Writing coach Daphne Gray-Grant, who contributed this week's "Word Count" feature, suggests these terrific books on grammar and writing. Daphne tells us about her picks:
The Transitive Vampire by Karen Gordon. "This book is not only funny, it's also short and substantive -- a bit of a hat-trick when it comes to grammar. The design conceit is that it is illustrated with line drawings of dragons, gargoyles and, yes, vampires. The drawings are quite serious and the captions are silly. And the juxtaposition of the two always makes a grammatical point."
Sin and Syntax by Constance Hale. "I like this book because it covers more than grammar -- and because it's funny and flexible. Hale is not the kind of gal who's going to get her knickers in a knot over rules. In fact, she's all for breaking them (the catch is that you need to know you're breaking them.) I like the way the book is divided into three main parts with a set of chapters devoted to various parts of speech -- nouns, pronouns, verbs, etc. -- a set to sentences, and a set labeled "Music" covering voice, lyricism, melody, and rhythm."
