First published 2015
Mary Norris spent over thirty years in The New Yorker's copy department, upholding the magazine's rigorous standards. She tackles the most troublesome aspects of English: comma splices, misplaced modifiers, the who versus whom dilemma, and the that versus which puzzle. Norris explains compound word formation and approaches to gender-neutral writing with clarity and humor. She references everyone from Charles Dickens and Emily Dickinson to The Simpsons and David Foster Wallace. Her adventures include examining Noah Webster's Blue-Back Speller, investigating the hyphen in Moby-Dick, and visiting the sole pencil-sharpener museum worldwide. She offers glimpses into The New Yorker's editorial process and her collaborations with writers like Pauline Kael, Philip Roth, and George Saunders. Norris presents herself as neither overly strict nor permissive, but as an encouraging guide who celebrates language use in modern America. The book provides practical guidance while maintaining an entertaining tone, reminding readers that dictionaries serve as tools rather than absolute authorities.
Genres: reference, language, american, non-fiction, biography-memoir, academic
Vibes: entertaining, informative, thought-provoking
Tropes: memoir
Setting: America, The New Yorker
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
228 pages · Hardcover · W. W. Norton & Company