Constance Hale

I picked this up at a used book sale because I recently finished a MOOC class on grammar and, although I passed with flying colors—oh, I think Constance (author) would suggest I rethink that too oft used phrase…hmm, I passed with aplomb, I didn’t feel like I could by any means teach the subject…so thought this title sounded like a fun way to keep going. I was write! Errr, “Right”! (Now you’re wondering how I passed at all?) This book has it all, and if you didn’t think a book on grammar could be entertaining (as well as instructive), read this one.
Sample? OK, here’s one of many illustrative quotes complete with quippy explanation of the error. This passage is from a section called “Dangling Doozies”:

“Remember, participles exist so that verbs can modify nouns. Dangling participles are adjectival phrases that have come unmoored from the nouns they are supposed to modify and instead modify the nearest noun they can find. Here’s a dangling participle reprinted in the "New Yorker" as a space filler:
In San Diego, the “in” place for years has been McDini’s for corned beef. Thinly sliced and heaped on rye, corned beef lovers won’t be disappointed.”
When was the last time you were thinly sliced and heaped on rye?”

I get that a grammar book probably isn’t your first choice for light summer reading, but if you do happen to enjoy the many quirks of the English language, this is a good one to turn to.
… (mere)

The author's style doesn't really appeal to me. I feel like she's trying too hard. However, I like the examples from well-known authors, particularly of them editing and improving their work.

I thought it was a bit of a cheap shot using song lyrics from Everclear to illustrate a point. Writing song lyrics is not the same as writing prose.

As a translator, I am annoyed that Constance Hale gives Gabriel García Márquez the credit for writing wonderful sentences in English. He didn't write them, the translator did!

I haven’t made the most of this book because I haven't done the suggested exercises.

This would be a useful reference book for writers of all sorts.… (mere)

Constance Hale provides one of the most thorough treatments of verbs I've read. The book is aimed at writers, both novice and experienced, and unless you hold a PhD in English composition, you will learn something useful to make your writing better. Do you know all about verb tense, mood, and voice? How well do you understand participles, gerunds, irregular verbs, and phrasal verbs? Do you know why these things matter (and they do matter) and how mastering them will help your writing shine brighter? Hale's book provides the answers.

The title is a bit awkward (try saying it three times fast!)--I think "Let Verbs Power Your Writing" by itself would have been just fine--but "vex," "hex," "smash," and "smooth" provides the framework around which Hale organizes each chapter, and the scheme works pretty well. At times she ventures into murky waters where even she may be out of her depth. For example, I'm still scratching my head at how "tight-fisted" is a past participle, as she asserts on page 224. But for the most part, she's spot on. She includes many examples from real life and literature to illuminate the concepts, along with plenty of endnotes and an extensive bibliography to warm the hearts of readers who care to dig deeper.

I highly recommend this book, and I know that I'll regularly pull it off my bookshelf to consult for my own writing.… (mere)