...but were too afraid to ask.

Or, like the inside book cover says "the Strunk and White for the next century".

Or, sometimes it's square to be tooooo hip with language and it's uses. Correction: MOST the time it's square to be too hip with language and its uses. (Can we talk, can we e-chat or are you going to be too, too obscure? In order to pose as some unapproachable form of hipness, nowness?..but that, my friends is another issue.)

Ms. Bruder says that success in life--career advancements, material gains, even love--is associated with how well and accurately one uses the english language. Knowing the when to use lay and lie, knowing correct spellings of words, knowing not to say "between you and I" and when, if ever, it is correct to use sentence fragments...these are just a few of the topics she writes about in this highly entertaining book. Throughout the book are deliciously funny malaprops sent to her by her reading audience called "Goofy Goofs" and "Typos of the Weak". These are Dilbert-like faux pas which find their way to print and into the corporate offices, the newpapers and other official documents which may only require that one last person to double check before sending out--oops! Too late. Some may say that is the case for some of my written work here. At least I am aware of my need for improvement and I am attempting to be better at the game...Ms Bruder indicates we all could stand some improvement.

One of her pet peeves is how Valleyspeak has filtered into the spoken language arena. We are not just talking about the totally tubular slangswages, but when, like when someone is talking? And they sound as if everything they say? Ends like a question? Do you see?

Also, she says that grammar teachers in grade schools across the USA are being unproductive teaching sentence diagramming. This is a complete waste of time. Something akin to a phonectic type of recitation--thinking or speaking to oneself about what would be the subject, verb, modifier(s) in sentences--and always, always working to identify them (even waaay beyond the grammar school years.) seems to be the way which is more effective for learning.

There are "Worrysome Words" sections which gives simple, straight ahead definitions of those bugaboo words we have trouble with whenever we see them in print, you know? The ones we 'kinda, sorta' remember learning the definitions of in an english class once upon a time? Ms Bruder also throws in a bunch of punctuation and spelling quizzes, the infamous "its versus it's" usage and the ways our popular culture has affected the language. (Yeah, she gets on ads like "good like a cigarette should" and "nobody doesn't like SL" AND the politicians who should know better not exactly being up to par.)

The upshot of all of her cheerleading for the proper uses of the language is that she is called "the Grammar Lady" or the "Miss Manners" of the language. I know I always appreciate a little help with grammar use, here and there, as I make my way up. (Although many of my critics may disagree.) This is one of the sources I use from time to time. Bruder's style is light hearted and easy to digest, and very easy to enjoy. And, with apologies to her, my humble endorsement of this work will be: "You are gonna luv this".

I just read the excerpt and ordered this book. I learned English in Germany, and we had to go through the grueling and rather boring grammar and sentence structure drills (in German it's subject-object-verb). Yet, had I not had this foundation, I would have drowned in American regional slang such as "I says", brrrrhh! - I want this book because I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two without falling asleep over it.

I've considered myself a scholar of this amazing language for the past 19 years, but it's never been a drudgery as long as I had the right tools. From what I've read so far, this book might just rank in the top five.

The title of this book really caught my eye when I was perusing store shelves this evening and I ended up in a cozy chair in the back of the bookstore totally absorbed in this fantastic read. Mary Newton Bruder is a natural at writing about the importance of grammar without making the reader feel like a big idiot for not knowing all there is to know. She provides humour, like "Typos for the Weak" (those little weirdnesses that happen with spell-check;-) and she helps the reader strengthen their chops by featuring fun quizes throughout the book. The bottom inch or so of almost every page is dedicated to a Weird Word: a word that a reader didn't know the correct spelling, meaning, or pronounciation of and had to ask the author to clue them in on it. I enjoyed Mary Newton Bruder's style, it was very laid back and humourous, forgiving and understanding, while that it IS important to have decent grammar in today's world. I admit, I need this book! I don't think anyone will feel they are being lectured or put down in any way, or made to feel stupid. This book embraces people at all levels of skill and encourages all of us to make an effort to improve communication and honor the English language while keeping the tone light and fun.

This book is poorly organized and people would be better off purchasing the Chicage Manual of Style, English Grammar for Dummies or other reference book. Also, I have had the misfortune of speaking to the grammar lady, and found her to be rude, discourteous and not at all interested in helping others with grammar issues. As a professional writer, I would definitely say "Pass!"

After reading Grammar 101 by Claudia Sorsby, I decided to get a little more in-depth on the subject. I bought several more books on grammar. With the exception of this book, I've enjoyed most of them. This book was poorly organized. The author jumps around from thought to thought, rather than clearly moving from subject to subject. Her section headings don't make sense, and her writing style is annoying. The tone of the book was unpleasant. The grammar lady solicits questions on grammar through her hotline and website. In the book she makes fun of many of the callers to the hotline and complains about being overburdened by the callers. She gives examples of grammatically incorrect sentences, but fails to tell why they are incorrect. The grammar lady should change her name to the preacher lady. Too often she gets off the subject of grammar and starts to preach about education and values. For example, on numerous occassions she complains about the transformation of her neighborhood into a land of lawyers driving SUV's. This book was a downer. After reading it, I came away disliking the author. I loved the book WOE IS I by Patricia O'Conner. GRAMMAR 101, by Claudia Sorsby, gives a great introduction to the subject and refreshes the grammar terminology that most of us probably have forgotten. I am in the process of improving my grammar and writing; forgive me if this review contains some errors.

If you cringe when you hear the word "grammar", then this is the book for you. Mary Newton Bruder has a caustic wit that made me laugh and she must have been a brilliant teacher becuase she also made me learn. I feel more confident about my language skills after reading this book and was amused. What more can you ask?