Eats, shoots and Leaves

[Ithaya]

Quote:

A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then pulls out a gun and fires two shots in the air.
"Why?" asks the confused waiter as the panda makes its way towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
"Panda: Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

So, punctuation really does matter, even if it's only occasionally a matter of life or death.

(Stet)

From the back of Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss.

If you haven't read it, you really should.
If you have, or have read anything else by Lynne Truss, feel free to discuss it here.

I'd particularly like to know what her novels are like.

 

[Fyre in teh Hoal]

I never knew grammar would ever matter so much.

 

[Henneth Annun]

That's funny.

Is this book availible at Borders?  

[Ithaya]

It is in England.
Just check. =)

 

[ghost rice]

It's silly, but I won't read big one. They made a picture book, and it's pretty cute. [[A big, hot, dog. Ha.]]

 

[[ Sadistic ]]

I've totally seen this book.
'Cept I never actually got around to reading it.

Is it any good?  

[Ithaya]

[ Sadistic ]

I've totally seen this book.
'Cept I never actually got around to reading it.

Is it any good?

Very good. Very funny too.

Lynne Truss has a picture book out. It's called The girl's like spaghetti. It's about apostrophes.

 

[Elleaoi]

The book is so good. It's my bible, basically.
Plus, it's as hilarious as it is informative! I love Lynne Truss.  

[Gothic Muffin of Doom]

I'm not familiar with the author to begin with. sad
What is this book about?  

[Ithaya]

Gothic Muffin of Doom

I'm not familiar with the author to begin with. sad
What is this book about?

The correct (and incorrect) use of punctuation.

As Aimi says, hilarious and informative.

I still use it as a reference book when I can't figure out the correct punctuation.
Plus it's just good to read start to end.

 

[Lyonette]

Aww, I voted "Who?" before I read the post, and now I want to read it!  

[DarkElf27]

I read about half of that book, not sure where it went after that.  

[Sintreri]

Punctuation is not the only thing that can cause confusion. One of my favorite little aspects of the English language is homophones.
A man walked into a bar and was immediately knocked out.
Since the word bar can have many definitions, this sentence is often seen in puzzle books.
I swear if I see one more person say, "It's there [something]" As if 'there' shows ownership, I'm gonna snap...
Isn't the English language fun? <3  

[Ithaya]

Tainted Sylph

I swear if I see one more person say, "It's there [something]" As if 'there' shows ownership, I'm gonna snap...

That made me twitch.
Another common and equally irritating one is "your weird" and the like. Though there's a thread on those.

 

[Celestia25]

Ikonik Angel

Tainted Sylph

I swear if I see one more person say, "It's there [something]" As if 'there' shows ownership, I'm gonna snap...

That made me twitch.
Another common and equally irritating one is "your weird" and the like. Though there's a thread on those.

It's even worse when people confuse 'its' and 'it's'. Aaaargh.