I can’t guess how many copies are out there by now.Īt a bit more than 200 pages including the bibliography, this little book describes the rules that govern the use of: Who could have guessed that a book about punctuation would hit the top of the charts?įirst published in April of 2004, Eats, Shoots and Leaves spent 25 weeks on the NY Times bestseller list and by October of that year had gone back to press 22 times to bring the total of copies in print to a million. Write what you’re enthusiastic about and kindred spirits will find your book. Don’t try to produce another DaVinci Code or Harry Potter. Here’s a book that is not only useful and fun to read, its phenomenal popularity carries a moral for every writer:ĭon’t worry about following the market. "Nobody does smileys any more.I’ve finally got round to reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss.
"Why do they still have all these keys with things like dots and spots and eyes and mouths and things?" they will grumble. I've just spotted a third reason to loathe emoticons, which is that when they pass from fashion (and I do hope they already have), future generations will associate punctuation marks with an outmoded and rather primitive graphic pastime and despise them all the more. It looks like it's sticking its tongue out! The permutations may be endless: What's this curvy thing for? It's a mouth, look! Hey, I think we're on to something. What's this dot-on-top-of-a-dot thing for? What earthly good is it? Well, if you look at it sideways, it could be a pair of eyes. Anyone interested in punctuation has a dual reason to feel aggrieved about smileys, because not only are they a paltry substitute for expressing oneself properly they are also designed by people who evidently thought the punctuation marks on the standard keyboard cried out for an ornamental function. Just add the right emoticon to your email and everyone will know what self-expressive effect you thought you kind-of had in mind. And a smiley is, famously, this:įorget the idea of selecting the right words in the right order and channelling the reader's attention by means of artful pointing. Emoticons are the proper name for smileys. That's why they came up with the emoticon, too-the emoticon being the greatest (or most desperate, depending how you look at it) advance in punctuation since the question mark in the reign of Charlemagne. Which is why, of course, people use so many dashes and italics and capitals ("I AM joking!") to compensate.
“Clicking on "send" has its limitations as a system of subtle communication.
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