Book cover of Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark

Book description

'Fascinating... I loved this book; I really did' David Crystal, Spectator

A biography of a much misunderstood punctuation mark and a call to arms in favour of clear expression and against stifling grammar rules.

Cecelia Watson used to be obsessive about grammar rules. But then she began teaching.…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Semicolon as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is such a different kind of book, and genuinely, one that really should be very boring; how much is there to say about a punctuation mark? But instead, it’s totally winning. The story of the semi-colon, and that of the authors who loved (and hated) it, is a delightful romp through history and literature.

Watson herself is a “reformed grammar fetishist” and approaches her topic with real curiosity while she probes our collective obsession with grammar.

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Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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