Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer

 
DREYER'S ENGLISH by Benjamin Dreyer is aptly subtitled “An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style from the Copy Chief of Random House.” However, that fails to truly convey the conversational tone which Dreyer adopts as he muses about his long experience and offers numerous suggestions. One is the challenge to go a week without writing these 12 words or phrases: very, rather, really, quite, in fact, just, so, pretty, of course, surely, that said, and actually.  In fact, (oops!), Dreyer notes: “feel free to go the rest of your life without another ‘actually’.”    

Some of his best advice? “One of the best ways to determine if your prose is well-constructed is to read it aloud.” I wish our students would listen! They will find much to inform and improve their writing in chapters titled “60 Assorted Things to Do (and Not to Do) with Punctuation” or “A Little Grammar is a Dangerous Thing” or “The Trimmables” on editing superfluous phrases. Publishers Weekly gave DREYER'S ENGLISH a starred review and Booklist described it as a “remarkably fun book about a dastardly dry subject…”  Enjoy!

Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher

I have been discussing WOMEN ROWING NORTH by Mary Pipher (Reviving Ophelia) with several staff members recently. Most of us had also read her piece, “The Joy of Being a Woman in Her 70s,” in The New York Times. There, she writes about the decades we have had to build resilience, noting, “Our happiness is built by attitude and intention.” Similar reflections appear in WOMEN ROWING NORTH which is subtitled “Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing as We Age.” Pipher’s advice includes the importance of gratitude and fighting isolation by finding meaning in one’s life. She says, for example, “Our growth requires us to become skilled in perspective taking, in managing our emotions, in crafting positive narratives, and in forming intimate relationships. … building joy, gratitude, and meaning into every day.”

In a recent Wall Street Journal interview about her new book, Pipher comments that “in the title of the book, ‘north’ refers to winter and ‘rowing’ refers to the fact that it’s an effort, and if you are going to stay on course at this age you have to work hard. … If we don’t add new chunks of identity, if we don’t grow better, we grow bitter.” WOMEN ROWING NORTH received starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly (“a work chock-full of wisdom and consoling messages”).  Oh, and look for an updated (25th anniversary!) edition of Reviving Ophelia which is scheduled for release in June, 2019.

Maid by Stephanie Land

“Evicted meets Nickel and Dimed” is how the publisher describes MAID by Stephanie Land.  Our students have read those first two titles for class assignments and since we are always looking for an accessible non-fiction text about economic and social issues, I was very curious to see MAID. In this new book, Land describes what it is like to be single, pregnant and poor; she writes about leaving an abusive relationship, tearing up college applications and later watching her child learn to walk in a homeless shelter.  Many other sections of the text (e.g., The Plant House, The Chef's House, The Hoarder House) offer musings about the lives of people who occupy the homes that Land cleans. To get a better idea of Land’s writing style, have a look at her op-ed piece. “A Cleaning Job that Saved My Life,” which appeared recently in The New York Times.  Dark and despairing at times, Land’s story ultimately arrives at a better place for her and daughter Mia. MAID includes a foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.