is my brand-new role model: I too aspire to be an authority on the spaces between words and silent reading.

(Note to self: can I get credit for life experience? Inquire.)

Early birthday gift from my son and family! Tink doesn‘t really care. #catsoflitsy

A fun city adventure and a finished book!

#philly #travel #kinda?

Reading + tea with a friend who's visiting California. Getting ready for an San Francisco adventure tomorrow!

When you work at a bookstore, you have to work hard not to spend all your money on the cool books you find. Sometimes, though, you just have to.

Did some reading at the barn last night while my sister took care of a horse. Perks of being at home are lots of cats to take pictures with.

#catsoflitsy #currentread

interesting history of the common punctuations we see but didn't know the name and story behind it

My top 20 books of 2016, in rough chronological order. Every quarter, I pick the best books of the past three months and two other noteworthy books to get a top five. These are my four sets of top five. Non-fiction, particularly involving language, was the big winner this year. Onward to 2017!
#seasonsreadings2016

This is not a book to read in a single sitting, unless you're REALLY into punctuation. If you are, you might be able to read this in one go. I enjoyed learning about pilcrows and the like, and the quest for a punctuation mark for irony/sarcasm was enlightening. I'd really like such a mark to be used consistently. This is an interesting book that I'm sure grammar and English language nerds will find something to love.

I'm having a hard time imagining a "swirling melee of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century punctuation" and what to know if it was some sort of free-for-all in which punctuation was used interchangeably or what??? Also, if there's a definitive source on something, then why is another source being written?

Some of the books I had a hold on decided to become available at the same time. This means I need to read them all right now. Thank goodness it's a #readathon. And thank goodness for discovering that the pilcrow is the "quintessential shady character"!

I am such a freaking nerd...

Some #textonly (text mostly) UK covers that are far superior to their American counterparts. 📚 #booktober